– Maverick Vinales will miss the MotoGP weekend in Silverstone (Great Britain). KTM has nominated test rider Pol Espargaro as a replacement. The press release currently only refers to this race weekend.
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“That is of course not the news we wanted to announce after the summer break,” Tech3 team manager Nicolas Goyon is quoted as saying. “The whole team is very sad for Maverick, but Pol has long been part of the Tech3 family.”
“Under these circumstances, he is certainly the right replacement rider. We wish Maverick a speedy recovery and hope to see him back on the bike at the next race in Aragon.”
Vinales is also quoted in this press release issued by KTM and Tech3. The previous week he underwent an examination at the Red Bull Athlete Performance Centre to clarify why his left shoulder is healing so slowly.
“During the summer break, we continued to look for the reason why I did not regain strength in the external rotation of my left arm, while the internal rotation had significantly improved over the past months.”
“Further medical examinations showed that my supraspinatus is fully healed, but I also have a small tear in the infraspinatus, which we only discovered last week.”
“We are now working on the best possible recovery plan. These are not good news, as the second part of the season is now starting. I don’t know how long it will take, but I will, as always, put everything into this recovery.”
Espargaro can understand Vinales’ situation
For Espargaro, Silverstone is his first race appearance in the 2026 MotoGP season. He knows from his own experience how difficult it is to return to top form after injuries.
At the 2023 season opener in Portimao, Espargaro crashed heavily and had to pause until summer. In the second half of the season, he struggled to get fit and regain his performance.
“I was in his position, and I came back to race even though I knew I wasn’t at one hundred percent,” says Espargaro. “I have experienced exactly the same thing in the past that happened to him.”
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“I came back even though my body was super weak. I tried to perform, but I knew I wasn’t performing. Nothing was good, but I tried.”
“So riders always try to give their best, and I believe Maverick is really trying.” Espargaro also confirmed on Thursday in Silverstone that he had contact with Vinales and spoke with him.
“When you get injured in this sport, it’s tricky because it’s not like a team sport, for example football, where if you don’t perform, you have teammates who can take your position.”
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“You have more time to recover, and you are not under as much pressure as here,” Espargaro compares the situation with team sports. Vinales already took a break in spring to have surgery on his shoulder.
Since his comeback in Barcelona, an eleventh place has been his best result. Otherwise, there are two 15th places and a 13th place in the statistics. Too little to get a contract for 2027.
However, Espargaro can understand that Vinales wanted to race: “I mean, that’s a tricky story, because if you don’t race, no one sees you and you have no place.”
“But if you come back injured and get bad results, people don’t want you because you get bad results, so there is no good ending in this situation.”
“So, I understand the whole situation, but what I am one hundred percent convinced of is that Maverick is much better than he has shown in the last races.”
“Since the injury last year, Maverick has been struggling, and certainly what he shows on the track is far, miles away from what he can actually achieve.”
Espargaro mainly occupied with 850 development
Espargaro traveled directly from Italy to Great Britain. As recently as Wednesday, he tested the new 850 prototype from KTM with Pirelli tires for next year in Mugello.
It has also been several months since the 35-year-old last rode the current 1,000 with Michelin tires. That was at the end of January at the shakedown test in Sepang (Malaysia).
If Vinales has to pause longer than just for Silverstone, it could become a problem if Espargaro constantly has to switch between the 850 and the 1,000 motorcycle and especially between Pirelli and Michelin tires.
“Yes, that is a tricky situation for us, that’s for sure, because we are deeply involved in this 850 project,” says Espargaro. “We are trying to understand how Maverick’s situation is at the moment.”
“Whether Maverick can come back or not, and when he will come back, whether he will be well or not, but at the moment we are just waiting. I only came here to Silverstone for one race, we will see at the next one. We all hope that Maverick comes back as soon as possible.”
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