MotoGP Gossip: M1 didn’t suit Vinales says father Angel, Acosta moving to Moto2?
Last weekend’s Dutch MotoGP revealed shocking news of Maverick Vinales deciding to leave Yamaha after this season - therefore terminating his current deal a year early.
In what’s been another up-and-down year for the two parties together, Vinales and the Japanese manufacturer agreed to end what’s been a successful, but overall inconsistent five-year stint.
When speaking to the media throughout last weekend’s Dutch TT, Vinales seemed lost as to why the same issues have been plaguing him for over three seasons. However, according to his dad Angel Vinales, the crook of it is that the Yamaha’s ‘soft like butter’ nature has never suited his son.
Vinales Sr. added: "Maverick is not leaving Yamaha because the bike is bad, so that's clear, but because Yamaha didn't give him the bike he needed, and failed to adapt to the motorcycle that Yamaha has." [Speedweek.com].
"This bike suits Lorenzo's or Quartararo's riding style. It's soft like butter. Maverick needs a stiffer motorcycle. Why? Because Maverick is like Marc [Marquez]. They attack hard in order to exploit the potential."
Looking at Vinales’ options for 2022, a reunion of some sorts with Valentino Rossi has been touted as part of the new Aramco VR46 Ducati team, while another strong possibility seems to be at Aprilia.
If Aprilia do indeed sign Vinales, it will be a major coup for the team considering several Moto2 rookies declined the 2021 seat last year. Vinales could also tick the box of current Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro is hoping for a really fast and strong team-mate in 2022.
With the Italian team making huge strides this year - so much so that enticing the likes of Vinales and Andrea Dovizioso is now a very real possibility, Espargaro believes several of the Moto2 riders including Marco Bezzecchi, Joe Roberts and Fabio Di Giannantonio will regret not taking this season’s seat ‘in the future’.
"I think that these riders who are in Moto2 who had the chance to come and refused will regret this choice in the future. They have missed a great opportunity and I hope that my team-mate in 2022 can be a really fast and strong rider, because we deserve it and we are not far from the top." [Gpone.com].
Finally in this week’s column, Spanish news outlet Marca is reporting that Moto3 superstar Pedro Acosta is on the verge of signing a two-year Moto2 deal with the Red Bull KTM Ajo team.
Acosta produced an incredible performance in Assen after spending Saturday night in hospital. The Spaniard was hit by another bike during FP3 and missed qualifying. However, Acosta limited the damage to Sergio Garcia and Dennis Foggia who finished 1-2 with a fourth place.
Marca said this about the situation: "He [Acosta] will go up to Moto2 in 2022 with Ajo and the idea is to be two years before moving up to MotoGP, where KTM will have preference.
"El Tiburon de Mazarrón currently has a contract in which KTM kept an option to retain him for one more season in Moto3. However, the rookie in the small category wanted to get into Moto2 as early as 2022."
