Maverick Vinales’ changing status on the MotoGP rider market has been considered aft💙er🌠 his COTA heroics.

Vinales arrived 🌊at last weekend’s Americas MotoGP after news broke that Aprilia tr🐽ied, and failed, to recruit Fabio Quartararo.

April🎀ia might have opted to get rid of Vinales, rather than their ‘team captain’ Aleix Espargaro to make space for Quartararo.

“The whole paddock knew, coming into this round,ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ that he was the rider who might lose the factory Aprilia ride,” Neil Hodgson told TNT Sports about Vinales.

“So many go🌼od championship-potent🌊ial winners wanted his seat.

“♔He’s one of the veterans now. He thought he w💎as done!

“The pressure on Maverick has been so huge.

“It flips so quickly in this paddock.

“Now it’s his teammate who might lose his ride…”

Vinales stunningly recovered from losing his pole position, and won the Americas MotoGP after falling ba༒ck to 11th.

Not only is he the first MotoGP rider to win grands prix for three manufacturers, but he is arguably the moꦜst in-form rider on the grid after thr♓ee rounds.

Vinales’ contract with Aprilia expires this season but his newfound brilliance means h🔥is manager could tout him ༒around for the best deal.

Michael Laverty said to﷽ TNT Sports about the job o🏅f Vinales’ manager now: “You are rubbing your hands together. He is now the leading man in the Aprilia story.

“It was all about the captain. Maverick joined the team and was a se𓄧cond wheel to Aleix who developed the bike, won their first race, battled♕ for their first title.

“But he never did it with the dominance of Maꦏverick [last] weekend.

“The shift came after Qata𒁃r. He went to Portugal and he’s been on it♍.

“His stock valueꦺ at the mom▨ent? Getting it pushed up.

“Obviously he has earned well over the years as a fꦉactor﷽y Yamaha rider.

“Now it’s getting🔯 the seat, never mind getting paid well for it.

“He’s one of the leading contenders.”

Vinales is in his 10th season as a MotoGP rider but hasn’t bꦬeen strongly linked with a move away from Aprilia.

The Italian ma💧nufacturer, in the space of a fortnight, might have gone from consideri🤪ng whether to axe Vinales, to desperately working out how to keep him.