Maverick Vinales’ eerie premonition: “I couldn’t believe it…”

Maverick Vinales predicted his barnstorming performance moments before the Qatar MotoGP, his team boss has revealed.

The Tech3 KTM rider, from sixth on the grid, incredibly overtook both factory Ducatis, Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez, then claimed the race lead from Franco Morbidelli.

Vinales thought his P2 finish was KTM’s first - and much-needed - podium of the year but he was demoted to 14th due to a tyre pressure penalty.

His unexpected surge last Sunday in Qatar was, however, predicted by the man himself.

“Maverick was unbelievable,” Tech3 KTM boss Herve Poncharal told TNT Sports in Qatar.

“He has such a passion for his job, for riding a motorcycle.

“He is acting and behaving like a teenager who is riding for the very first time! Full of happiness, enthusiasm!

“He told me: ‘I’ll do something tonight, believe me…’

“When I saw him pass the two red bikes and, at some stage, break away a bit? I couldn’t believe it.

“It’s a long time that we hadn’t felt that.

“The whole Red Bull KTM project needed it. I don’t want to say what happened in the winter.

“Vinales has shown the other three riders that they can do it.

“Davide Tardozzi came to see me in parc ferme and told me ‘we need other manufacturers to push us to make the championship more interesting’.”

Maverick Vinales ‘golden opportunity lost’

A day earlier, on Saturday in Qatar, Vinales had qualified in sixth. But he drably finished the sprint race 10th, eradicating the quiet confidence within the Tech3 KTM box.

But they knew their rider had more in the tank.

“It came from hard work during the winter,” Poncharal said about Vinales’ Sunday efforts.

“In Texas we were fast but unfortunately, in the sprint and the main race, we were hampered by a problem.

“But we knew Maverick was getting more comfortable on the bike, more competitive with the front guys.

“We had a good qualifying [in Qatar]. Straight to Q2 for the second time in a row, sixth on the grid.

“So it doesn’t come from nowhere. In the sprint we made the choice to go with soft tyres which was a disaster.

“But we knew that we could finish in the top five.

“Honestly, I said to myself: ‘This was a golden opportunity lost’.”

Maverick Vinales ‘not the kind of rider…’

Poncharal had already exclusively told Crash.net about the buoyant reaction of Vinales after his tyre pressure penalty which lifted his entire team.

Poncharal insists that the MotoGP veteran has impressed with his childlike enthusiasm since joining from Aprilia.

“At some stage, when you’re a top rider, you know that you’re a top rider,” Poncharal said.

“It becomes a job. You care about your image, you care about your salary, about who’s looking after your bike.

“The feeling I have so far, Maverick is just like a rookie joining the championship.

“He has so much passion, he just wants to ride. Even though we had some problems, he always smiles.

“He is not the kind of rider - and I’ve had a few of them - who come back into the box and destroy everything.

“He is an incredibly nice young man. I was with him, his wife and his two daughters - he isn’t somebody who is blase, he is enjoying life personally and professionally.

“He loves KTM, he says that he has some orange blood! He remembers winning the Moto3 title and how Pit Beirer treated him.”

Tech3 KTM 2025 bike?

The Tech3 KTM team benefit from factory support.

But identifying whether their bike is a 2025 or 2024 version is not as straightforward as it seems.

“It is a ‘24.something! Or a ‘25 minus something,” Poncharal said.

“It is very difficult. You saw Ducati had the ‘25 but went back to the ‘24 plus something.

“The bike is last year’s bike with some minor improvements.

“The engines are frozen, the chassis you can play with a bit.

“It’s last year’s bike with a few things that hopefully makes it better. It is better.”