Marco Bezzecchi
Maverick Vinales fell well short of the expectations laid out for him after a strong pre-season test programme, and fingers are being pointed at his performance coach and three-time MotoGP champion, Jorge Lorenzo.
Ahead of the 2026 MotoGP season-opener in Thailand, KTM insiders were under the impression that Maverick Vinales would topple Pedro Acosta as the Austrian constructor’s lead rider.
After the final chequered flag fell in Buriram, their predictions couldn’t have been further from the mark.
Acosta achieved the most lucrative weekend of his premier class career in points scored over the race weekend, securing a Sprint race victory and Grand Prix podium to take charge of the MotoGP standings, while Vinales languished outside of the points-paying positions.
Predict the order of the KTM riders in the 2026 MotoGP standings
Livio Suppo says Jorge Lorenzo’s ‘cure’ for Maverick Vinales is simply not working
In a recent interview with Motosprint, former MotoGP team boss Livio Suppo was asked who he thought was the biggest disappointment at the season-opener, and his answer was the Tech3 rider.
“Despite thousands of hours of winter training and Jorge Lorenzo’s help, he had a disastrous weekend,” said Livio. “I hope he recovers quickly because he is really falling short of expectations.”
“He was the first to go fast with KTM in 2025. Maverick has been around for many years and has alternated between excellent and poor performances for many years. For now, Jorge’s cure is not working.”
Can Jorge Lorenzo bring back the ‘killer’ in Maverick Vinales in 2026?
Top Gun was furious with his own performance in Buriram, and he made it clear that there was ‘nothing’ that Lorenzo could do to help him under the circumstances.
Instead, Vinales is hoping to beat Acosta by jumping onto the same bike as him for the next round in Brazil.
Whether this provides an uptick in results for the Spaniard remains to be seen, but it’s a natural step in finding out whether he is able to match Acosta’s impressive results from Buriram or continue to falter.
Enea Bastianini has highlighted how KTM are favouring Acosta with the development direction of the RC16, so the Spaniard may also be suffering from being forced into racing atop a bike that isn’t catered to his specific riding style.
Maverick Vinales may have pulled off a masterstroke in securing a factory KTM seat for 2027
With Acosta’s departure to Ducati all but officially confirmed, Vinales looks like he is KTM’s priority to move up to the factory KTM squad in replacement of the young Murcian.
Alex Marquez is expected to partner with Vinales, but the early signing of a deal may actually have been a masterstroke from the experienced Spaniard.
Of course, KTM may be able to figure out some sort of exit deal for Vinales if they are completely against the idea of him occupying a seat at the factory team next year, especially if his results continue to disappoint the top brass in Mattighofen.
There are still 21 rounds left to be contested, so he has plenty of time to show his new team exactly why they made the right decision in signing him over the vast amount of talents who are unlikely to secure a race seat for next year.
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