‘If something’s broken, I’ll call it a day’: Viñales’s shoulder isn’t getting any better

Following his ordeal at Lusail, Maverick Viñales is sounding the alarm – persistent shoulder problems are putting the final races of the season and his future in doubt

Maverick Viñales struggled through the weekend at the Qatar Grand Prix. Due to physical problems with his left shoulder, he considered pulling out of Sunday’s race after the sprint.

In the sprint, the Spaniard finished 15th and second-last, 13 seconds behind the leader. “It’s extremely difficult to ride like this,” said the Tech3 KTM rider after Saturday’s race.

“I’ve had enough. I don’t want to carry on riding like this. It’s not up to my standard. It makes absolutely no sense to just be churning out laps just to somehow finish the season.”

“To be honest, I can’t feel the bike at all anymore. It’s not just down to my arm. I can’t judge it properly because I’m not at 100 per cent. It’s really taking its toll on me mentally now.”

“It’s no longer a case of me just riding and that being the end of it. Now it’s really getting to me. I’m extremely frustrated. My patience has long since run out.”

“This has absolutely nothing to do with the bike or the team. It’s down to me. I’ve had enough. I need to work out for myself whether I carry on or not.”

Better race pace than expected

The 31-year-old looked visibly dejected after the sprint. Nevertheless, he took part in the warm-up on Sunday afternoon in extreme heat and also made it onto the Grand Prix starting grid that evening.

Vinales completed the 22-lap race. He crossed the line in 13th place, just one second behind the two Ducati riders, Franco Morbidelli and Fermin Aldeguer. That was at least a small ray of hope on the horizon.

“Yes, very tough,” Vinales sighs. “But it’s also so tough because I have to put extreme strain on my right arm and then I get something like arm pump. Still, I was quite satisfied because I finished the race.”

“Around the middle of the race we had good pace, which I hadn’t expected at all. After that, I tried to move further up the field, but that was extremely difficult.”

Medical tests will determine whether he can race at Portimão and Valencia

Following the triple-header of races in Australia, Malaysia and Qatar, a week’s break comes at just the right time – and not just for Viñales. On the one hand, he wants to rest, but on the other, he wants to understand why his shoulder isn’t getting any better.

“My plan is to go to the doctor next week, have all the necessary MRI scans done and see what’s wrong. Something must obviously be wrong, because it’s just not getting any better.”

“It’s not as though I’m feeling a slight improvement from race to race. I don’t notice any progress at all, or I’m actually in even more pain. So there must definitely be something wrong with my body.”

The coming days could also determine whether Viñales will line up for the final two races in Portimão and Valencia. “If something [in der Schulter] is broken, I’ll stop. There’s no point otherwise,” he states clearly.

“I can’t improve my performance. And I don’t feel like just doing my laps out there. I hate every single lap. If it turns out that something is broken and there’s no improvement in sight, I’ll stop.”

“I lack the motivation to carry on, because when I feel like this, there’s no point in riding at 50 per cent. I don’t feel right inside. We’ll see if something’s broken, and whether it can be treated or not.”

“Whether I can have an operation or whether I can recover slowly by staying at home and doing the right rehab. If not, it’s over for me, because the whole thing is so complicated. I can’t cope with it.”

The Tech3 team is behind him

For this reason, Viñales confirmed that he still has no idea what will happen next year or whether he’ll be able to continue riding at all. He hasn’t found a new contract anywhere yet.

Nevertheless, he emphasises that the Tech3 team is fully behind him, despite the difficult and currently hopeless sporting situation: “Absolutely, they’re right behind me!”

“As far as I’m concerned, they fully understand that I’m injured and am giving it my all not to give up, not to get off the bike and to see the weekend through.”

“That’s why I say: I still feel exactly the same as I did on Saturday. Ultimately, I feel that I could ride much faster, but I’ve reached a physical limit and just can’t manage it.”

“On top of that, my feel for the bike isn’t exactly fantastic either. But I just can’t manage to be fast.” Viñales has only scored 17 World Championship points so far this season.