Top Gun 2, the sequel to the film that launched Tom Cruise, is about to hit theaters. For this reason Maverick Viñales will take to the track in Jerez, in MotoGP, with a very special “Replica” helmet
Manuel Cecconi
April 30, 2022 | 12:22 (Edited Apr 30, 2022 | 14:41)
The Kawasaki GPZ 900R zooms across the runway as the F-14 takes off, unleashing the power of its twin General Electric turbojets. On board – not the plane, but the motorcycle – is Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, a talented but undisciplined US Navy lieutenant who, between breathtaking maneuvers and a few too many stunts, hunts down Soviet MiGs with his Tomcat. It’s one of the most famous scenes from Top Gun, Tony Scott’s blockbuster that brought Tom Cruise to the big screen in 1986: the American actor, now ready to blow out sixty candles, returns aboard a US Navy jet in Top Gun: Maverick return. the highly anticipated sequel, hitting European cinemas in late May 2022. And just to celebrate the release of the film, directed by Joseph Kosinski, ‘the other’ Maverick, the Aprilia Viñales, will be wearing a helmet at Jerez. Replica”.
Vinales and fate in that name
–
Among the many fans who have been enthralled by Pete Mitchell’s aerial combat on his F-14 over these 36 years is Angel Viñales, father of the two-wheeled “Top Gun”, who even decided to name his son by the nickname of the character played by Tom Cruise (which in turn comes from the nickname of the Agm-65 Maverick air-to-surface missile). Could it be a coincidence that the Spanish ace, like his film namesake, is a mixture of genius and recklessness? Jokes aside, the Figueres driver has played with this connection many times, for example by sticking the film’s logo on the back of his leather suit. On the occasion of the release of Top Gun 2, Maverick has decided to go one step further and wear a “replica” helmet that will send fans into jujube soup: the Arai RX-7V Racing that Viñales will take to the track will bring the end Jerez Week picks up on the iconic graphics used by Tom Cruise in the film.
Top Gun Replica
–
It was Maverick himself who revealed his celebratory arai in an Instagram post: “Guys, I’m really excited to show you guys something really cool!” He proudly explained in a short video: “With Top Gun 2 coming out, we’ve got something prepared… it’s a Top Gun replica, the replica of Maverick. You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to use it! It’s a great honor for me, I’ll be wearing it at the Jerez Grand Prix, so… stay connected! “. Tom Cruise, on the other hand, after seeing the video on Instagram, wrote with a message to the Aprilia driver: “Good luck on the track, from one Maverick to the other…”.
Vinales on an F-18
–
Curiously, a few years ago, Viñales had the opportunity to fly an F-18 Hornet, the aircraft that replaced the F-14 on the decks of American aircraft carriers and that Tom Cruise/Pete Mitchell uses in the second chapter of the saga. It was the year 2015, the occasion on the eve of the Aragon Grand Prix: Maverick, then a young promise of Suzuki, was invited by the Ejército del Aire – the Spanish Air Force – to the Zaragoza Air Force Base, the headquarters of the 15 ° Stormo Ala 15, for a “ride” on a Hornet with Captain Javier Barcala. Which also seemed to give Viñales the thrill of supersonic passage, the same emotion that Ayrton Senna felt aboard a Brazilian Mirage 26 years earlier.
April 30, 2022 (Change April 30, 2022 | 14:41)
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED