Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1519483
VOLUME ISSUE APRIL , P141 thing of a split personality? Mav's first blatant eccentricity came in his 125/Moto3 years, when in 2012 he summarily walked out on his team while still in with a chance of the title. The sulky fit didn't impress, but he was fast enough to be for - given. Next year, riding a KTM for a different team, he won the championship. He spent one year in Moto2, where four wins and third over - all behind Tito Rabat and Mika Kallio proved his class. Then it was straight into MotoGP with Suzuki, giving them their come - back win in 2016 (that phrase again) before being snapped up by Yamaha as teammate to Valentino Rossi in 2017, where he was strong enough for eight wins, yet on the way to another meltdown in 2021 This was a big one. Maverick won the first round in Qatar, and usually qualified well, includ - ing pole at Assen. But over and over poor starts (he blamed clutch problems) were followed by lackluster race efforts. In Holland, he'd been a respect - able second, but at the very next round, the Styrian GP in Austria, it came to an end. Vinales had another disas- trous start after the first attempt was red-flagged. After poodling around at the back, he pulled into the pits on the final lap, although still classified as last-place finisher, since the Yamaha pit was beyond the finish line. But during that lap, he'd slowed even more, and was seen over-revving the engine of the M1, apparently trying to blow it up. An act con - firmed by the on-bike telemetry. He was promptly sacked. Damaged goods; it seemed his career might be over. But then, there was the un - expected intervention of Aprilia team boss Massimo Rivola. In his third year with the team, the Italian had moved into MotoGP after a successful career in For - mula One, first with Minardi, and then for 10 years with Ferrari. Rivola decided to take a chance on the disgraced rider, saying at the time, "I regard Maverick as… maybe even the best talent in the paddock." Many wondered at his wisdom, and at the ability of an apparently completely disillusioned rider to adapt from a career riding inline-four ma - chines to the V4 Aprilia. Would he find the commitment? Now, after a couple of years of more-or-less undistinguished and certainly patchy adaptation, Maverick has justified Rivola's faith. And made history: the first MotoGP rider to win on three different makes and only the fifth in premier-class history, after Mike Hailwood, Randy Ma - mola, Eddie Lawson and Loris Capirossi. But he couldn't have done it without the bike escaping its slump. Aprilia's successful transition to a competitive state follows an erratic premier-class his - tory. In the late 1990s, a plucky 400cc "super-250" twin fell short in the 500 class. Then came the raucous but flawed Cosworth-influenced triple, which likewise failed to impress in the 990cc four-stroke cat - egory. It was withdrawn after three years. The V4 RS-GP returned 11 years later in 2015, but had made little progress in the hands of various riders, includ - ing Alvaro Bautista, Stefan Bradl and Aleix Espargaro. Things were about to change. Again, Rivola was influential. His arrival freed engineer Ro - mano Albesiano to concentrate on machine development—with good effect. Most crucially, the switch from the company trade- mark 75-degree Vee to a class- standard 90-degrees in 2020. Performance was transformed. The final bugbear was reliabil - ity—but the gearbox failure that cost Vinales a certain podium at Portimao two weeks before was blamed on human, not mechani- cal, failure. Contract time looms, and Fabio Quartararo, 22 seconds away in 12th at COTA, had the leisure to contemplate refusing Aprilia's offer, in favor of a re - ported 12-million euros to stay with Yamaha. With Espargaro expected to retire, who will take Aprilia's now-coveted second seat? Jorge Martin would make sense for both, a payback to Ducati for choosing Enea Bastianini before him for the factory seat. There is at least one other intriguing possibility. How about Marc Marquez? CN