Maverick takes his first pole position on an Aprilia, with the track record, and finishes fourth in the Sprint Race

DEFENSIVE RACE FOR ALEIX, STRUGGLING WITH THE INJURY TO HIS LEFT LEG

It was a positive day for Maverick Viñales who, in the morning qualifiers, took his first pole position astride the RS-GP. He will start from the first spot on the grid tomorrow in the final GP of the season. He started well today in the Sprint Race, overtaking Bagnaia on the first corner. He led the short race confidently in the first four laps but then, having chosen a medium rear tyre, he was forced to give in to the higher performance of riders who had put on the soft. He stayed with the leading group to finish fourth, less than one second from the podium, and was the best of the riders who had opted for the same tyre.

After going straight through to the second qualifying session yesterday, Aleix had to reckon with physical fitness heavily conditioned by the fracture to his left fibula suffered less than one week ago in Qatar. He started from the fourth row and struggled to make up positions, finishing the race thirteenth.

ALEIX
"I obviously had to reckon with my injury. However, I must compliment the mobile clinic docs. They are incredibly talented and they did a great job making sure I wasn’t in too much pain. Sometimes we complain about things that are wrong with the championship but, in the same way, we need to acknowledge the positive aspects and the level of the Mobile Clinic is one of these. In spite of this, I did not have strength in the leg and it was hard to move about in the saddle which, on a track like Valencia, is highly penalising. In any case, after today’s Sprint Race, I’m more confident about being able to finish the long race. I want to make it to the finish line because everyone, from the fans to Aprilia, deserves it after this season."

MAVERICK
"It was a positive day and taking my first pole position with Aprilia was fantastic. We have no regrets for the Sprint Race. The decision to go with the medium tyre really seemed like the right choice. Instead, something unexpected happened and, at the end of the day, those who chose the soft had clearly better performance. This leaves us with a lot of doubts for the GP tomorrow because the soft tyre has demonstrated that it is consistent all the way to the final laps. However, I am pleased with the job we did. The bike worked extremely well, so we just need to fully analyse the data and take the right decision."