Marco Bezzecchi
Maverick Vinales entered the KTM fold during the 2025 MotoGP season by signing for satellite team Tech3, and the Spaniard even upstaged Brad Binder early in the season.
KTM moved to award Vinales and Enea Bastianini two-year factory contracts to join Tech3 in 2025 after their respective departures from the works Aprilia and Ducati teams. Their swoop for Vinales initially looked like a dream deal, too, as he immediately got results on the RC16.
Vinales achieved two top-five finishes in the first 10 rounds of the 2025 MotoGP season, and he almost secured a podium in that run, as well. Pedro Acosta only got KTM’s first podium in round 12, but Vinales lost P2 in the Qatar Grand Prix over illegal tyre pressures in round four.
Binder did not score a single podium throughout the 22 rounds of the 2025 season, marking the first time that the 30-year-old has ever failed to earn one rostrum in a season. The South African also did not secure a top-five finish until his season-best P4 in Indonesia in round 18.
Maverick Vinales urges KTM to improve how the rear of their bike slides under braking
It was even said that KTM considered swapping Binder with Tech3’s Vinales, given their form during the 2025 season. The Austrian outfit ultimately did not make the switch after Vinales dislocated and fractured his shoulder at the German Grand Prix, which ruined his campaign.
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Now, Vinales admits that his shoulder injury made him adapt how he rode the KTM RC16, as the Spaniard could not brake with the same force with which he was able to perform during the early races. The injury even made Vinales realise how much the KTM slides the rear tyre.
Vinales said, via Motorsport.com: “The curious thing is that before [the injury] I was over-riding all the problems. Now that I’m not able to over-ride the problems, I can feel it really well where we have to improve.
“Before, if the bike didn’t stop, no problem. I put all the effort on every braking, and I made it stop. But now that I have no strength, I can see very well where we have to improve.
“What I would like for next year to improve is the deceleration. For me, it seems that we use a lot of rear tyre sliding, sliding. From my experience, this is not the way because then you overheat the tyres or the brakes, and then you don’t have grip on the exit of the corner.”
Brad Binder has struggled with how the KTM RC16 uses the rear Michelin tyre since 2024
Vinales’ concerns about how the KTM RC16 treats the rear Michelin tyre are not new fears, either. KTM suffered issues with the rear tyre during pre-season at Buriram back in February, with Binder and Acosta both struggling to keep any life in the rubber for a prolonged period.
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The Austrian team’s issues also persisted throughout the 2025 MotoGP season, to the bane of their riders. Binder admitted he “finished” his tyre in Japan, having suffered chatter issues and wheelspin even when he stood his bike upright around Motegi during September’s race.
In fact, the origin of Binder’s issues with the rear Michelin tyre goes back to 2024 when the French manufacturer introduced the super-grippy rear rubber. Binder has forever struggled to overcome how the grippy rear tyre pushes the front and puts him at risk of crashing out.
Binder will now hope that KTM can finally find a solution with Vinales’ help, now that he is also suffering the same problems with the rear of the RC16 sliding under braking – despite previously being one of the South African’s strengths due to his superb late-braking ability.
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