Maverick Vinales was ‘very pleased’ with his seventh-place finish in the Malaysian Grand Prix after a difficult weekend.

After a difficult Malaysian Grand Prix, Maverick Vinales feels ‘quite satisfied’ with his result on Sunday. The Spaniard crossed the line in seventh place, six places higher than the next Aprilia rider.

Vinales’ weekend started well, as he ended Friday in fourth place on the timesheets. But on Saturday, his weekend took a turn for the worse as he qualified in 12th place and only managed to finish 14th in the Sprint Race.

However, on Sunday the Aprilia Racing rider’s weekend started to look positive again. The 29-year-old crossed the line in seventh place, eight seconds ahead of the next Aprilia rider. Despite being 19 seconds behind the race winner Vinales was happy with the improvements he and his team made across the weekend.

“I feel quite satisfied, I believe that we gave the best from what we have,” Vinales said after the Malaysian Grand Prix. “We made big improvements today compared to yesterday, especially in our rhythm. I felt much more comfortable on the bike, especially under braking, this helped to improve my performance.

“It was a race of controlling the rear tyre and controlling the drop in grip. However, I think P7 was more than what we expected so we can be very pleased with the result. It was very important for the Championship to have a good race.”

Vinales is seventh in the MotoGP World Championship and is the top Aprilia rider. With only one round to go, it is unlikely that the Spaniard will be able to improve his position. Vinales is the top Aprilia rider in the 2024 standings as he is four places above his teammate, Aleix Espargaro.

With the new 2024 season finale taking place in Catalunya Vinales will want to end his year on a high. The #12 has not stood on a podium since the Sprint Race in the Netherlands in June.