Having been crowned 2015 MotoGP™ Rookie of the Year in Suzuki’s comeback season in the premier class and recording two top six finishes, Maverick Viñales (Team Suzuki Ecstar) enjoyed a great start to 2016.
Qualifying on the front row for the opening race of the season in Qatar, he went on to cross the line in sixth, equalling his career best MotoGP™ result. Unfortunately, at the next round in Argentina he crashed out of the race while battling for what would have been his first premier class podium.
He bounced back at Austin by qualifying in fourth and matching this result during the race, in the process showing everyone that he was now able to compete with the very best in the world.
The 2013 Moto3™ World Champion and Moto2™ Rookie of the Year in 2014, with four wins to his name that season, confirmed it was no fluke by recording another top six finish in Jerez.
At Le Mans he wrote a new chapter in Suzuki’s history by recording his debut MotoGP™ podium after finishing third behind Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi.
Just before the Italian GP he announced that he would be replacing Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) in the factory Yamaha team for 2017 and 2018 to partner Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP). He then proceeded to qualify in second before going on to cross the line in sixth in the race.
Then at the Catalan GP he finished in fourth, dedicating the result to Luis Salom who had tragically died on the Friday. In the wet two-part race in Assen it was a case of damage limitation as he finished in ninth, just happy with the fact he managed to bring it home in the tricky conditions.
Twelfth in the tricky conditions at the Sachsenring sees Viñales occupy fifth place overall as the season hits the summer break, with nine races left this year to try and make more history with Suzuki before joining Rossi at Yamaha 2017.