{"id":668434,"date":"2026-05-13T15:16:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T15:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/668434\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T15:16:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T15:16:10","slug":"maverick-vinales-makes-catalunya-motogp-decision-strong-and-motivated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/668434\/","title":{"rendered":"Maverick Vinales makes Catalunya MotoGP decision: \u201cStrong and motivated\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maverick Vinales will return to MotoGP action for Red Bull KTM Tech3 at this weekend\u2019s Catalunya round.<\/p>\n

Vinales<\/a> withdrew from COTA, then missed all of the Jerez and Le Mans events after undergoing corrective surgery to remove a damaged screw, originally inserted into his shoulder last July.<\/p>\n

Vowing not to return until he was fully fit, Vinales, who hasn\u2019t scored a point so far this season, will now rejoin Enea Bastianini<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m happy to be back and finally returning to racing,\u201d Vinales said. \u201cThe last few weeks have not been easy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve worked hard every day to recover, with close support from Red Bull at the APC, and I\u2019m coming back in the best possible condition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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“Now I feel strong and motivated to get back on the bike.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to thank the team for their support and patience, and I couldn\u2019t be more excited to be starting again at my home grand prix in Catalunya.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Maverick <\/p>\n

Maverick Vinales, Red Bull KTM Tech3.<\/p>\n

\u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n

Tech3 <\/a>team manager Nicolas Goyon added: \u201cWe are very happy to welcome Maverick back this weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the beginning, our priority has always been his health and ensuring he returns at 100%. His experience and speed will be key for the team as we continue to make progress, and Catalunya is the perfect place for him to restart.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Jonas Folger stepped in to replace Vinales last weekend at Le Mans, finishing his first grand prix since 2023 in 16th.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to thank Jonas for stepping in at Le Mans. He did a fantastic job in a challenging situation and his contribution was truly valuable for the team,\u201d Goyon said.<\/p>\n

Who will win the 2026 Catalan MotoGP race?Pedro Acosta<\/p>\n

0% (0 votes)<\/p>\n

Marco Bezzecchi<\/p>\n

19% (4 votes)<\/p>\n

Pecco Bagnaia<\/p>\n

5% (1 vote)<\/p>\n

Fabio di Giannantonio<\/p>\n

0% (0 votes)<\/p>\n

Jorge Martin<\/p>\n

48% (10 votes)<\/p>\n

Alex Marquez<\/p>\n

24% (5 votes)<\/p>\n

Ai Ogura<\/p>\n

5% (1 vote)<\/p>\n

Pembalap lain (beri tahu kami di komentar)<\/p>\n

0% (0 votes)<\/p>\n

Total votes: 21<\/p>\n

Vinales, Bastianini and Tech3 are yet to confirm their 2027 MotoGP<\/a> plans.<\/p>\n

Vinales, who carried the KTM project in the early stages of last season, had been linked with a move to the factory team before the shoulder woes.<\/p>\n

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Bastianini, meanwhile, is rumoured to be heading back to Gresini and Ducati, but could have the chance to stay after a Sprint podium at COTA and being Pedro Acosta\u2019s nearest KTM rival for the past three rounds.<\/p>\n

Tech3 is thought to have explored the option of Honda machinery for the 850cc era.<\/p>\n

While Vinales returns from surgery to remove the damaged screw, reigning champion Marc Marquez<\/a> will miss Catalunya after undergoing a similar operation.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to our MotoGP Newsletter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Maverick Vinales will return to MotoGP action for Red Bull KTM Tech3 at this weekend\u2019s Catalunya round. Vinales…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":668435,"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-668434","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\/668434","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=668434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668434\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/668435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=668434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=668434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=668434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}