Marco Bezzecchi
While Pedro Acosta took charge of the MotoGP standings at the season-opening Thailand Grand Prix, Maverick Vinales languished in 16th place, and the Spaniard can’t see a way in which his coach and three-time premier class world champion, Jorge Lorenzo, can help him.
After announcing that Jorge Lorenzo would be his coach for the 2026 MotoGP campaign, Maverick Vinales emerged as one to watch for the KTM-backed Tech3 satellite outfit.
It was even revealed that some KTM staff members were backing Vinales to beat Pedro Acosta over the course of the season, which is now looking like a tall order despite there being just one round in the books so far.
MotoGP journalist Mela Chercoles also revealed that the partnership between Vinales and Lorenzo is one that not many people in the paddock currently understand, with many paddock figures even taking bets on how long they will last together.
While it sounded fairly trivial at the time, Vinales’ latest comments indicate that the partnership may be a lot more fragile than first thought.
- READ MORE: Jorge Lorenzo bets Pedro Acosta’s manager that Maverick Vinales will beat him at KTM in 2026
Pedro Acosta leads the championship for the first time in his career after his P2 in Thailand. Will he be a genuine contender this season?
Let us know in the comments below!
Maverick Vinales says Jorge Lorenzo can’t help him after a dismal performance at the Thailand Grand Prix
Following the conclusion of the opening round of the 2026 MotoGP season, Vinales couldn’t help but let his frustrations out to the journalists in attendance.
One of the questions he fielded referred to the deterioration of his pace at the Thailand Grand Prix when compared to what he was achieving in pre-season testing. The Spaniard answered, via GPOne, “I’m not sure.
“I can’t stay on the track. It’s very complicated, because one lap I’m off and the next I’m on. There’s no speed. I don’t need a reset. I need to race, and today I didn’t. I just tried to stay on track for thirteen laps.”
He was then asked whether he will now go back to the drawing board with Lorenzo to figure out what he can now improve on for the following round in Brazil, to which he replied, “There’s nothing Jorge can do.
“If you’re battling, that’s one thing, but this is unacceptable. I don’t know how it is for Enea [Bastianini], but, as a rider, this is unacceptable for me. We’ll see.”
Ahead of the season-opener, Bastianini urged KTM to look beyond prioritising Acosta when planning future upgrades for the RC16.
However, with Acosta now the first-ever KTM rider to lead the MotoGP standings in the constructor’s history, it remains to be seen whether they will take his advice into account.
Who was your rider of the day for the Thailand Grand Prix? 🏍️
Let us know in the comments below!
Guenther Steiner is optimistic in his new role at Tech3 after seeing Pedro Acosta win the Buriram Sprint race
The Tech3 outfit went through a period of change over the winter break, following Herve Poncharal’s sale of the team to a consortium led by former F1 team boss Guenther Steiner.
Ahead of the Grand Prix on Sunday, the Italian executive highlighted his optimism for the rest of the year, while noting that Acosta’s calibre of performances for the factory outfit should start to translate to the satellite team.
He told TNT Sports, “Really looking forward to it. Obviously, the Sprint race yesterday was not what we expected, but it’s difficult to do when you start from where we start.
“I mean, it was all done in qualifying, but, no, really looking forward to building on what we have. Herve Poncharal left us with a good team, and we just need to put some work in now to try to get a little bit more forward.
“The bikes can do it, Pedro Acosta won yesterday on the same bike, so we just need to deliver.”
Receive racing news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
