Maverick Vinales reveals he ‘modified’ his Tech3 bike in one way to match the pace of KTM’s factory riders

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KTM showed a slight improvement in pace at the Argentina Grand Prix but still have a long way to go with their MotoGP bikes in 2025.

Both factory riders were classified in the top eight after Ai Ogura’s disqualification and Tech3 nearly managed to make the top 10 too.

After a disappointing qualifying session, Maverick Vinales managed to turn their weekend around with an excellent performance on Sunday.

Enea Bastianini has been way off the pace and struggled since joining them. He was at the back of the pack and is going to come under pressure to find improvements soon.

Vinales urged KTM to investigate Bastianini’s Thailand Grand Prix after his teammate had a better race than him.

The tables turned at the Argentina Grand Prix again and it seems that the ex-Ducati rider struggled again as he had done during pre-season testing.

READ MORE: Maverick Vinales’ KTM Tech3 tests show ‘many ways’ he was right to leave Aprilia

Maverick Vinales ‘modified’ his Tech3 bike to enjoy a better Argentina Grand Prix

Just two races into the 2025 MotoGP season and there’s already quite a clear picture forming regarding the pecking order.

Honda and Aprilia appear to be fighting for second fastest honours, with KTM just behind and Yamaha in last place again.

After qualifying down in 20th, Vinales wanted to find a solution for the race. The Spaniard found one and it helped him to gain eight places on Sunday.

“On Saturday night, thinking about how to improve the sensations I had slightly modified my position on the bike and it worked as it allowed me to maintain a sustained speed in the corners and stop the bike,” he told GPOne.

“Of course, the position is not what I wanted, but as a pace, we didn’t do too bad. The pace was the same as the official KTM riders who have more experience on the RC16 and that is a good sign.”

READ MORE: KTM Tech3 boss tells Enea Bastianini to change one thing about his riding style to achieve his ‘huge potential’

Can the KTM teams improve before the end of the 2025 MotoGP season?

KTM’s financial situation means that their development and upgrade path over the winter hasn’t been as optimal as usual.

It’s showing on the track too. Their rivals appear to have made better steps than them and they finding themselves in the lower half of the top 10 now.

There was an expectation, particularly after securing five podiums on the satellite Tech3 bike, that Pedro Acosta would be able to at least match his tally from last season.

On current pace, it looks like he will struggle to achieve one. The Tech3 machines he was on last year appear to be even further behind.

Now that their restructuring plan has been approved, they should be able to start making some gains. It could take a while for them to show up on track, though.