Marco Bezzecchi
The Grand Prix of Qatar burst into life and offered a fantastic spectacle for fans in Lusail as Maverick Vinales competed for victory.
Nobody expected the Spaniard to push Marc Marquez for victory at the front, after Tech3’s struggles to start the season.
The KTM bike has been unsatisfactory for most of the 2025 campaign but turned up with a completely different level of speed at the Grand Prix of Qatar.
Vinales sprung to the front and led until Marquez passed him with a few laps to go. He then hung onto second place ahead of Francesco Bagnaia comfortably.
Vinales had been ‘frustrated’ with KTM following their lack of positive development over the winter and subsequent speed to start the season.
Vinales ‘modified’ his Tech3 in an attempt to try and extract more pace from it, and it appears his work finally paid off in the Middle East.
Neil Hodgson claims Tech3 ‘expected’ Maverick Vinales not to fight for victory in Qatar
Following the elation of an unexpected second place in Qatar, doubt was soon cast over the result as the riders made their way back to the pits.
Vinales was placed under investigation for a tyre pressure infringement – something which carries a 16-second penalty usually.
With no quick solution from the stewards, he was allowed to celebrate his result on the podium until the matter had been looked into further.
TNT Sports’ Neil Hodgson offered an explanation as to how he and Tech3 managed to break the rules in the first place.
“They will have set the tyre pressure for him not to be leading, not to have a gap. Cool air on the front tyre that’s exactly what will have happened,” he said.
“They’ll have expected him of course they’ll have expected him to be in a group, in a battle, in a fight. What does that mean then? Well, that means there’s more temperature on your front tyre, the pressure goes up.”
READ MORE: Maverick Vinales has ‘a problem’ at KTM Tech3 after comparing Sepang Test to Pedro Acosta
Why Maverick Vinales’ Qatar Grand Prix performance was such a shock for KTM Tech3
With his incredible result, Vinales would have moved into the top 10 of the riders’ standings with 26 points – the leading KTM rider.
That’s despite failing to finish higher than 12th in a race before Qatar, where he had been expected to continue that run of form.
Sadly, a confirmation of a post-race penalty demoted him to 14th, but he gets to keep both the trophy and his podium bonus.
To be fighting for victory all of a sudden was an utter surprise. He used his tyres a little bit too much in the battle with Marquez at the front but still had plenty left to fend off Bagnaia. It was a measured performance.
Consequently, his team would have been second in the constructors’ before his demotion. It’s a promising sign for the Austrian manufacturer.
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