Marco Bezzecchi
Maverick Vinales has revealed that he plans to use the same bike as Pedro Acosta in the upcoming MotoGP races after admitting that he got his set-up wrong at the season-opening Thailand Grand Prix.
Following an off-season that was largely spent in training with three-time premier class title-winner Jorge Lorenzo, Maverick Vinales was tipped to snatch Pedro Acosta’s status as the lead rider for the KTM stable in 2026.
However, the first round of the season in Buriram proved that the 21-year-old is still a few steps ahead of his rivals, with Acosta emerging from the race weekend as the championship leader, while Vinales failed to score a single point.
The Tech3 rider had a lot of expectations for himself ahead of the new season, and they were high following a relatively strong showing from Vinales in pre-season testing.
After being brought down to earth at the Thailand Grand Prix, Vinales has outlined how he plans to reduce the deficit Acosta already has over him in the championship standings.
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Maverick Vinales says he can use the bike his ‘teammates’ are riding after admitting Thailand error
In an interview with Marca at an MMA event over the weekend, Vinales highlighted his frustrations from the recent race weekend, as well as detailing how he will “rectify” it in the coming Grands Prix.
“Obviously, I wasn’t happy,” the 10-time premier class Grand Prix winner said. “I worked all winter with one goal in mind, which was to go for the top positions, and we were very far from that.
“So, you can’t be happy when the goal has been different throughout the preparation, but it’s true that it’s a very specific race.
“I spent the entire preseason working in one direction, on a bike that I was confident would work, but in the end, it didn’t work out. It was my mistake; I was wrong to choose those parts, but the good thing is that I can rectify it.
“I can use the bike that my teammates are riding, which seems to work a little better. Obviously, it feels bad because it’s the first race, but there are still many races left to make up for it.”
The only issue with shifting towards the same bike as his stablemates is that it may not suit the riding style that Vinales races with.
His Tech3 teammate Enea Bastianini drew an issue with KTM favouring Acosta during the development of the RC16 over the winter break, urging the Austrian constructor to look beyond the young Spaniard and towards the rest of the riders in their stable.
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Many MotoGP figures think the partnership between Maverick Vinales and Jorge Lorenzo will end soon
Vinales’ fury with his performance in Thailand was evident in the post-race comments he gave, highlighting how there’s ‘nothing’ that Lorenzo could have done to help him get into a points-paying position at the chequered flag.
While his verdict at the time would have been fuelled by the adrenaline in his system, many think that Vinales’ partnership with the three-time world champion is already on the rocks.
Neil Hodgson predicts there to be a split by round five in Jerez, and bets have reportedly been made by other personnel within the MotoGP paddock over the longevity of the collaboration.
As he alluded to in his comments, Vinales still has a lot of time to turn his woes around this year, but the same can’t be said for the relationship with his new performance coach.
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