What we learned from Vinales on his sudden MotoGP return
Maverick Vinales is finally back in MotoGP action this weekend at the Japanese Grand Prix, having missed the past four rounds of the series as he continues to work on the long-term rehabilitation of his shoulder injury.
While bikes might not yet have headed out on track in anger at Motegi, there’s still plenty that we already learned from the Tech3 KTM rider’s return to the paddock as he caught the media up on events since his last appearance at the German Grand Prix in mid-July.
No targets except finish
Coming as his first time on a MotoGP bike in months (expect for a brief test in Austria - more on that later), Vinales is adamant about one thing: there’s absolutely no pressure on him this weekend.
Still carrying the after-effects of repeated surgeries to the shoulder he broke at the Sachsenring 15 months ago and still physically weak, he says Motegi is more about measuring his condition than scoring points or podiums.
"I have no expectations," he explained. "My expectation is to finish the race.
"This is my target. It’s a long time since I rode the bike. I did a little test, and actually I felt good, but it was just a few laps. I am curious to understand, because it seems the bike is working quite well."
He hasn’t given up on MotoGP…
Now officially out of a ride for next year (with Tech3 confirming Luca Marini and rookie Senna Agius in his absence), Vinales is now adamant that his time in MotoGP is not necessarily over.
Still clearly very bitter at KTM for the way in which his departure has been handled, with Vinales initially believing that he was going to be kept only for the Austrian factory to admit that wasn’t the case even while enforcing a no-compete clause in his contract, he says that he’s hopeful there will be a way to find his route back.
“Obviously I am not done yet here,” he stressed. “I have many objectives to achieve. Obviously there is no more space [on the 2027 grid], because of the move of KTM they left me out and it was too late, I could not have any other chance.
“But you never know in the future, and here many things happen. Maybe a door can open, so my first objective is to recover, to be fully in shape so that I can push at the maximum, then we will see.”
… But he’s enjoyed his time at home
Perhaps somewhat contradictory to his insistence that he hasn’t given up on MotoGP just yet, though, was Vinales’ delight at how much he enjoyed his time spent at home the past few months.
“I felt so good,” he admitted. “Unfortunately, I felt so good. No travel, with my family, training a lot.
“The only thing I missed a lot was the bike. That feeling when you go to the limit and push. It was like two months without riding the bike, because I didn’t want to risk to make any strange movements that created any inflammation.
“But when I jumped on the [Yamaha] R1 on a race track, woah. That feeling is what is keeping me in MotoGP. That feeling is nice.”
KTM let him ride the 850
One thing that came as a bit of a surprise was the news that, despite all the bad blood between Vinales and KTM of late, KTM still let him try out next year’s 850cc prototype when he joined the post-race test at the Red Bull Ring last month in order to prepare himself for his Motegi return.
Jumping onto the bike for only a few laps, he echoed what many of the others involved in developing the new machines have already told the media: that next year’s bikes will be much, much easier to ride than the current generation of MotoGP.
“I tried it,” he explained, “and it’s so easy to ride. I rode a few laps. I did 11 in a row, and it was like nothing! It’s so nice, the feeling with the bike. It’s like a Moto2 bike with a good engine, so beautiful!”
