High tension at KTM: Steiner tough on Vinales, Acosta at the limit: "Too many problems"

Certainly, things are far from calm at KTM right now, between ongoing technical issues and rider tension.

Let’s start with Vinales’ words, as he considers KTM solely responsible for his potential farewell to MotoGP: comments that did not go down well. The Spanish rider’s frustration is evident, as he now fears being left without a seat, coupled with a physical condition that is still far from perfect. Today brought a strong response from Gunther Steiner, the new owner of Tech3 Racing this year, who notes that the situation is still entirely undecided, pointing to “a lot of emotion” behind words that might not help in making choices for next season. Then there are the now all-too-frequent technical problems—two more today on Acosta’s RC16: this time different from the past and officially explained by Aki Ajo, but the Spaniard is still seeking answers for what happened in Brno.

“I don’t think it’s the smartest thing to do, and I actually don’t know why he said it... if you don’t have a choice, if you’re a beggar, you can’t afford to choose.” Speaking to motogp.com, Gunther Steiner responded directly to the words of his current Spanish rider. “Maybe he didn’t think it through when he said it. I’m sure it doesn’t help. And blaming KTM seems a bit too much to me,” he continued, also admitting that “Is KTM maybe an Aprilia or a Ducati at the moment? No. But the performance is there,” he added, citing Acosta and Bastianini as examples. “So it’s not only KTM’s fault. I don’t know what was going through his head—maybe he was very emotional, because there’s a chance he won’t be in MotoGP next year, and emotions took over,” he concluded.

The Sprint turned problematic due to an early off-track error, but prior to that Acosta had experienced two separate issues with the RC16. Aki Ajo later explained: “When Pedro went over the curbs, it triggered the emergency mode, which caused the bike to stop. The issue is resolved.” Before the Sprint he also added a detail: “I want to stress it has nothing to do with the Barcelona problem.” Pedro Acosta, however, remains puzzled by the situation he’s facing. “Something has to change, we’ve had too many technical problems from Barcelona to now,” he said, as reported by Motosan. He then added that “Today’s problems are new and they have an answer.” The questions for KTM, however, remain: “I still haven’t had an answer for what happened in Brno. So who’s to say it can’t happen again?”