While Espargaro has taken the RS-GP to five podiums, including ♈a first MotoGP viꦬctory, this season, it is also the Spaniard’s sixth year with the Italian team.

Meanwhile Vinales only joined the proje💜ct one year ago, meaning his p🀅rogression has been closely watched by Oliveira and Fernandez as they weighed up their future plans.

After racing inline-four powered machines for Suzuki and then Yamaha from 2015 💞unti𒉰l midway through 2021, Vinales now has 18 races (effectively one whole season) under his belt on the V4-powered Aprilia.

Although compromised by his qualifying form, Vina♉les has stead෴ily closed the gap to Espargaro, culminating in back-to-back podiums at Assen and Silverstone.

“It's very hard to analyse from the outside,” Oliveira said. “But I think looking at Vinales really helped me to understand more the potential of the [Aprilia] bec🔴ause Aleix has spent so many years there and he knows it perfectly.

“But Vinales coming from his entire career in MotoGP🍸 with inline engines, that ♋really made it quite interesting when he jumped on the bike, to perform already in a very good level.

“So that maybe convinced me mღore than probably Aleix’s results.

“Leไt's see how we fit, of course every move is based on a little bit of faith and hope t𒈔hat it will work out.”

Fernandez, currently entering the final third o☂f what has so far been a to🦹ugh rookie season at Tech3 KTM, added:

“I think like Miguel 🐼said, Aleix has many, many, years with that bike, so I see more the Maverick Vinales season as quite interesting - how he evolved on the bike, his feeling and the results.

“I thi♐nk this is more important. Aleix did an amওazing year, but I [looked] more at how Maverick has managed the situation.”

• 2023 MotoGP Woღrld Championship - Rider line-up so far

Oliveira, a four-time MotoGP winner for KTM, added that timing in terms of his career and the w🅘armth shown by Apri⛦lia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola also helped clinch the deal.

“For sure the timing was one big, big factor,” he said. “I felt I could have the chance to maybe try another machine and a very compet🃏itive one. So that made me really think and be tempted to accept this offer.

“Also I felt a ver🅘y, very warm welcome by Massimo. 🌌Massimo really maybe added the extra ingredient to convince me.

“But it's for sure a great pleasure to be invo💫lved in the next two years in a different project and in a bike ✨that already proved that can be very consistent through every weekend and every racetrack.”

Oliveira ‘grateful’ to KTM for GASGAS offer

While Oliveira looked destined to join RNF Aprilia fo♈r months, KTM then made a renewed last-minute bid to tempt him to joi꧙n the rebranded GASGAS Tech3 team.

“The intention of KTM keeping me in the project was there since eve🦄n they announce Jack [Miller] for the factory seat,” Oliveira said. “At that time there was no idea on how the team would be called GASGAS or Tech3. So at that moment my decision was quite clear.

“Throughout the process, of course, I was given the green light to look for other seats, and I did. And during this tim🎶e there was no further developments with KTM until the Spielberg weekend where they made the last offer and the last push to keep me.”

Although Oliveira ultimately turned ꦇdown the rumoured three-year deal, he appreciated the effo🐽rt put in to try and keep him.

“After sev💜en years of relationship we don't want to end things in an abrupt way or without giving a fight I think,” Oliveira said. “The late efforts that KTM made to keep me within the family was super fair.

“I'm very proud of the relationship we built throughout these years. We were always very transparent in these negotiations, giving feedback to them and from their side also they were every time very transparent🍎 [with me].

“So I'm really pl𓃲eased and really proud that we have built this strong relationship. Andꦺ the world is round, you never know the next day so… Everything will remain in a good relationship [between us].

“I have 🗹nothing else to add but appreciation and very grateful for their effort.”