{"id":653378,"date":"2026-05-06T13:32:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T13:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/653378\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T13:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T13:32:11","slug":"guenther-steiner-puzzled-by-motogp-bikes-sitting-out-sessions-without-stand-in-riders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/653378\/","title":{"rendered":"Guenther Steiner puzzled by MotoGP bikes sitting out sessions without stand-in riders"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pol Espargaro<\/a> says Guenther Steiner was left puzzled by MotoGP\u2019s approach to injured riders, admitting he \u201cdoesn\u2019t understand\u201d why bikes can remain in the garage during a race weekend.<\/p>\n

Tech3 rider Maverick Vinales was forced to miss last month’s Spanish Grand Prix after undergoing surgery on his shoulder to recover a loose screw. No replacement could be finalised in the build-up to the event, leaving Steiner’s team with just one rider for the\u00a0Jerez weekend.<\/p>\n

Vinales remains out of action as he continues to recover from the injury he suffered at the German Grand Prix last year, with Jonas Folger<\/a> being called in as his substitute for this weekend’s French GP.<\/p>\n

Last month, Motorsport.com revealed that MotoGP wants take inspiration from Formula 1 and make reserve riders mandatory in the championship<\/a>. This would avoid a situation like the one witnessed at Jerez last fortnight.<\/p>\n

Espargaro, who already travels to all races as a TV commentator, believes the concept has merit, even if the comparison with F1 is not entirely straightforward.<\/p>\n

\u201cPersonally, I think it is necessary,” he said. “I had a conversation with Guenther Steiner, the new owner of Tech3, and he told me that for them, who come from Formula 1, it is unheard of that a car remains stopped in the box during a practice or a race and does not go out to compete.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think his point of view is valid. MotoGP is not comparable with F1, the risk that a rider assumes on a Saturday when getting on the bike replacing a team-mate who gets injured on Friday is much greater than if you do it in a car, but it is also true that economically and for the sport, leaving a bike stopped in the box is not the most ideal.<\/p>\n

\"Maverick <\/p>\n

Maverick Vinales, Red Bull KTM Tech 3<\/p>\n

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography \/ LAT Images \/ via Getty Images<\/p>\n

“It is clear that an agreement must be reached between Liberty, the teams and the riders, but personally I am willing to assume that role as long as I am physically well, and now that is not the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

KTM’s test and development rider Espargaro could have been the ideal substitute for Vinales, but he injured his left hand two weeks ago while training at a dirt track near Granollers.<\/p>\n

The Spaniard admitted that the timing of the accident was unfortunate.<\/p>\n

\u201cSurely, of all the injuries I have had in my sporting career, this is the most foolish or the least serious,” he said. ‘It requires a recovery time, but we do not agree with doctor Xavier Mir. I think of some dates but he sets others for me, so patience, because the one in charge is the doctor and since I am no longer in the front line, like before, I can take a little more time to recover.”<\/p>\n

“The Catalunya race depends on Maverick and on his rehabilitation. But it is a pity. It may sound bad, but I spend the whole year waiting for these opportunities due to the absence of a team-mate to lend a hand to the factory and be able to achieve a good result. But to be competitive I have to be at my best and train, and that entails a risk of getting injured.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vinales’ frustration<\/p>\n

Espargaro revealed that he had not spoken with Vinales\u00a0and did not know at what stage of his recovery he was.<\/p>\n

\u201cI speak little with Maverick because I understand how frustrating it must be for him to be in this situation of trying to return and not being able to because of the injury; I have gone through that, I know what one suffers and you have to leave him alone,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaverick is a rider of the old school, vocational, one of those who trains a lot and takes it very seriously. For him, bikes are not a job, it is much more and I know he is having a very bad time. He is the first who wants to return, no one doubts that, but that depends on his physical condition being the ideal one.”<\/p>\n

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– The Motorsport.com Team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pol Espargaro says Guenther Steiner was left puzzled by MotoGP\u2019s approach to injured riders, admitting he \u201cdoesn\u2019t understand\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":653379,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,813,816,314964,315926,314965,5745,85,229215],"class_list":["post-653378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-french-gp","tag-guenther-steiner-puzzled-by-motogp-bikes-sitting-out-sessions-without-stand-in-riders","tag-le-mans-circuit-bugatti","tag-motogp","tag-sports","tag-tech-3"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=653378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653378\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/653379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}