The ‘Top Gun’ started the race strong as he conceded only one position at the start, but Vinales took little time to get past Enea Bastianini for second place and set his eyes on Jorge Martin ahead, but according to the Spaniard, he already started feeling the symptoms of a potential gearbox failure when he struggled to put fifth and sixth gear, thus causing him to lose some tenths in the race.

“I was lucky because to break the gearbox in the downhill. So I was lucky to brake in turn one,” said Vinales after his tough luck on Sunday.

“Yeah, I’m smiling. I want to encourage all the people in Aprilia to improve their ability. That is something we really need to improve, and we need to take it in a positive way.”

“It’s been a fantastic weekend despite the problems because I had a lot of issues putting fifth and sixth gear. I was there [close to Jorge Martin], so yeah I had one-tenth, of course, less than what I was able to do.”

“So probably I was fighting with Jorge or attacking him [if I had that one-tenth] and that’s fantastic because the rhythm has been amazing and the feelings are good.”

With a strong weekend in Portugal, Vinales already has his sights set at the United States Grand Prix, a race where traditionally the Spaniard goes very fast.

“What we can expect in the next race is, I hope the same. So let’s see, now we have the balance of the bike under control, what I like and what I don’t like and we just need to be happy.”

“I will not say disappointed because we can say that we lost a lot of points, but mentally, I know I was there to battle for the race [win]. I think also most of the team agrees that with the correct balance on the bike, I’m able to win races.”

“I said yesterday, [the Sprint win] released a lot of weight from my shoulders. I closed the circle. I already won with Aprilia so just keep going keep going.”

He expects more of the same for the next race weekend, barring the technical problems that Aprilia has faced in recent rounds.

“Last year in Austin was a fantastic race despite the [bad] starts. This year in the starts I’m fast, so I’ll try to stay relaxed work really well through the weekend and then we will see.”

“But I see myself in the front I see myself in the front fighting and Austin is a track I really love and [it’s] sweet for my riding style so we’ll see I’m just curious to see how fast I can go in Austin which is a lovely track for me.

So far the Aprilia bike has stalled due to technical problems no less than three times in just two rounds and this one happens to be their second race retirement (Raul suffered a retirement in Qatar).

“I hope in Aprilia that’s a sign to grow and then it will be fantastic, and I think if I broke the gearbox, it means to [improve] inside Aprilia in Noale, [then] I will be very happy.”