The Spaniard elected to quit Yamaha a year early midway through 2021 having struggled for form on the M1 before he was ousted with immediate effect following the Styrian GP having been found to have deliberately tried to break his engine.
Vinales subsequently signed for Aprilia and made his debut with the team later that year.
At the time this move was questioned as Aprilia was not a frontrunning team, but Vinales led for much of last Sunday’s Catalan GP and was second in an historic 1-2 for the squad behind team-mate Aleix Espargaro.
Asked to reflect on where he was when he left Yamaha to join Aprilia following the Catalan GP, he told MotoGP’s world feed: “Honestly, this day is one of my favourite ones in racing. I cannot ask for anything else.
“I tried to win, I fought for the win. Aleix was a bit faster at the end, but this is like that. We played this game.
“For me, it’s pretty curious to see how things change when you believe in yourself and you believe in the project.
“I’m quite in shock because we did a historic result for Aprilia this weekend, and to put Aprilia where it is now is not an easy job.
Source: Autosport