Neil Hodgson has suggested Maverick Vinales and Jorge Lorenzo part ways ahead of Jerez.
Ahead of the 2026 MotoGP season, Maverick Vinales He took a gamble when he joined forces George Lorenzo Before the second season in Tech3.
The Spaniards were already rivals after Vinales took Lorenzo’s seat in the factory Yamaha team for the 2017 MotoGP season.
However, now Lorenzo has retired, he has taken on a full-time role as Vinales’ performance coach and they have started working together in the 2026 pre-season.
However, there are questionable signs of the long-term relationship between the two Spaniards.
Prove them wrong: KTM thinks Maverick Vinales is the perfect replacement for Pedro Acosta
Silvan Guintoli says the Vinales and Lorenzo duo is not working.
The first Grand Prix in which Viñales competed against Lorenzo, the coach did not go as well as both riders expected.
Although fellow KTM rider Pedro Acosta won the Sprint Race at the Thai Grand Prix and secured a Grand Prix podium, Vinales failed to score points in the Sprint Race and Grand Prix.
After the season opened, Silvan Guintoli and Neil Hodgson spoke about Lorenzo and Vinales’ relationship. Get off the gasHodgson indicated that the relationship would end at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Guintoli said, “We said we’d follow the Vinales and Lorenzo duo, which didn’t work out well, not for that race anyway.
“For Vinales, that was a tough weekend, he said he had no emotion, he kept running wide, and he really struggled. Unlike Pedro Acosta or Brad Binder, Bastianini also struggled, but Vinales had a tough weekend.
“So it’s not working at the moment, but we said we’ll keep an eye on it.”
Hodgson added: “I’ll definitely stay, I can’t see that relationship breaking down at Jerez yet. That’s my prediction.”
How much of an impact will Jorge Lorenzo have on Maverick Vinales in 2026?
Jorge Lorenzo made a bet on Maverick Vinales to beat Pedro Acosta
Jorge Lorenzo is very confident in Maverick Vinales’ abilities ahead of the 2026 MotoGP season and has backed the Spaniard to become a KTM rider.
In pre-season, Lorenzo made a bet with Pedro Acosta’s manager, Albert Valera. If Vinales defeated Acosta, Lorenzo had dinner with Valera throughout the season.
Betting came about at one point. Lorenzo sees an obvious tension between Acosta and Vinales. During the Sepang pre-season tests.
Lorenzo strengthened his opinion on Vinales, as Lorenzo went on to say that Vinales’ talent and skills are ‘superior’ to Acosta’s..
Receive competition news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
