Maverick Vinales – 2015 MotoGP Rookie of the Year
During the final round of the 2015 MotoGP Championship at Valencia, Maverick Vinales will collect his award as 2015 MotoGP Rookie of the Year.
The 20-year-old Spaniard has already earned the award, having acquired 92 points in 2015 MotoGP. The Team Ecstar Suzuki GSX-RR pilot has improved throughout the year, and has taken top 15 spots in 17 races, with top finishes of sixth at Catalunya and Phillip Island.
Vinales, who is 12th overall in points, will collect the award during the annual FIM MotoGP Awards Ceremony Sunday evening.
Regardless of earning the award, Vinales is still on a mission to score another top 10 finish during the 30-lap race at Valencia.
Maverick Viñales says: “For sure I’m happy for having taken the Rookie of the Year title, even if it wasn’t my priority it is a good feeling. My objective for this year was not to focus on the classification but to learn as much as possible with the new class and the new machine; also being a Factory rider in a fully organized Factory team. This has been an amazing experience, I could learn a lot and I feel I still have much to gain, this keeping my ambition always high.
“The race in Valencia will be important as all the others, we are very close to the 100-points target and not so far from the top 10 in the Championship; it will be hard but it would be a good result after the positive season. I like the circuit, it could also be good for our machine’s layout and the fight will be very interesting. We have developed a way to approach the race that makes me feel comfortable, I like to work hard to prepare for the race and this is basically what we are going to do.”
The 20-year-old Spaniard Vinales joined the Grand Prix Motorcycle World Championship in 2011 during the final year of the 125cc two-stroke class aboard an Aprilia. He finished third that year, followed by third in 2012 (FTR Honda), the debut year of the Moto3 Championship. Vinales then switched to KTM for 2013, and earned the Moto3 title.
He joined Moto2 aboard a Kalex in 2014, and finished third overall (four wins). Vinales then signed to the returning Suzuki team for 2015 MotoGP.
For more on Valencia MotoGP, visit 2015 MotoGP Showdown between Valentino Rossi & Jorge Lorenzo.
