When Viñales arrived at KTM, he showed himself as one of the leaders of the Austrian firm. In fact, he achieved a podium in Qatar, which was the fourth race of the year, although he was penalized for his tire pressures. Then, in Jerez, another fourth place, fifth in France, some problems in Aragon and Italy and another fifth in Assen before reaching the turning point, which was the German GP.
He arrived in tenth position as the second KTM rider and with good prospects, until a fall on the water caused a serious shoulder injury. From then on things became very complicated, because despite his return things did not work well. So much so that he had to stop again before facing the last part of the season, to reappear in Valencia and be able to carry out the tests.
This preseason things seemed to be starting better and, in fact, in the first tests it was quite competitive. But from there everything began to go wrong again with a shoulder that caused problems, and for which he had to undergo surgery again. Added to this was that after the operation, the recovery was not on the right track either, and that KTM decided to dispense with him for 2027 when it was assumed that he would continue with the Austrian manufacturer.
After the Austrian test, Viñales is ready for the Japanese GP
In the end he had to miss another four GPs and had not competed since the German GP, which had given rise to speculation that even predicted that Viñales would not get back on the KTM. Fortunately they were not right, and now it is official that the Catalan will compete in the Japanese GP.
He was present at the tests in Austria, although he did not do it with the 850, but with the current motorcycle to be tested. Now he will have to finish the season with seven GPs before losing his place as a permanent rider in MotoGP, to remove the thorn in a project that started in an exciting way and has not gone as everyone expected.
Even so, Viñales is happy and grateful for being able to compete again, although he claims to not be in his best version yet: «I am very happy to finally be able to say that I am returning to racing. The last few months have been a long process and I have worked hard every day to get here.
I’m not 100% yet, but I’m on the right track and I feel ready to take this next step. In Motegi it will be about moving forward step by step, evaluating my physical condition and recovering sensations on the bike.
I especially want to thank the entire Red Bull APC team and my doctors for all their work and support during my recovery. “I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike and competing again.”
For his part, it was not the controversial Guenther Steiner, who has had serious clashes with Maverick, who made the Tech3 statements but rather Nicolas Goyon, the team’s Team Manager: «We are very happy to confirm that Maverick will return with us in Japan. From the beginning of this process, our priority has been to support his recovery and ensure he returned when he was ready, rather than rushing the process.
It’s been a longer road than we initially expected, but Maverick has worked very hard throughout his rehabilitation, and it’s great to see him now ready to get back on the grid. We know that returning after such a long period of absence will take some time, so we will support Maverick throughout the weekend and allow him to regain his rhythm step by step. At the same time, it is fantastic for the whole team to have our full driver line-up back, and we are looking forward to getting back to work with Maverick at Motegi.”
