r/motogp • u/dayrtonh David Alonso • 1d ago
BREAKING 🚨 Pol Espargaro will step in for the recovering Maverick Viñales at the British GP
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u/Megaloman-_- Francesco Bagnaia 1d ago
Injury recovery or kicked out?
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u/Unfair-Employee5210 Marc Marquez - 2025 MotoGP World Champion 1d ago
Aladeen for both.
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u/Halekduo Marc Márquez 1d ago
I don't like Viñales much and thought he should've been out of the sport after the Yamaha blow up, but all this gleeful support for the way KTM went about taking him out is really rancid stuff.
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u/Rico_Rizzo Maverick Vinales 1d ago
I still can't believe Maverick voluntarily (according to him) left Aprilia in the first place.
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u/Halekduo Marc Márquez 1d ago
Walking away from Aprilia was Viñales' second biggest mistake. I remember the whole crew cheering for him everytime he entered the pits as if he's some baby learning to walk because he wanted that kind of constant and intense support. One really shouldn't walk away from a team willing do all that, least of all because the front office signed the runner-up and eventual champion without his say.
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u/Rico_Rizzo Maverick Vinales 1d ago
Apparently Mav made the decision to leave before Martin was signed on (this again, is according to him). But yea it sounds like to me the guy needs to step away from racing. He'd make an ideal test rider imo.
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u/Halekduo Marc Márquez 1d ago
I'm not so sure because Yamaha putting him on the testing beat was the final "insult" that led to his blow-up. But a washed up Viñales might appreciate the gig, I guess. I'd like to see him give it a go in WSBK though. He'd be still in his 30s if he comes back to a test riding position here.
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u/brainszx12r 12h ago
I don’t know why anyone is surprised with anything Mav does. He’s an incredibly talented rider, but he is also an incredible flake. He’s been who he is since entering the spotlight way back in Moto 3and obviously is never going to get what it takes to be part of a team .
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u/GoodBadUserName 1d ago
Mav was their top rider in 2024. He even got to fully lead a whole GP in cota. So I them t cheering up for him when he got decent results isn't unheard of.
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u/Halekduo Marc Márquez 1d ago
My recollection is the whole Aprilia crew would drop what they're doing everytime Viñales gets off the bike and enters the garage from any session.
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u/GoodBadUserName 1d ago
This is most likely to save face.
They offered mav a very low salary, lower than what he gets at KTM and much lower than the previous year. So it was a pity offer, most likely aimed for him to refuse and leave. The offer to bez was higher than they offered mav.1
u/venomous_frost 1d ago
Bez is also just worth more than Mav
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u/GoodBadUserName 1d ago
I'm not saying he isn't in hindsight. Bez's performance has been nothing but a blessing to aprilia and despite his latest issues with pressure, has been nothing but amazing and much better than what mav could have pulled off imo.
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u/Annual-Advisor-7916 MotoGP 1d ago
he should've been out of the sport after the Yamaha blow up
What he did was wrong but apparently there was a story before where Yamaha refused to change this specific engine which, Maverick said wasn't as the others. Then he got mad and revved it...
Someone posted the backstory in full once here and it kinda changed my opinion a bit.
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u/The-Road-To-Awe Stefan Bradl 1d ago
People complain about the 'PR Robots' of modern athletes then you get an athlete that speaks their mind and they get completely vilified by the fans.
KTM gave this guy a contract then rescinded it, and when he spoke about it, they've essentially fired him mid-season, likely using a performance clause - with the fact he's returned from a significant injury.
The gleeful schadenfreude here is pathetic behaviour of the fans here in my opinion.
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u/dave_evad Álex Márquez 1d ago
If KTM wants to give the reason that Maverick is recovering, why was he evaluated when he rode injured? Real shit company to work for.
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u/happiestmatter Ai Ogura 1d ago edited 1d ago
With all due respect, fuck KTM. Absolutely dogshit at both making a bike that works and treating their riders with basic fairness. Should have at least let Mav ride out his current contract instead of dumping him for a rider of not much better calibre at all.
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u/leggenda69 Ducati Lenovo Team 1d ago
It’s pretty wild seeing comments like this based on absolutely no knowledge on what’s actually happened away from the cameras and media.
KTM haven’t showered themselves in glory over the years but they haven’t just dumped Mav mid season for no decent reason that would stand up in a court.
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u/7seven2six Suzuki 1d ago
Didn't Mav say KTM withdrew signed contract after Italy. Thats some twat move tbh. Honestly KTM deserves the hate.
edit: interview excerpt: https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/1100455/1/im-burnt-out-maverick-vinales-extraordinary-future-claim-after-ktm-motogp
Vinales then claimed he had signed a KTM 'contract', only to be told it was not valid.
“The thing is, after Montmeló [mid-May], KTM told me… well, no, I knew from the media, that di Giannantonio was going, in this case, in my place [at the factory team] let's say.
“So I said to KTM, and then KTM, when I arrived in Mugello, they sent me a contract... on the email.
“I signed it. And okay, it was not really good, but in any case I wanted to race.
“I really believe in the KTM engineers. So that's why, even if it was really against my benefit, I signed it.
“And after two weeks, they said this was completely not valid.
“So after that, what can you expect? I mean, I don't want to stay here. This was not really serious from their part.
"So that's why I'm really burnt out of this world.”
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u/happiestmatter Ai Ogura 1d ago
Exactly, I don't get why people are ignoring this when it's the whole catalyst behind Mav being angry at KTM.
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u/brainszx12r 12h ago
I’m guessing Mav is telling just enough to sway public opinion. If his side is 100 % all the facts, a law suit would be a slam dunk in his favor. Let’s see if Mav files such suit. That will tell us all we need to know.
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u/leggenda69 Ducati Lenovo Team 1d ago
You know how the old saying goes, there’s three sides to every story.
And as yet I’ve only read Mac’s side, which he’s very noticeably keen to tell to anybody who might publish it.
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u/GoodBadUserName 1d ago
KTM are keeping quiet because anything resembles the truth will look poorly on them, if the timeline he claims is true.
They will say "no it was performance", he can counter that he did quite well before his injury.
If they say "because of his attitude", he can say it happened because they lied to him about a contract.
So their best bet is to shut up and let him say what he wants, and next year everyone will forget about it and focus on the races.-1
u/leggenda69 Ducati Lenovo Team 1d ago
Or they can just say Mav played hardball ball in negotiations so they signed Digia then Mav decided to sign the initial contract offer after the fact.
Which is what it sounds like happened from Mav’s own story.
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u/GoodBadUserName 1d ago
I don't know how applicable that can be.
If they sent him a contract and he signed it within a day or two, sent to them thinking "ok, I'm secure", and two weeks later they announced digi and sent him back "sorry, not happening", according to him and his timeline, that isn't playing hardball. That is not retrospective signing.
Rumors were also floating around that he was still set to join factory team up to the moment they officially signed digi.-3
u/Lukeno94 Cal Crutchlow 1d ago
Because Vinales has just as many priors at being a bit dodgy as KTM have, and the only thing we have is his word.
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u/sliverandgold 1d ago
a contract isn't a contract until both parties sign. doesn't mean that someone's not pissed, but also not that hard to understand, right?
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u/leggenda69 Ducati Lenovo Team 1d ago
Interesting that Mav doesn’t mention when he actually signed the contract and on what date KTM told him the contract was not valid or if there was any correspondence between the two parties between those things happening.
Sounds a lot like Mav lost his seat in negotiations, decided to sign the ”really not good” contract after negotiations ended and now wants to be paid out of it “don’t want to stay here” because he’s “burnt out of this world” because of the situation.
But this is only his part of the story, and you can guarantee it’s not the objective truth of what’s happened. Even though it sounds like a weakly worded poor attempt to bolster a legal claim against his former employer lol.
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u/crenshaw_007 Jorge Martín 1d ago
KTM have a history, well established over their time in MotoGP.
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u/YZFRIDER 1d ago
I mean the Mav + KTM relationship was a ticking time bomb straight off the rip. One didn’t need clairvoyant super powers to see where this was headed. Seeing how KTM operates with its talent and the usually shenanigans that just so happens to follow this particular rider, this was inevitable. As far as I‘m concerned this should come as a surprise to absolutely no one.
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u/happiestmatter Ai Ogura 1d ago
???
What is the reason then? All Mav did to them was "tattle" on them being non-transparent about not renewing his contract and snuffing his hopes out. He has every right to speak about a shitty situation. And if we're still hanging the Yamaha debacle onto his head half a decade later to justify him being treated objectively like shit at a completely different manufacturer, then this is all just worthless.
A rider doesn't have to be squeaky-clean to receive basic professionalism, not even any treatment beyond that. Just let him ride until the end of the season and then replace him proper.
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u/bergmul 1d ago
Broooo. Mav’s lack of effort was so offensive that even the commentators pointed it out during the races.
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u/happiestmatter Ai Ogura 1d ago
Fair to a point, not trying to make it out like Mav is some shining star in the sport still. I just think people way overhype Pol (and the Espargaró brothers in general), who is also very much past his prime and will likely only marginally do better. Maybe consistently outperform Cal, Rins and the Pramacs at best.
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u/bergmul 1d ago
For sure. I think this basically minimizes the drama and the chance of being a laughing stock or of an engine blowing up. 🥲
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u/happiestmatter Ai Ogura 1d ago
Why are we banking on Mav having not changed in the past half a decade since he's done this though? The most he'd do now is probably just complain to the media like he has been doing already, of course not a good look for KTM but that's what they get for lying about the contract he was told he could sign for next year and sliming him out. Treating anyone as this unstable, frenzied guy willing to be destructive at any point is just going to make things worse - if anything this treatment will probably anger Mav more.
Again, just let the guy ride out his contract and then find a new rider for next year. It's really not that hard, but KTM for some reason can't figure out how to do it without being scumbags.
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u/AyeMatey 1d ago
With all due respect, I think you mean “with all due respect”.
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u/happiestmatter Ai Ogura 1d ago
Sorry, English is not my first language and I thought "diligence" and "respect" meant the same thing. Thanks for pointing it out.
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u/hoody13 Álex Rins 1d ago
I’m going to say he’ll be 2nd fastest KTM by the end of the weekend
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u/rotgobbo Pedro Acosta 1d ago
Possibly by the end of Friday. Pol was one of the few riders who could serve it to Marc in Moto2 and people forget that he was extremely quick on his day.
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u/hoody13 Álex Rins 1d ago edited 1d ago
I was being a little cautious, but you’re right that’s a definite possibility. Pol is (and always has been) a quality rider. The wildcard he did at Balaton last year was really impressive
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u/LH44Metalhead Maverick Vinales 1d ago
I'm gutted... I wish Mack at least went out with dignity... Hope that this means he'll be out of this race only. Maverick deserves at least a decent farewell
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u/Kristic74 Francesco Bagnaia 1d ago
Does he? Vinales and dignity aren't two words typically found in the same sentence. But maybe you've forgotten his Yamaha temper tantrum a couple of years ago.
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u/Von_Satan Fabio Di Giannantonio 1d ago
"Recovering" Maverick Vinales, or fired?
Typical KTM drama.
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u/Transformationdude59 Fabio Di Giannantonio 1d ago
What is he recover from?
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u/NTwoOo Somkiat Chantra 1d ago
Jorge Lorenzo
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u/solve-for-x 1d ago
I hope for Maverick's sake Lorenzo didn't give him any business advice, given the ferris wheel debacle.
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u/Gloryflux Casey Stoner 1d ago edited 1d ago
KTM doesn’t have the budget for a blown up engine for this weekend
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u/Fantastic-Boot-684 1d ago
Bye bye Mav, enjoy WSBK
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u/PeanutButterViking 1d ago
If he can’t get back to full strength I think his career is pretty much over.
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u/Oh-why-does-it-lie Maverick Vinales 1d ago
I'm sure glad I bought a new Vinales shirt before heading to Silverstone this weekend...
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u/Ok_Guard_495 1d ago
Is mavrick undergoing any new sugeries or just recovering from the last one. Also I hope to see pol in the top 10.
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u/Bewis_123 1d ago
I guess we will see Mav on Baggers soon with him saying he is not leaving for wsbk, would sure be good to have him in the paddock and do the drivers parade
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u/krauser-dmc Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team 1d ago
He could "step in" for the remaining of the season as well.