Maverick Vi\u00f1ales is ready to return to MotoGP. The Spanish rider will line up for the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi after missing the last four rounds due to a shoulder injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vi\u00f1ales has not raced since the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring, forcing him to sit out the Grands Prix of Great Britain, Aragon, San Marino and Austria. The physical problem, linked to a muscle injury in his shoulder, required a longer recovery period than initially expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After several weeks of rehabilitation, the Tech3 KTM rider has received the green light to return to competition. However, Vi\u00f1ales has made it clear that he is not yet back to full fitness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cI\u2019m really happy to finally be able to say that I\u2019m back racing. The last few months have been a long journey and I\u2019ve worked hard every single day to reach this point,\u201d the Spaniard explained.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
The Japanese Grand Prix will therefore represent the first step in his comeback. The main objective will be to gradually rebuild his rhythm and assess how his shoulder responds to the demands of riding the KTM RC16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cI\u2019m not at 100% yet, but I\u2019m on the right path and I feel ready to take this next step. Motegi will be a weekend where I need to progressively build my rhythm, understand my physical condition and regain my feeling with the bike,\u201d Vi\u00f1ales added.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Pol Espargar\u00f3 Returns to Test Rider Role<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
During Vi\u00f1ales\u2019 absence, KTM called on Pol Espargar\u00f3 to replace him. The Spanish rider competed in the last four Grands Prix, allowing the team to maintain its racing programme while continuing development work on the RC16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With Vi\u00f1ales returning at Motegi, Espargar\u00f3 will once again focus primarily on his role as KTM test and development rider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tech3 stressed that Vi\u00f1ales\u2019 recovery had always been the team\u2019s priority, with no intention of rushing his return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cWe are very happy to confirm that Maverick will return with us in Japan,\u201d said team manager Nicolas Goyon.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cFrom the beginning of this journey, our priority has been to support his recovery and make sure he returned when he was ready, rather than forcing the process.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
An Important Return for Vi\u00f1ales\u2019 Future<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Vi\u00f1ales\u2019 comeback also comes at an important stage in his career. His place on the MotoGP grid for 2027 has not yet been defined, while his contractual situation remains to be clarified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For now, however, the focus is firmly on his return to racing. After several weeks away from competition, Vi\u00f1ales will have to gradually rebuild his confidence, race rhythm and physical condition before assessing his performance over a full Grand Prix weekend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Maverick Vi\u00f1ales is ready to return to MotoGP. The Spanish rider will line up for the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi after missing the last four rounds due to a shoulder injury. Vi\u00f1ales has not raced since the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring, forcing him to sit out the Grands Prix of Great Britain, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[107,104,109,108,102,106,112,111,110,103,105],"class_list":["post-2089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motogp","tag-japan-motogp","tag-japanese-grand-prix","tag-ktm-rc16","tag-ktm-tech3","tag-maverick-vinales","tag-motegi-motogp","tag-motogp-2026","tag-pol-espargaro","tag-vinales-injury","tag-vinales-motogp","tag-vinales-motogp-return"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2089"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2089\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2091,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2089\/revisions\/2091"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}