Maverick Vinales out of Indonesian MotoGP as decision made with Tech3

Tech3 has announced that Maverick Vinales has withdrawn from the Indonesian MotoGP after qualifying in Mandalika.

Vinales was slowest of the 10 riders in Q1 in Indonesia, 0.333 seconds slower than next-best Somkiat Chantra and 1.3 seconds slower than Fabio Di Giannantonio who topped the session.

After qualifying, the Tech3 KTM confirmed that Vinales has withdrawn from the event entirely and will miss both the Sprint and grand prix races at Mandalika.

“Maverick Vinales will withdraw from the Indonesian Grand Prix,” a statement from Tech3, published on social media, reads.

“It has been decided with the team that Maverick will focus on his left shoulder recovery.”

The 30-year-old Spaniard said after Friday’s practice sessions that he was considering withdrawing from the event, although no decision had been made at that point, after feeling pain in his left shoulder which is still recovering from the dislocation and fracture it sustained during qualifying at the German MotoGP in July.

“We will talk with the team [to understand] what is the best to do, if to stop and come back when I’m fully fit or to keep going like this,” Maverick Vinales said on Friday in Indonesia.

“But I think keep going like this is very hard for me because I have pain and I’m losing a lot of feedback from the bike. 

“So, we must be very smart and see what is the best way to recover fast.”

It is unclear when Vinales will return to racing and whether he will before the end of the season, as this is now the second time since crashing in Germany that he has pulled out of a race weekend before Sunday.

The next round of the World Championship in Australia is scheduled for 17–19 October.