Maverick Vinales gelled very well with the Aprilia RS-GP MotoGP bike during his first outing

Maverick Vinales got his first taste of the Aprilia RS-GP MotoGP prototype earlier this week at a test session in Misano, and he couldn't be happier about it. His first outing showed a lot of promise and quick pace despite riding a V4-powered machine for the first time in his career.

According to the 26-year-old Spaniard, "The time that I am the most happy, because after five years there (at Yamaha) doing ups and downs and we didn’t understand many things, at the end you say ‘what is going on?’ But as soon as I jumped to Aprilia I know my potential, I know what I’m able to do even more.”

"I honestly went without expectation, because you never know how the bike is going to react, but I have to say that I was a bit nervous because I never tried a different engine. I was used to riding bikes that have an inline-four and I didn’t know how it would react, but I was quite surprised that how I adapted to the engine was quite easy and this is nice," added Vinales.

After two successful tests (and a total of 179 laps total), Aprilia Racing Team Gresini has decided to throw him straight into the deep end by letting him compete in the upcoming Aragon GP, which will take place in 10 days' time (10-12 September 2021). The only word we can think of to explain this situation is "Whoaaaa".

This may be the turning point for Aprilia and its MotoGP program after Aleix Espargaro scored his first podium for the Italian manufacturer last weekend at the British GP in Silverstone. Will there be more from Aprilia in the future? You can start placing your bets, folks.

Image source: MotoGP