How an unlikely MotoGP union is already flourishing despite a "not nice" past

Maverick Vinales admits he is “surprised” at how strong his relationship with MotoGP performance coach Jorge Lorenzo is after their “not nice” days as rivals.

The Tech3 KTM rider announced after the 2025 season concluded that three-time MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo would serve as his rider coach.

The announcement raised eyebrows, with both riders holding strong personalities and exchanging harsh words during their days as on-track rivals in the 2010s.

Maverick Vinales replaced Lorenzo at Yamaha for the 2017 season, though the pair had already traded barbs in the press the year before, with the latter accusing the then-Suzuki rider of working with Valentino Rossi to hinder him in qualifying at Mugello.

In 2019, following a pile-up triggered by Lorenzo at the Catalan Grand Prix, Vinales accused him of making too many “rookie” errors.

“The relationship has been fantastic,” Vinales beamed during online press conferences following KTM’s 2026 launch event.

“To be honest, we’ve had a lot of fun. I’m surprised too, because I knew another Jorge from the past. And the last words we had were not nice.

“So, I had different expectations, but we are enjoying. I think he’s in another time of his life and he’s enjoying now coming back to the bikes, understanding, also because he knows that I’m giving my maximum. I think this is the key.”

Vinales/Lorenzo link-up first mooted in 2024

Lorenzo has released a lot of footage over the off-season of his training regime with Vinales, which has been an intense mix of multi-discipline riding and off-bike work.

The initial seeds for this partnership were sewn after Vinales won the 2024 Americas Grand Prix for Aprilia, though the timing didn’t pan out. But that changed last year, when Vinales suffered a shoulder injury during qualifying for the German Grand Prix.

“For me, it was a common thing,” he replied when asked who made the first approach. “After I won in Austin [in ’24], there was some talk. But I was not able to do it in Aprilia. But after the injury, somehow I felt it was the correct moment to do it.

“So, we got in touch and we started this process. But everything was about how the shoulder evolved during the recovery. But it worked good, so we could work very hard from the beginning.”

Vinales stressed that Aprilia didn’t stand in the way of Lorenzo becoming his performance coach, but rather it was his family commitments which took priority.

“Absolutely not. Aprilia didn’t block anything,” he explained. “When you incorporate one guy like Jorge, it’s a plus for your team. We know Jorge has a lot of qualities which I’m taking profit from. It was a matter of how I was with my family, because I had my little kid in 2024, so I needed to take care of them and help my wife also.

“Outside of the bike I have a life and sometimes it’s a bit more difficult. But now I have enough confidence, the kids are a bit older, so now it’s much easier for me. So, now I can really be 24 hours [a day] for MotoGP.”

How Lorenzo is unlocking Vinales’ full potential

Vinales noted recently that his work with Lorenzo made him realise that he was not at the top of his game like he thought he was, with the three-time world champion able to extract so much more out of him.

Part of that has been pushing Vinales to ride in all conditions, even if he wasn’t keen.

“Basically, we work, and then we enjoy it, but we are mostly working,” he said. “Of course, during this winter, Jorge forced me to go out in every condition, even when I didn’t want to go out. But I think this is the key of this relationship, because he’s strong.

“I remember one time the track was really wet, and it was the first time I rode after my injury in the wet. So, I was ready to go home, but I rode.

“He made me ride, and I think this kind of thing unlocks a lot of potential and this is very important. I think Jorge will bring the intensity I needed outside of the MotoGP bike.”

A seemingly favourite method of riding Lorenzo has been getting Vinales to train on 600cc machinery on tight circuits. Vinales says there is “nothing more difficult” than this, because “they are bikes made to ride fast, and when you start to do technical stuff at lower speeds, it looks like you don’t know how to ride”.

But, this is exactly the point: “Basically, what we are doing is to have all the skills. Have plenty of skills, and then use what you can use. And this is fantastic because I’m understanding how to slide the bike and how to use the maximum of the rear tyre, which is very important for us in MotoGP. But the key is to have a lot of skills on any type of bike and use those in MotoGP.”