The sporting director of KTM, Pit Beirer, has confirmed that negotiations with Maverick Vinales have broken down after the Spanish rider learned that the available seat for MotoGP 2027 was at Tech3 and not with the factory team.
Recently, Vinales has made several accusations against KTM, openly blaming the Austrian manufacturer for leaving him without a seat for the upcoming season.
Before the German Grand Prix is held this weekend, Vinales stated that he had signed a contract extension with KTM, but was later informed that this contract was no longer valid.
Beirer has responded to Vinales’ recent statements highlighting the importance for KTM to sign Fabio di Giannantonio and Alex Marquez for the factory team while they were available. However, he did not mention having offered him a firm contract for any of KTM’s MotoGP teams.
“It’s no secret that we expected [Vinales] to be one of the factory riders in the future,” Beirer stated during the official MotoGP coverage. “Last summer, we were discussing it and we opened that door. He told us ‘don’t worry about my health, I’ll be back for Spielberg’. From that moment on, we have been waiting week after week for him to return to his best level.
There was a moment when we had the opportunity to sign Alex and Fabio, and at that time, Maverick was far from showing us that he would return to his previous form. We don’t need a better rider than the one Maverick was a year ago, when he had that ridiculous crash in the rain.
Beirer assured that KTM was willing to keep Vinales within its MotoGP establishment, as long as he recovered, but talks stopped due to the rider’s refusal to stay at Tech3 in 2027.
“Things went horribly wrong,” he revealed. “Then we told him that there would be a space for him, but we couldn’t tell him where or how. It seems he underestimated that this could also be the team he is currently with [Tech3], where he had a great performance last year.
He didn’t know that this was not an option for him. He chose to say that our second team… is not a second-tier team; both teams are at the same level of competition, especially now with Guenther Steiner in charge.
The rider market does not improve by waiting, and what do you think we were waiting for? To wait and not sign a rider was just to give Maverick more time to prepare and show us something. I needed to see something from him. I can’t just take a rider and say: ‘Guenther, this is your rider’.”
Beirer expressed that they wanted to have a conversation with Vinales during the summer break, emphasizing that it is essential to ensure that the rider is fully recovered for the second half of the season.
“We need to reassure him because it’s a long season and we need him to come back in better spirits and fully fit, as MotoGP is extremely dangerous if you’re not prepared and hesitate in your reactions on the bike,” he explained.
Although Vinales has already acknowledged that his options to continue in MotoGP next year are limited, Beirer has stated that the door remains open for the 31-year-old rider at Tech3, although he faces a race against time to recover and return to his best level.
“I’ll say everything is open throughout the weekend here; this was our deadline between me and Guenther, where we want to decide what future lies ahead of us,” Beirer said referring to the German Grand Prix.
“We have never said no to Maverick. Therefore, the objective or the timeline has not changed due to an emotional conversation. I really want to protect this guy. If he makes that decision, it could be the end of racing for him. It’s a very sensitive situation, and he’s not always calm about it. I can completely understand, as he’s said something too strong, but for us, there’s no problem. The space is open, but time is against us.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
