{"id":656008,"date":"2026-05-07T18:05:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T18:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/656008\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T18:05:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T18:05:08","slug":"jonas-folger-faces-big-challenge-replacing-maverick-vinales-in-motogp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/656008\/","title":{"rendered":"Jonas Folger faces \u201cbig challenge\u201d replacing Maverick Vinales in MotoGP"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Jonas Folger faces a daunting task as he steps in to replace the injured Maverick Vinales at this weekend\u2019s French MotoGP.<\/p>\n<p>Folger has barely been on an RC16 since his last stand-in appearance for the same Tech3 team back in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>The German also knows <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/teams\/red-bull-ktm-tech3\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tech3<\/a> well from his own full-time career and got some preparatory testing laps at Mugello earlier this week.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, he faces a \u201cbig challenge\u201d just to get close to the 2026 regulars.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFirst of all, I wish Maverick a quick recovery,\u201d Folger told MotoGP.com<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI&#8217;ve been off the bike for quite some time. The last time I really spent time on the bike was 2023 for Pol, at the same team, Tech3.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s a very familiar team for me. I know all the guys; they&#8217;re good friends of mine, so it makes it a bit easier. But it&#8217;s going to be a big, big challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Folger added that the KTM has changed substantially since he last rode it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had the chance of a two-day test in Mugello earlier this week. which was really important because otherwise I would have started completely from zero,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese guys are on such a high level. It&#8217;s going to be difficult anyway to get close, let&#8217;s say.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was really important for me to spend these two days to get to know the bike again. The chassis has changed a lot, all the aerodynamics, since three years. They made some great, big steps on the whole bike.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwo days are not enough, but it&#8217;s better than nothing. The whole weekend will be about learning the bike, adapting my riding style, understanding the tyres, and working closely and efficiently with the team.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Le Mans also holds special significance for Folger, being the scene of his first grand prix podium in the 125cc class in 2009.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had my first podium here in 2009, so also nice memories from my side,\u201d he said. \u201cIt&#8217;s a home race of Tech3, so and it&#8217;s a legendary track. Lots of fans and lots of energy around the track. I&#8217;m going to enjoy that for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/racer\/1689\/maverick-vinales\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Vinales<\/a> is continuing to recover from surgery to remove a loose screw inserted into his shoulder after an accident at last year\u2019s German Grand Prix.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>Subscribe to our MotoGP Newsletter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jonas Folger faces a daunting task as he steps in to replace the injured Maverick Vinales at this&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":656009,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,6399,40801,806,805,803,804,26895,85],"class_list":["post-656008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-ktm","tag-maverick-vinales","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-red-bull-ktm-tech3","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656008","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=656008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/656009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=656008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=656008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=656008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}