Maverick Vinales: “Maybe a door can open” ahead of MotoGP return, discusses 850 debut

Out of action since July and now officially without a place on the 2027 grid, Maverick Vinales insists he is “not done yet” upon returning to the MotoGP paddock at Motegi on Thursday.

The Tech3 rider estimates his long-running left shoulder injury has improved by 10-15%, “a lot in just a short time”, since his last race at the Sachsenring.

“It's not sorted out,” Vinales said of the injury, which has forced him to miss a total of 15 grands prix since the initial damage last year. "Every month is a little improvement.”

Vinales tested his strength at the recent Red Bull Ring Pirelli test, where he revealed he rode both an adapted 1000cc machine and KTM’s 2027 850cc prototype.

850 "so easy to ride!"

“Still, there is a way to go [with the shoulder], but maybe it's quite enough to ride the bike. To ride next year's bike is enough; I tried it and it's so easy to ride! But the [current 1000cc] MotoGP is a beast.

“So I need to really understand the situation, because I rode with different tyres, without the rear device, so it didn’t feel as powerful as usual.”

"I'm not done yet here"

With next year’s Tech3 seats going to Luca Marini and Senna Agius, Vinales will join fellow race winners Jack Miller, Brad Binder, Franco Morbidelli and Alex Rins is leaving MotoGP at the end of the season.

So what comes next?

“It’s a good question because, obviously, I'm not done yet here. I have many objectives to achieve.

“Obviously, there is no more space. Unfortunately, with the move of KTM, they left me out and it was too late. I could not have any chance, but you never know in the future.

“Here, many things happen, maybe a door can open. My first objective is to recover, to be fully in shape that I can push at the maximum, and then we'll see. For sure, I am not ready to give up, so I will try.”

Asked whether a test or reserve role might be of interest, Vinales replied: “I have to find a way and when there will be the opportunity, I will take it.”

"In my head was 'I will not come back'"

But the 10-time MotoGP race winner admitted he doubted whether he would even return this season.

“I've been out for two months. In my head was really 'I will not come back' anymore. I was having this feeling.”

Pressed on why, Vinales, who has repeatedly criticised KTM over his future, added: 

“Well, only one person has the decision, so at the end, I didn't think they were going to call me back.

“But in the end, they called me back, and I was happy to do the [Red Bull Ring] test because I could see where I am. That was very important.

“Otherwise, the next test was like before Phillip Island. To arrive at Phillip Island without [any testing] I said, 'I will go because it's the last year [of Phillip Island], but I won't finish the race, for sure.'

“So coming to Japan is tough, but it's a good preparation as well, and there are still many races to go. So I want to really see if I can recover to the maximum and then I can do some good results.”

Shoulder 10-15% stronger

Vinales says a different treatment approach has helped produce his recent improvement.

“For me, the problem of Sachsenring was that it was all lefts, so my shoulder was completely fatigued, so I had no power left,” he said.

“Compared to the Sachsenring, I did some tests with one machine that can measure Newtons and I improved like 10–15%, which is a lot in just a short time.

“I did a different treatment, PRP [Platelet-rich plasma] it's called, and it works quite good.

“You do like three times and then you have to wait and then three times again. So I will do the next one in between or when I finish [the season]. But it worked, so I'm quite happy.

“Obviously, I think it will not be the same as the healthy one, but to ride a bike I think it will be okay.

“If I was a tennis player or a left-hander, then not really good. But for riding a bike, which is different angles, I think it will be okay. And more with the next-generation [850cc] bikes that are much easier to ride physically.”

"So beautiful"

That difference was immediately apparent when Vinales sampled KTM’s 2027 prototype.

“I rode a few laps… I did 11 in a row like nothing, you know! So nice, the feeling on the bike. It's like a Moto2 with a good engine, like ‘bam, bam’. 

"It was so beautiful.”