“Fresh start” - Guenther Steiner drops big hint over Tech3 MotoGP line-up
Guenther Steiner says Tech3 has spoken to several MotoGP riders as it weighs up its 2027 line-up.
Tech3 boss Guenther Steiner insists no final decision has been made on the team's 2027 MotoGP rider line-up.
However, his subsequent comments about a "fresh start" cast further doubt on whether Maverick Vinales will remain with the KTM satellite squad or whether Brad Binder could switch across from the factory team.
That adds weight to speculation that Luca Marini is now the favourite to join a rookie, either Senna Agius or Manuel Gonzalez, at Tech3 for the 2027 season.
"Could Luca Marini be an asset to the team?"
“I spoke with quite a few riders, because I wanted to get to know them, if they joined the team,” Steiner said at this weekend's Sachsenring MotoGP.
“Because you not only get a guy who rides a bike, you get a person who needs to be part of the team, and they need to fit in to the team.
“So I met with a few people.
"I didn't know Luca [Marini] before, and I think he's a very pleasant guy. Obviously he has got lots of experience, and maybe he can help us to get better.
“But we have not made the final decision, just to be clear, about what we are going to do.
“But could he [Luca Marini] be an asset to the team? Maybe yes.”
Meanwhile, Steiner suggested the relationship between Vinales and KTM may have gone beyond repair following the Spaniard's recent public criticism of the manufacturer.
“It's very difficult to fix that situation. Because it is not a good situation, if you go in the press against each other,” he said.
“In the end, we still work with KTM in the future... and I don't think he feels happy to be in the [KTM] stable.
“But at the moment, as I said, we are speaking with a few riders, and we haven’t made a decision.”
"Sometimes, you need a fresh start"
Binder also became available after losing his factory KTM seat for 2027.
“Again, there's a long history there, and sometimes, you need to start fresh,” Steiner said.
“We need to be, I call it, a happy team going forward. We don't want any old baggage. We want to start afresh, and that, for me, doesn't fit in people who were associated with the group, not only with Tech3 or KTM, for too long of a time.
“Because you always go back to how it was in the old days. Sometimes, you need a fresh start.”
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
