Maverick Vinales enters this weekend’s British MotoGP with renewed belief and momentum, hoping to build on a string of solid performances aboard the Tech3 KTM.
Vinales is one of ten different riders to have won the past ten premier-class Grands Prix at Silverstone, claiming his win back in 2016 with Suzuki – the first of his ten career victories across three different manufacturers.
He’s also no stranger to the Silverstone podium, having celebrated top-three finishes there with Yamaha in 2017 and 2019, and Aprilia in 2022 and during the Sprint in 2023.
Though last year’s results were less impressive – 8th in the Sprint and 13th in the Grand Prix – Vinales returns this season with growing momentum. He’s scored three top-five finishes in the last four races, including a penalised podium in Qatar.
“We are heading to Silverstone, a track I’ve always enjoyed, so it’ll be interesting to see what we can achieve with KTM,” said Vinales.
“Le Mans was a wild weekend in many ways, but it was solid all around – in qualifying, the Sprint, the main race, and under different weather conditions.
“We’re improving with every race weekend. The target now is to keep that rhythm going and get closer to the top guys. The weather is always unpredictable at Silverstone, but I guess our experience in France gave us some wet-weather training!”
The British Grand Prix has been moved to an earlier calendar slot this year, increasing the likelihood of rain. Still, Vinales takes confidence from his fifth-place finish at a wet Le Mans, his best flag-to-flag result so far.
“I’d prefer a sunny weekend,” he admitted, “but I learned a lot about the bike in the wet at Le Mans, especially around engine braking and power strategy. I’ve shared some feedback to help us improve – we just need a little more time.”
Team manager Nicolas Goyon echoed the optimism:
“Races at Silverstone are usually in August, so this earlier date is unusual. We’ll have to wait and see what conditions we get.
“But Maverick will approach the weekend with maximum confidence. He’s adapting well to the KTM, and he’s happy with both the bike and the team. His Le Mans performance – two top-five results – was his best weekend of the season so far.”
Currently sitting 11th in the world championship, Vinales is just six points behind the top KTM rider, Pedro Acosta – and determined to close the gap.
