Maverick Vinales against KTM: "They fooled me

Tension is rising in the MotoGP paddock as the rider market heats up with the first official announcements. Several riders risk being left without a seat for the 2027 season, including Maverick Vinales. On the eve of the Assen GP, the Spanish rider nearly lost his temper with his manufacturer KTM, which he claims is guilty of making false promises.

Vinales is recovering from a shoulder injury sustained last year. This season he has collected only 7 points in the standings after nine race weekends, with just three finishes in the points and never cracking the top 10. It’s been an uphill championship for the KTM rider, who now risks being “unemployed” for the next World Championship. The Assen round could be crucial in deciding his future, as the Tech3 satellite team still has one of its two seats to assign.

Maverick’s strategy is clear: "What really matters are the last ten minutes of Friday’s free practice, so I’ll try to focus all my energy on that. It’s a bit like Marquez’s strategy at Mugello or in Hungary: keep a steady pace, don’t tire yourself out too much, and push hard only when necessary," confirmed the Roses rider.

From a psychological standpoint, the situation is anything but easy. After all, Vinales also skipped Monday’s test in Brno, where other riders have already tried the new Pirelli tires and will therefore have an advantage in adapting to the new MotoGP era. It’s all quiet in Mattighofen, where they seem inclined to radically change their rider line-up. "I haven’t heard anything from KTM. The market is moving and signings are being made official, but there’s no news about me. The fact they didn’t even allow me to do the test makes the situation clear: as of today, I see myself out."

The Austrian strategy seems clear; between KTM and Vinales the end credits appear to be rolling. "It makes no sense for me to stay if, being one of the few riders who could have stayed and tested the new 850cc, in the end they didn’t allow me to do it." At this point, the Catalan releases the brakes and speaks freely to the media. "They messed me around for two weeks, telling me I would test it. In the end they decided Pedro Acosta would do it. They justified it by saying they didn’t consider me fit and preferred I didn’t test it. The reality is that I’m a tenth of a second slower than Pedro."

Moreover, no top executive from the brand reportedly contacted Maverick Vinales to announce the decision. "No one from the team called me directly to say: ‘Look, Pedro will test it.’ They simply changed their minds, after telling me two weeks earlier that I would be the one to test it. With details like these, things are pretty clear to me."

But the market moves seem all but settled, and for the 31-year-old from Figueres the ominous shadow of a MotoGP farewell is drawing near. "It’s becoming hard to believe what they say. In reality, I ended up learning most things from the press and not from the team. No one spoke to me directly to explain the direction they intend to take... If I have to leave the World Championship, there’s only one party to blame, and that’s KTM. If they knew from the start that I wouldn’t be in the factory team, they should have let me go then so I could find my own path. Finding out this way makes everything much more complicated."

A move to SBK is ruled out. "If I received an offer for a factory Ducati, I’d do anything. Otherwise, I don’t see myself racing in Superbike. I have nothing left to prove on a bike... there are a thousand other things to do, and the world doesn’t end here," Vinales concluded. "My life outside racing? I imagine it peaceful, with my daughters and my wife, and trying to compete in other aspects of life, because the competitive spirit is something you carry inside you."

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