STEINER SAYS TECH3 NEVER PUT A 2027 DEAL TO VINIALES ON THE TABLE

Tech3 team boss Guenther Steiner has moved to close the door on suggestions that Maverick Viñales was ever in line for a 2027 MotoGP deal with the Austrian outfit. Speaking at the Austrian Grand Prix, Steiner said Viñales was simply never presented as an option for the future, insisting that no agreement was ever tabled.

Steiner’s comments come after a period in which Viñales looked, at least temporarily, like he could remain a KTM rider into 2027. Crash.net reports that the 10-time MotoGP race winner had been in strong form during the first half of the 2025 season, which helped keep the idea of him continuing with KTM alive. However, that momentum faded early in the year as he dealt with an ongoing shoulder problem, and the expected path to a factory KTM promotion did not materialise.

Viñales has previously claimed that he signed a deal to stay with KTM at Tech3 during the summer, though he also said that arrangement was later revoked by the manufacturer. Despite that, Steiner’s position is that Tech3 never had a separate 2027 plan involving Viñales.

From next year, Crash.net notes that both Tech3 riders will be contracted to the team rather than to KTM. With the 2027 grid now fully set—after Tech3 confirmed it had signed Senna Agius to partner Luca Marini—Viñales’ exit from the KTM structure is described as official.

Asked directly on Saturday whether signing Viñales for Tech3 had ever been considered, Steiner responded with a blunt framing of the situation: “Maverick is a KTM rider. And we needed to decide at some stage.” He added that, in his view, the decision-making process was shaped by what Tech3 could realistically offer, saying: “I don’t think Maverick told KTM that he wanted a works team seat, and obviously we don’t have that. So, we needed to make our decision.”

When pressed further on whether a deal had ever been presented to Viñales, Steiner’s answer was unequivocal: “No.”

Steiner also addressed Viñales’ current status away from the track. Crash.net reports that Viñales has been absent since the summer break as he continues to recover from his shoulder injury. At the Austrian GP, Steiner said he did not have any new information on whether Viñales would be able to ride the following week, explaining that he had only checked in to see where things stood.

“I mean, I saw the KTM guys yesterday, but we didn’t speak about if he is going to ride next week or not, just to see where he is at,” Steiner said. He continued: “He said this week himself he is not fit yet to ride.”

Steiner described the recovery as complicated and emphasised that the priority is Viñales’ health rather than racing returns on a timetable. “I don’t know the exact condition of him, because it’s very complicated,” he said. “I’m of the opinion that, for his own sake, he needs to get healthy; he needs to get fit again.”

He also pointed to the risk of returning too early, suggesting that this is what contributed to Viñales’ current situation. “There’s no point coming back too early again, because I think that’s what happened. It is why he is where he is now,” Steiner said.

Finally, Steiner underlined that the team’s concern extends beyond performance. “I want him fit as a human being, not as an athlete, for his future, as a person. That’s more important than racing motorbikes.”