Tech3 ace Maverick Vinales has now emerged as the most likely rider to replace Pedro Acosta at the factory KTM team from the 2027 MotoGP season.
KTM It is believed that they have been identified Vinyls Due to fear as the best option to guide their plans at the beginning of the 2027 MotoGP regulations Acosta He will not sign a new contract. Acosta is out of contract with KTM after the 2026 campaign and is keen to join Ducati.
Ducati shares Acosta’s passion for mobility. Also for the Spaniard to join compatriot Marc Marquez at Borgo Pangale in 2027. That is why it is said KTM has already told Vinales that he will join their works MotoGP team in 2027.After discussing their plans last October.
Vinales surprised the KTM hierarchy in his first season with the RC16 satellite team Tech3 By 2025. It is also said. KTM intends to introduce Vinales from Tech3 for 2026. to replace Brad BinderBut after the Spaniard broke his shoulder, they decided against him.
Prove them wrong: KTM thinks Maverick Vinales is the perfect replacement for Pedro Acosta
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Brad Binder, with the help of Jorge Lorenzo, supports Maverick Vinales as an even better driver
Vinales was the second highest-scoring KTM rider in 2025 before suffering a shoulder injury in a crash during the 2025 German Grand Prix. Acosta leads the KTM stable with 98 points from Vinales’ 69, Binder’s 47 and Enea Bastianini’s 42.
Read more: Everything you need to know about Maverick Vinales from career stats to net worth
Binder has backed Vinales to become a better rider in 2026 after hiring the three-time MotoGP champion. George Lorenzo As his performance coach. Lorenzo has accepted Vinales’ request for help in physical, tactical and technical matters after the end of the 2025 season.
“Lorenzo is a champion of many, a legend of the sport,” Binder said in quotes. GPON. “And Maverick is an incredible rider, who has won countless races and is very talented. So I think their collaboration can be very positive.”
Maverick Vinales was the second-highest points-scoring KTM rider in 2025 before suffering a shoulder injury.
Viñales broke his shoulder in qualifying for the 2025 German GP, ​​ultimately forcing the 31-year-old to miss eight grands prix spread over two occasions. He initially returned from injury for the Catalan GP but struggled for results as his shoulder looked to fully recover.
The injury is like a brutal blow, because Vinales has taken some strong results since joining Tech3 on a two-year contract with KTM. Vinales missed out on a P2 finish in the Qatar GP due to illegal tire pressures.He dropped to P14 before finishing P4 at Jerez and P5 at Le Mans and Assen.
Vinales failed to get another top-10 finish in 2025 after the injury, which also dropped him in the riders’ rankings. The 10-time MotoGP Grand Prix winner finally finished 2025 as the worst KTM rider with 72 points, trailing Acosta’s 307, Binder’s 155 and Bastianini’s 112.
Factory KTM star Acosta and Tech3 ace Bastianini were the only riders to score a Grand Prix podium in 2025 with an RC16. Acosta finished P2 in Hungary, Indonesia and Malaysia as well as P3 in the Czech Republic and Portugal, while Bastianini scored his only podium in P3 in Catalonia.
