Although yet to find a comfortable balance for the 2024 Aprilia, Maverick Vinales feels the extra downforceඣ it generates cܫan help deliver a ‘strong’ weekend on the roller-coaster layout of Portimao.

Aleix Espargaro has felt at home from his first laps on the new aerodynam🅷ically advanced bike, but team-mate Vinales and Trackhouse rider Miguel Oliveira are still trying to adapt to a machine Vinales describes as “a really big change”.

“Doha didn't reflect our potential🍷, so we must keep working, keep focus,” said Vinales, who finished ninth (Sprint) and tenth (GP) in the Lusail races.

“Portimao has been a good track for me but also for the bike. And especially for this year’♒s bike, I think it's going to be strong.  Seeing the downforce and all the stuff that the bike is bringing, it🔯 might be a really good track for us.”

V🌼inales began last seasꦕon as the top Aprilia in fifth (Sprint) and second (GP) place at Portimao.

The Spaniard finished the year confident he had found a consistent balance with the ’23 RS-GP, especially for time attack𝔉s. But it’s been back to the dr💞awing board with the 2024.

“At the end of the year, we discovered the balance, I really liked it to push, and the bike allowed me to push. We were on the front row, even on tracks where🍌 we usually struggled like Austria,” he said.

“So basically it's a matter of balance for me with this bike. Somehow, sometimes when I put a new tyre, I don't turn and I can🧜not make good lines. So I'm not able to take out the maximum from the bike.”

He added: “Of course, the first impr💦ession when I jumped into the new bike was very different🍰 from what I was expecting. Because the change was really big, to be honest, but probably in a good direction.

“So we need to still work, we need laps with this bike. With the 2023 bike we've been ꦇone year and at the end we accomplished a really good setting.

“Basically the bike of thi🦩s year has much more front grip. And a little bit less rear grip. And it gives you a different feelingඣ. Especially when you go for a time attack.

“But it's a matter of balance because the weight distribution is a little bit different. So I'm not worried about that because I know we're going 𝓰to recover the speed and we're going to be fast.

“O🎉f course, we left a [‘23] bike that I was feeling already good and now we ne🦋ed to do it again. That's the only thing.”

“For me, it's a 🍸matter of setting,” Vinales reiterated. “We need to change the setting and try to recover th𝕴at rear grip that we need.”