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Maverick Viñales Ruiz (; born 12 January 1995) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer. Viñales is the 2013 Moto3 World Champion, currently riding in MotoGP for the Aprilia Racing team, after five seasons as a MotoGP factory rider with the
Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha MotoGP Racing or Yamaha Factory Racing is the official Italian-Japanese factory team of Yamaha in MotoGP. The team was founded in 1999 following the retirement of Wayne Rainey, who had run a factory-supported team in the 500 cc class ...
team, his contract was terminated by mutual consent midway through the 2021 season.


Career


Early career

Born in Figueres, Alt Empordà, Viñales began competitive racing at the age of three in minimotos before moving onto motocross and eventually to circuit racing in 2002, competing in the Catalan 50cc Championship, before several successful seasons in 70cc "metrakit" bikes. In 2007, he became champion of the Catalan 125cc Championship, and repeated the feat in 2008, as well as winning the Mediterranean Trophy. Also in 2008, he competed at selected events in the German IDM 125GP Championship for RZT Racing aboard an Aprilia RS 125 R, achieving a best result of seventh. He moved up to the CEV Buckler 125GP series in 2009, with the Blusens-BQR team, partnering Miguel Oliveira in the team. Viñales finished the season as Rookie of the Year as he finished as the runner-up to Alberto Moncayo in the championship standings, by just four points. Viñales claimed four successive podiums during the season, including a victory at Jerez. In 2010, Viñales and Oliveira joined different teams from Blusens and battled it out for the championship title and despite winning only two races – both at
Albacete Albacete (, also , ; ar, ﭐَلبَسِيط, Al-Basīṭ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete. Lying in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, the ...
 – compared to Oliveira's four wins and two second places, Viñales took the title by just two points after finishing each of the season's seven races on the podium as Oliveira crashed out of one race at Albacete. The single race for the 2010 European Championship title was also taking place at Viñales's winning circuit Albacete where he narrowly took his third victory of the year at the same venue.


125cc World Championship


Blusens-BQR Team (2011)

Viñales moved to the 125cc World Championship ahead of the season, partnering category veteran Sergio Gadea, who returned to the 125cc class after a season in Moto2, at the SuperMartxé VIP team after the Blusens-BQR team joined forces with American socialite Paris Hilton. He impressed during pre-season testing at
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
, and finished ninth on his Grand Prix début in
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
. After retiring at Jerez due to brake failure, Viñales finished fourth at
Estoril Estoril () is a town in the Municipality of Cascais, Portugal, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a tourist destination, with luxury hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numerous royal families and celebrities, and has ...
, narrowly missing out on a podium to Johann Zarco in a photo-finish with the margin between the pair being 0.002 seconds. Two weeks later at
Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...
, Viñales took his first front-row grid start with third place, and after a race-long battle with championship leader Nicolás Terol, Terol made a mistake at the penultimate corner and Viñales cut inside him and took the victory by 0.048 seconds. His victory, at the age of , made him the third-youngest rider to win a Grand Prix race behind Scott Redding and Marco Melandri. Three further victories during the season enabled Viñales to finish his rookie season in third place in the championship rankings and he won the Rookie of the Year award.


Moto3 World Championship


Blusens Avintia (2012)

Viñales went into the
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
season as title favourite in the newly formed Moto3 championship. He won five races early on in the season, but a lack of consistency with several crashes meant that he was not able to keep up with Sandro Cortese. Going into
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
still with a slim chance of winning the title, he shocked fans and media when he angrily left his team and flew back home, withdrawing from the race. Cortese won the race and the title with Luis Salom moving into second place. Viñales later stated that he had not been informed of offers from other Moto3 teams, that the team refused to move him up into Moto2 and instead made him sign an extension to his contract into 2014 and that he was unable to win with them as it was a "second division team". Viñales eventually apologized and returned to the team for the final two races of the season, securing third in the standings, but losing the runner-up spot to Salom.


Team Calvo (2013)

He moved to Team Calvo for
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...
, riding alongside Ana Carrasco. Sorting out his new contract after his walkout in Malaysia supposedly was a very delicate affair which included a high release fee having to be paid to his former team and interest also being expressed by the Marc VDS Moto3 team. He won his first two races with Team Calvo back-to-back at round three and four, the Spanish and French Grand Prix. In later races he had several opportunities to win as he was leading the last laps at San Marino, Aragon and Philip Island, but on all occasions he was eventually overtaken by fellow Spanish rider Álex Rins. He was starting to fade from the title fight with two races to go and only a slim chance left to win, but at Motegi both championship front runners Luis Salom and Alex Rins didn't score any points as both crashed out of the race, Salom being taken out by Viñales' cousin
Isaac Viñales Isaac Viñales Mares (born 6 November 1993) is a Spanish motorcycle racer. He is the cousin of former Moto3 World Champion and current MotoGP racer Maverick Viñales, and has competed in the Spanish 125GP Championship, the Spanish Moto2 series, ...
. Viñales finished second behind rookie Álex Márquez, putting him back into the title fight. The three riders went into the final round with a gap of just five points between them. As Salom crashed out and rejoined to finish 14th, Rins and Viñales continued battling until the last corner. In the end, Viñales narrowly took the victory and Moto3 World Championship with Rins finishing runner-up.


Moto2 World Championship


Pons Racing (2014)


= 2014

= Viñales signed a two-year contract with Pons Racing, due to expire at the end of 2015. He joined former title rival Luis Salom in the team. He took his first intermediate class victory at the Circuit of the Americas on 13 April 2014. He ultimately finished the season in third place in the riders' championship with four wins and nine podiums. He also won the Rookie of the Year award.


MotoGP World Championship


Team Suzuki Ecstar (2015–2016)

In September 2014 it was announced that Viñales would move up to the MotoGP class for the season, riding for the factory Suzuki team on their return to the class. He partnered
Aleix Espargaró Aleix Espargaró Villà (born 30 July 1989) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was thSpanish 2004 FIM CEV 125cc International Champion and currently competes in the MotoGP class for Aprilia Racing team. Career Espargaró was ...
at the team. Viñales became the first rider to move up to MotoGP after just one lone season in Moto2, even all-time greats like Valentino Rossi and Marc Márquez spent two years in the intermediate category.


=2015

= Viñales had a decent debut season with the factory Suzuki team. As it was the comeback year for the Japanese manufacturer, they received various concessions for development, and the bike underwent several changes during the season. Viñales finished 16 out of 18 races, scoring six Top-10 results along the way, once again showing consistency as his strength. He ended the season in 12th place, winning the Rookie of the Year award.


=2016

= The 2016 season saw an improved bike and almost immediate success for Viñales and the factory Suzuki team. Viñales took his first MotoGP podium with third place in France. and his first ever MotoGP win at the British Grand Prix and Suzuki's first win since Chris Vermeulen's win in France in 2007, moving him to 4th place in the championship.


Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP (2017–2021)

After Jorge Lorenzo announced his move to the Ducati team, Viñales was signed to replace him at the factory Yamaha team in 2017 and 2018.


=2017

= His 2017 MotoGP campaign started with victory in
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
making him the first rider to win on debut for Yamaha since Valentino Rossi in
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
and the first rider to win on a debut for any team since Casey Stoner in 2011. His strong start to the season continued with victory in
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...
, leading to many tipping Viñales as a championship contender. In the following race in the USA, there was disappointment when Viñales was forced to retire, crashing after only 2 laps from fourth place. Viñales followed this up with a sixth-place finish in Jerez and a hard-fought victory over Rossi at
Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...
. However, this was to be his last victory of the season. Viñales went on to take third in the rider's championship, finishing the season on 230 points, 22 points ahead of this teammate.


=2018

= At the Yamaha official season launch in January 2018, Viñales announced that he had signed a two-year contract extension, guaranteeing his factory seat through the 2020 season. The 2018 season was difficult for Viñales and a struggling Yamaha team. Despite a number of early season podiums for Viñales and his teammate Rossi, Yamaha set a new record winless streak of 25 races before Viñales scored a win at Phillip Island. Viñales finished the season with 193 points in fourth place of the rider's championship, 5 points behind his teammate.


=2019

= In November 2018 as the provisional 2019 entry list was published, Viñales confirmed he would be switching from his traditional race number 25 to the number 12 previously used by Troy Bayliss. Viñales claimed the change was because he "felt that eneeded to do something different" and had previously used the number 12 in motocross as a youth, since his birthday is 12 January. Viñales win
Dutch TT The Dutch Tourist Trophy, also known as the ''TT Assen'', is an annual Dutch motorsport event established in 1925 for road racing motorcycles held on the TT Circuit Assen, also known as the ‘Cathedral of Speed'. The event attained world champi ...
and
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. Viñales went on to take third in the rider's championship, finishing the season on 211 points.


=2020

= The 2020 season was shortened by the
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...
pandemic. Viñales started strongly in the Spanish opening double-header, with two second-place finishes. At the fifth round in Styria, Viñales suffered a brake malfunction on the 17th lap, forcing him to leap from the bike at high speed at the end of the start-finish straight, leading to a fiery crash and a
red flag Red flag may refer to: * Red flag (idiom), a metaphor for something signalling a problem ** Red flag warning, a term used by meteorologists ** Red flag (battle ensign), maritime flag signaling an intention to give battle with no quarter (fight to ...
of the race. He struggled in later races, scoring one win in Emilia Romagna but only managing one other top five finish in
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to so ...
, before ending the season sixth overall in the championship standings.


=2021

= After struggling for consistency during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Viñales started 2021 with a dominating win in
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
. Results in the following races were disappointing – while teammate Fabio Quartararo performed strongly to become a title favourite – culminating in the German Grand Prix where Viñales recorded his worst MotoGP weekend, qualifying 21st on the grid and finishing last of all classified riders. His fortunes looked to be improving at the subsequent
Dutch TT The Dutch Tourist Trophy, also known as the ''TT Assen'', is an annual Dutch motorsport event established in 1925 for road racing motorcycles held on the TT Circuit Assen, also known as the ‘Cathedral of Speed'. The event attained world champi ...
, where he qualified on pole, but ultimately finished second behind teammate Quartararo to score just his second podium finish of the season. The following day on June 28, 2021, Viñales made the shock announcement that he had terminated his contract with Yamaha and would leave the factory team after the 2021 season prematurely and not see out the full term until the end of 2022. Prior to the Austrian Grand Prix, Yamaha withdrew Viñales' entry citing telemetry data indicating "unexplained irregular operation of the motorcycle" during the
Styrian Grand Prix The Styrian Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis der Steiermark) was a Formula One motor racing event held at the Red Bull Ring, named after Styria, the province of Austria in which the circuit is located. Created in 2020 to maximize the number of ...
. These irregularities led to his suspension by the team, as it was thought his actions could potentially have damaged the engine, putting himself and other riders at serious risk.Yamaha suspends Vinales from MotoGP Austrian GP
''
Autosport ''Autosport'' is a global motorsport publishing brand headquartered based in Richmond, London. It was established in 1950 at the same time as the origins of the Formula One World Championship. Autosport began life as a weekly magazine in 1950 ...
'', 12 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021


Aprilia Racing Team Gresini (2021)

In August 2021, it was announced that Viñales would join the factory
Aprilia Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded immediately after World War II in Noale, Italy, by Alberto Beggio. The company started as a manufacturer of bicycles and moved on to manufacture scooters and small-capacity motorcycles. ...
racing team from 2022, initially on a one-year contract, joining existing rider
Aleix Espargaró Aleix Espargaró Villà (born 30 July 1989) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was thSpanish 2004 FIM CEV 125cc International Champion and currently competes in the MotoGP class for Aprilia Racing team. Career Espargaró was ...
.Maverick Viñales to race with Aprilia in 2022
motogp.com, 16 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021
On 20 August 2021, Yamaha and Viñales ended their contract with immediate effect, opening the door for Viñales to make an early debut with Aprilia at the Aragon Grand Prix on 12 September. Viñales took the place of regular team rider
Lorenzo Savadori Lorenzo Savadori (born 4 April 1993) is a motorcycle racer from Italy, He was the 2015 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup winner and thItalia 2020 CIV Superbike Champion acting as test rider for Aprilia with occasional wild card race entries. For the 2021 ...
, who was injured in August and will continue to act as the team's test rider. Viñales finished the season 10th in the rider's standings, with 106 points.


Aprilia Racing (2022–present)

Viñales' first podium with Aprilia came at the
Dutch TT The Dutch Tourist Trophy, also known as the ''TT Assen'', is an annual Dutch motorsport event established in 1925 for road racing motorcycles held on the TT Circuit Assen, also known as the ‘Cathedral of Speed'. The event attained world champi ...
. Then, he finished second in the British Grand Prix. He finished third for his third podium in four races at the San Marino Grand Prix. On 26 May 2022, Viñales signed a contract extension with the team for 2023 and 2024, still teaming up with
Aleix Espargaró Aleix Espargaró Villà (born 30 July 1989) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was thSpanish 2004 FIM CEV 125cc International Champion and currently competes in the MotoGP class for Aprilia Racing team. Career Espargaró was ...
.


Career statistics


Grand Prix motorcycle racing


By season


By class


Races by year

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)


Personal life

Viñales has a cousin,
Isaac Viñales Isaac Viñales Mares (born 6 November 1993) is a Spanish motorcycle racer. He is the cousin of former Moto3 World Champion and current MotoGP racer Maverick Viñales, and has competed in the Spanish 125GP Championship, the Spanish Moto2 series, ...
, who has competed in the 125cc, Moto3 and Moto2 World Championships. He was named Maverick at birth because his father was a fan of '' Top Gun''. Viñales had another cousin,
Dean Berta Viñales Dean Berta Viñales (20 April 2006 – 25 September 2021) was a Spanish professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the Supersport 300 World Championship for the Viñales Racing Team on a Yamaha YZF-R3. Berta Viñales was the cousin of Maver ...
, who died aged 15 on 25 September 2021 in a Supersport 300 race at Jerez after being involved in a collision.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vinales, Maverick 1995 births Living people Spanish motorcycle racers Motorcycle racers from Catalonia People from Alt Empordà Sportspeople from the Province of Girona 125cc World Championship riders Moto3 World Championship riders Moto2 World Championship riders Suzuki MotoGP riders Yamaha Motor Racing MotoGP riders MotoGP World Championship riders Gresini Racing MotoGP riders Aprilia Racing MotoGP riders