Maverick Vinales speaks more openly than ever about missed opportunities, family happiness, and his newfound maturity—with KTM, he has a clear goal: to make history.
Even though Maverick Vinales is not currently the highest-ranked KTM rider in the overall standings, the Tech3 rider has already attracted attention on several occasions in qualifying and races. He might have secured a podium finish at Mugello had he not been knocked out.
But when asked if he feels like a top rider at KTM, the Spaniard plays it down: “I’m not really focused on whether I’m the top rider or not.”
“To be honest, I’m just focused on working on myself, on being the best Maverick I can be on the bike. Am I the best? I don’t know, that’s for others to judge,” he emphasizes, highlighting the equal treatment he receives from KTM.
“I think KTM gives all four riders the maximum. That’s what I felt from the very first moment, and that hasn’t changed. We’re trying to build something strong together. My feeling is that the feedback from all the riders is analyzed and they try to get the best out of all of us.”
Vinales: Family happiness has changed him
But there is much more to the “new” Vinales than just riding skill: an inner development that he himself describes as his greatest achievement. In an interview with the Spanish sports newspaper AS, it becomes clear how strongly his family – his wife Raquel and their two daughters Nina and Blanca – has shaped his thinking.
“Having my own family was my dream even as a child. After achieving this goal, I developed greatly as a person because I learned values that I didn’t know before, such as patience and unconditional love. That has made me more humble, wiser, and mentally stronger.”
This maturity is also evident in his behavior on the track. He reacted calmly to the collision with Franco Morbidelli in Mugello: “I have a rule for myself: anger can only last two minutes. After that, it’s over.”
Vinales’ new mental attitude is no coincidence. He actively works on himself, reads books on personal development, especially by Brian Tracy, and emphasizes: “Attitude is everything. It’s the key to everything you want to achieve.“
Despite his inner calm, his sporting motivation remains unbroken. His goal is clear: to become MotoGP world champion. ”I feel that I can do it. I don’t know how or where, but I’m sure it’s possible if I give it my all.”
He sees KTM not only as a team, but as a joint project with strong cohesion: “We riders have to stick together – Pedro, Brad, Enea, me. If we push together, we can bring KTM right to the front. The factory has pulled out all the stops. Now it’s our turn.”
Vinales openly admits that KTM is not the easiest machine at the moment. “The KTM is difficult. It demands precision every inch of the way. One small mistake with the throttle, ten percent too little or 20 percent too much, and you lose. But when you get it right, you’re really fast,” the Spaniard analyzes.
His biggest mistake: turning down Ducati’s offer
What makes him so optimistic despite this challenge is his special connection to the team: “The energy at KTM suits me. That’s extremely important to me.”
He feels understood there. That wasn’t always the case in the past. In the middle of the 2021 season, his relationship with Yamaha, where Vinales had been under contract since 2017, broke down. “With my departure from Yamaha, I lost around 17 million euros. Eight million per year, plus bonuses,” he reveals.
And he admits: “Now, with the maturity I have, I think I could have seen it through to the end there.” At that point, he could already have been riding for Ducati. Not making the switch was his biggest sporting mistake.
“In 2018, I had an offer from the factory team for 2019 and 2020, as Dovizioso’s teammate. I was almost there,” Vinales says of missed opportunities, “but the people around me at the time convinced me to stay with Yamaha. A mistake.”
Nevertheless, the 30-year-old does not look back with resentment. He is proud of the path he has taken and convinced that the best is yet to come. His personal goal is to be the first rider ever to win with four different brands in MotoGP. After Suzuki, Yamaha, and Aprilia, KTM is now set to follow.