Maverick Vinales “very excited, good opportunity tomorrow”

After hunting down Francesco Bagnaia to finish within half a second of the podium in the Italian MotoGP Sprint, Maverick Vinales is “very excited” to see what he can do over Sunday’s full grand prix distance.

Vinales signalled he would be a thorn in the side of the Ducatis by leading two of this weekend's practice sessions, but had to settle for fifth in qualifying.

The Tech3 KTM rider held that position in the early stages of the Sprint, being bottled up behind the chattering Yamaha of Fabio Quartararo.

But once ahead of the Frenchman, Vinales rapidly closed down reigning Mugello Grand Prix winner Bagnaia from laps 7-10.

"At the moment, our weekend is extremely positive, and I am super excited for tomorrow, because it is obvious that we have a strong opportunity,” Vinales said.

“I’m normally stronger in the longer race, with the medium tyres. But you never know, and now we need to understand which rear tyre we're going to choose.

“My goal will be to take a good start, with strong first laps, and I just want to hit a good margin from the start, get the good lines and maintain a good level. I can really ride the bike smoothly, and it will help on the long distance for sure.”

While the KTM is working well in controlling wheelie, Vinales knows he’s losing out through the fast final corner.

“In the wheelie phase, we are very strong. We just need to improve a little bit the last corner. But it's a matter of a compromise, so I’ll try to do something extra with the riding style.” 

Vinales was several seconds faster than his MotoGP Sprint time for Aprilia a year ago, although a fraction slower than Pedro Acosta on his way to third place with the RC16 in 2024.

Acosta, like team-mate Brad Binder, crashed out on the opening lap of Saturday's race while using the hard front tyre.

* 19 riders finished the Sprint in both 2024 and 2025.

Jorge Martin, Joan Mir, Enea Bastianini, Fabio Quartararo and Miguel Oliveira did not finish in 2024. Brad Binder, Johann Zarco and Pedro Acosta in 2025.