It was a tough one for the Red Bull KTM Tech3 squad on Saturday at the Grand Prix of Germany. Enea Bastianini was missing on one side of the garage after it was decided on Friday evening that the Italian was to miss the remainder of the weekend to focus on recovering from appendicitis. All eyes were on one sole captain, Maverick Viñales, but sometimes, luck is just not on your side. A small fracture on the left shoulder following his Q2 crash saw ‘Top Gun’ be declared unfit for the remainder of the weekend, leaving the Tech3 squad with no bike on the grid for both sprint and main event.
Grand Prix of Germany
Super Saturday was off to a decent start though for Maverick Viñales, after the Spaniard made the cut from Q1 to Q2 under tricky and rainy conditions. If the number 12 was not quite happy with the overall feeling after Friday, it seemed that some interesting findings were brought to Super Saturday after ‘Top Gun’ took the second time of the final free practice this morning in the wet. Heading to Q1 under the rain, Maverick showed good pace in the wet, starting with a 1’29.164 powering him up to provisional first early into the session, before Johann Zarco set a new benchmark. The Spaniard remained with the medium-soft tire option when he rejoined the track for run 2, while a few contenders had opted with a medium at the rear. Maverick was quick to improve to a 1’28.049 on his first flying lap, but Zarco answered back with a 1’27.827 to claim back first. A small mistake in the last lap meant no further improvements were made for Maverick, who retained the second position, and headed to Q2.
Unfortunately, Maverick crashed early into Q2 this morning, and he was brought to the medical center immediately as he missed the remainder of the session. He had a dislocated left shoulder which was immediately put back in place at the track, but the doctors suspected a small fracture. The fracture was confirmed at the local hospital. Maverick will be unfit for the remainder of the German Grand Prix, while we await for further updates on the recovery process, to understand if he will be with us or not next week in Brno.
As we wish both our riders a speedy recovery, the Red Bull KTM Tech3 squad will sadly have no bike lined up on the grid of the German Grand Prix on Sunday, as the main event kicks off at 14:00 local time (UTC+2), for 30 laps.
MAVERICK VIÑALES: "I have pain of course, but I am feeling good overall. Most importantly, I am really disappointed because we don't get to see the end of our weekend here, and what we could have achieved. We were really fast this morning, P2 in FP2, we made it from Q1 to Q2, and I think that we had high chances to be on the front row, which is what we are aiming to achieve. I know it is coming, so we need to keep believing, and keep pushing."
NICOLAS GOYON, Team Manager: "Unbelievable bad luck for the Red Bull KTM Tech3 team this weekend. We arrived in Germany with hopes because the KTM is normally performing well at the Sachsenring. We first understood that Enea Bastianini was going to miss out on this round due to an appendicitis forcing him to stay in hospital, so all eyes were focused on Maverick Viñales. He missed Q2 by nothing on Friday, but we knew he had the pace, and the weather conditions could be game-changing. He did a solid Q1 to go through Q2, but unfortunately he then crashed and injured his left shoulder. He has a small fracture which forces him to be out for the rest of the weekend. Now, he is evaluating his options to recover, and we will have to wait a bit to understand our situation more. With no rider fit to race, we will sadly have no bike on the grid tomorrow. We wish both Enea and Maverick a speedy recovery, and we really hope to have them back with us as soon as possible."
QUALIFYING RESULTS
1. Marc Marquez (SPA), Ducati Lenovo Team, 1'27.811
2. Johann Zarco (FRA), Honda LCR, +0.151
3. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA), Aprilia Racing, +0.421
12. Maverick Viñales (SPA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.222 (Q1)
TISSOT SPRINT RESULTS
1. Marc Marquez (SPA), Ducati Lenovo Team, 22'25.747
2. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA), Aprilia Racing, +0.938
3. Fabio Quartararo (FRA), Yamaha MotoGP Team, +4.361
TRACK RECORDS
All Time Record: 2025 - F. Di Giannatonio (ITA) - 1'19.071 - 167.1 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2024 - J. Martin (SPA) - 1'20.667 - 163.8 km/h
Best Pole: 2024 - J. Martin (SPA) - 1'19.423 - 166.3 km/h
Top Speed: 2024 - P. Acosta (SPA) - 306.8 km/h
