| Maverick Viñales | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | Spanish | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 12 January 1995 Figueres (Spain) |
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| Current team | Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bike number | 25 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | http://maverick25racing.com/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Maverick Viñales Ruiz[1] (born 12 January 1995) is a Grand Prix motorcycle racer from Spain.
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Born in Figueres, Viñales began competitive racing at the age of three in minimotos before moving onto motocross and eventually to circuit racing in 2002, competing in the Catalunyan 50cc Championship, before several successful seasons in 70cc "metrakit" bikes.[2] In 2007, he became champion of the Catalonian 125cc Championship, and repeated the feat in 2008, as well as winning the Mediterranean Trophy. He moved up to the CEV Buckler 125GP series in 2009, with the Blusens-BQR team, partnering Miguel Oliveira in the team. Viñales finished the season as Rookie of the Year as he finished as the runner-up to Alberto Moncayo in the championship standings, by just four points. Viñales claimed four successive podiums during the season, including a victory by almost four seconds at Jerez.[3] In 2010, Viñales and Oliveira joined different teams from Blusens, and battled it out for the championship title, and despite winning two races – both at Albacete – to Oliveira's four, Viñales won the title by two points after finishing each of the season's seven races on the podium.[1] The two riders also battled for the European Championship title at Albacete, and again was decided in the favour of Viñales.[4]
Viñales moved into the 125cc World Championship ahead of the 2011 season, partnering category veteran Sergio Gadea, who returned to the 125cc class after a season in Moto2, at the SuperMartxé VIP team after the Blusens-BQR team joined forces with American socialite Paris Hilton.[5] He impressed during pre-season testing at Valencia,[6] and finished ninth on his Grand Prix début in Qatar. After retiring at Jerez due to brake failure, Viñales finished fourth at Estoril, narrowly missing out on a podium to Johann Zarco in a photo-finish with the margin between the pair being 0.002 seconds.[7] Two weeks later at Le Mans, Viñales took his first front-row grid start with third place, and after a race-long battle with championship leader Nicolás Terol, Terol made a mistake at the penultimate corner and Viñales cut inside him and took the victory by 0.048 seconds.[8][9] His victory, at the age of 16 years, 123 days, made him the third-youngest rider to win a Grand Prix race behind Scott Redding and Marco Melandri.[10] Three further victories during the season enabled Viñales to finish his rookie season in third place in the championship standings.
| Season | Class | Motorcycle | Race | Win | Podium | Pole | FLap | Pts | Plcd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 125cc | Aprilia | 17 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 248 | 3rd |
| Total | 17 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 248 |
| Class | Seasons | 1st GP | 1st Pod | 1st Win | Race | Win | Podiums | Pole | FLap | Pts | WChmp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 125 cc | 2011 | 2011 Qatar | 2011 France | 2011 France | 17 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 248 | 0 |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Yr | Class | Bike | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Final Pos | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 125cc | Aprilia | QAT 9 |
SPA Ret |
POR 4 |
FRA 1 |
CAT 2 |
GBR Ret |
NED 1 |
ITA 3 |
GER 3 |
CZE 6 |
IND 2 |
RSM 7 |
ARA 3 |
JPN 4 |
AUS 8 |
MAL 1 |
VAL 1 |
3rd | 248 |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Alberto Moncayo |
CEV Buckler 125GP Champion 2010 |
Succeeded by Alex Rins |
| Preceded by Marcel Schrötter |
European 125cc Champion 2010 |
Succeeded by Romano Fenati |