While Maverick Vinales feels his Aprilia team is the most likely to challenge Ducati’s MotoGP, he says that moving to KTM is hi🃏s best hope of winning titles.

Vinales announced his switch to the Tech3 KTM earlier this y𓃲ear, in a fairly surprising move considering the Spanish rider’s breakthrough maiden Aprilia victory at the Americas Grand Prix in April.

That Texas win made Vinales the first rider since Loris Capirossi to win premier class races with three different manufacture﷽rs (Suzuki and Yamaha before Aprilia). Winning with KTM would make th🅷e #12 unique.

“I think I can be the only one in history t♛o win with four bikes,” Vinales told MotoGP.com in the lead up to th🅰is weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix. “Obviously, it’s a good objective.”

Vinales sa꧙id thꦬat the decision to move was an instinctual one. “It’s a gamble, what I did, but I believe in myself and my instincts say that I [should] go for it. I have no fear.”

As well as his instincts, Vinales saysꦕ that the GP victory he took in Texas, in addition to the Sprint wins he had there and in Portugal, made♏ him decide to leave.

“I think ꦕwith the victories I closed the circle, so my objective in Aprilia is done,” Vinales said. “So, I feel totally free to go awa🍃y.”

The 2013 Moto3 World Champion explained that, rather than the victorie🦩s themselves, it was his inability to repeat the form that brought them which tipped him inꦉ favour of leaving.

“I feel there is always something [that means] that I cannot shine like I shone in Austin,” he said. “I need to find that, 🍒this is my mo🅘tivation. Basically, my move [to Tech3 KTM] was based on that.”

Reflecting on his time at Aprilia, Vinales expressed gratitude to the Noale brand for taking him on after he 🐈was dropped by Yamaha in the middle of 2021.

“Of course I’m very grateful for the opportunity that Aprilia gave me,” he said. “I’m really happy. And I tell them e⛄very single day that I will give my best and I will t꧅ry to help [them] a lot in this second part of the season to give up a really good bike for next season, and I’m completely honest and I will do [it].

“Als𝐆o, I want good results, an𝄹d I think Aprilia is on my side in this area to work hand-to-hand.”

But there was also confusion at how long it took for him to get to the top step o𝓰n the RS-GP.

𓂃“I could not understand why it took so long to [win] in Aprilia,” he said, “because in 2022 the bike was very good, and Aleix [Espargaro] ꦕdid a great season, but I was not able to do it, and I don’t know why.

“Then, in 2023, we incorporate Manuel [Cazeaux, Vinales’ crew chief] in the team and we found some things in the setup that were going against my riding style and I was suffering a lot. Then, as soon as we switched that [changed the things that were holding Vinales back], we started to🐷 do good results.”

Vinales admitted that staying at𝓀 Aprilia might have been the easier option than the one he eventually chose.

“To keep doing good results, maybe it was easier if I stay [at Aprilia], Iꦐ also think about that: I know the bike, I know the people, I know I can do good things.”

However, the Spaniard thinks that K💫TM is his better shot at a title challenge.

“For me,” he said, “P5 or P7 in the champi𝐆onship is the same♌. I want to be in the front, and maybe I can [at KTM] or maybe not, who knows?”

Vinales now has 10 raceಌs remaining with Aprilia, and he is hoping for a return to the kind of form that saw him win in Austin back in April.

“We need to understand why, in Europe, only one manufacturer (Ducati) did a big step ahead and we were unable to do it,” Vinales said. “So, I’m very curious to see in the second part of the season if we are able to close that gap and to fight again how we started the season, because we started like a rocke🤡t and I think it’s possible we have the level and we have a good potential.”

Explai💝ning the differences between Aprilia and Ducati, Vinales said that it’s✅ race pace, rather than raw speed, that is the advantage for the Bologna brand.

“Consistency I think is the biggest difference. They [Ducati riders] are able to be consꦛtantly on really good lap times, especially in the race, and we are missing in the second part of the race.”

Although he is leaving the Noale factory, Vinales thinks Aprilia is the only manufacturer that can challenge Ducati, and the S🍌paniard is still targeting the top threꦫe in the championship.

“I think if we are tough, and we work closely, we๊ will give them a fight, so that’s our target — I think we are the only ones who can do it.

“We don’t have to forget that we are top five [in the championship], and🧜 saying goodbye with a top three will be fantastic. I’m dreaming maybe a little bit too much because I need to beat really big names, but it would be really cool.”