Maverick Viñales is a man of challenges. After mastering the finer details of the Aprilia RS-GP until tasting victory with it at the 2024 GP of the Americas, becoming the first rider in the MotoGP™ era to win with three different manufacturers, the Catalan has decided to undertake a new challenge by signing with Red Bull KTM Tech3, which he will compete with onboard the RC16.
Rewriting history
Viñales made history in Austin by achieving his first victory with Aprilia Racing, after a weekend where he also achieved pole position and victory in the Tissot Sprint. By doing this, he overtook Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™), who are also chasing the milestone of winning with three different brands after their previous victories with Honda and Ducati, and Suzuki and Honda, respectively.
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Chronology of a milestone
Maverick’s path to accumulating wins with three different brands dates to 2016, when he achieved a historic victory for Suzuki at Silverstone in his second season on the GSX-RR. Months later, he would dazzle the world with a stellar start as a new Yamaha rider, filling the void left by MotoGP™ Legend Jorge Lorenzo. A debut win on the M1 in Qatar was followed up with victory in Argentina, starting his Yamaha career in the perfect fashion. Four years later, his time with the Japanese manufacturer ended abruptly in the middle of the season. Weeks later, Aprilia opened their doors for him.
A big bet for Viñales
After months of adaptation and racking up several podiums in 2022 and 2023, Viñales was finally able to claim his historic victory in Austin on the RS-GP. It remained to be seen what new challenges the future could bring him with Aprilia, especially after knowing the plans of the Noale manufacturer following the retirement of Aleix Espargaro and the signing of Jorge Martin. Finally, in the middle of a hectic silly season, Maverick has made a big bet on joining Red Bull KTM Tech3 in 2025. In this way, he will form a stellar RC16 line-up alongside Brad Binder, Pedro Acosta and Enea Bastianini, who will be his new teammate. Will ‘Top Gun’ be able to make history by winning with a fourth different manufacturer?