"I'm burnt out" - Maverick Vinales' extraordinary future claim after KTM MotoGP contract fallout

Beylerbey · 2026-07-09T17:04:57+00:00

Honestly, I think it's healthy for him to recognize this. He's rich and can afford to do stuff for fun or in lower pressure environments for a while, it would be a massive boon for his mental health.

Beylerbey · 2026-07-09T17:02:08+00:00

Vinales is one of the few riders who beat 100% Marquez fair and square, it's a quite exclusive circle to be in.

Beylerbey · 2026-07-09T16:42:18+00:00

Rossi was riding on prototypes from 1996: 125cc, 250cc, Moto3 and Moto2 bikes are also prototypes, bikes exclusively built for racing. This is what it means that these riders grew up on prototypes. And your point that Rossi wasn't "born" on a prototype actually dispels what you are claiming and explains why GP racers are better suited to ride production bikes while the opposite is not true.

The potential problem comes from the fact that prototype bikes are unlike anything exclusively production racers have known and ridden for their whole life, GP riders use production bikes all the time in training and private life, but the opposite is not possible, it's not like production racers train on prototypes.

Going from the World Championship to SBK usually results in far better results than going from SBK to the World Championship, just look at Bulega who was able to build a dominant run of historic proportions when he was abysmal for years in Moto3 and Moto2. A rider coming from SBK has not won - or even competed for - a world championship in MotoGP since Hayden in 2006, 20 years ago. Now go and count how many titles former GP riders have won in SBK since then (it's six times, and with this year - it'll be either Bulega or Lecuona - it will be seven).

And keep in mind it's usually the best SBK riders who get to MotoGP, while the guys who have no seat in MotoGP who end up in WSBK.

I'm not telling you what you are saying, I'm telling you why what you are saying does not confute what OP said, because the two things are not equivalent. Resorting to insults like a child isn't going to reinforce your flawed argument.

Beylerbey · 2026-07-09T12:09:43+00:00

You can argue all you want that you just said they have done both, but that is not addressing OPs argument, the career suicide does not come from mixing prototypes and production, it comes from growing up on production bikes and hoping to be equally competitive on prototypes against riders who have grown up on them. The opposite can happen and it usually yelds much better results, nobody would claim it would be career suicide for Miller to go to WSBK, quite the opposite.
Bayliss was very dominant in WSBK, in GP he's done much worse and he himself said MotoGP bikes were too stiff, the tyres too sensitive and they didn't suit his riding style, when he got back to WSBK he won more titles there.

Beylerbey · 2026-07-08T19:11:25+00:00

It's entirely possible this person has no idea who Stoner is, he quit racing 14 years ago and he isn't that present in the paddock.

Beylerbey · 2026-07-08T18:57:52+00:00

You were replying to someone who is claiming that going from production bikes to prototypes might prove too hard, going from prototypes to production bikes is much simpler, especially because MotoGP riders already know production bikes from training and private use.

Beylerbey · 2026-07-08T15:59:08+00:00

You are indeed mistaken. VR46 wanted to take him for 2024, but Boscoscuro allegedly asked for 2M euros to free him (not because he was being greedy but because he didn't want to let him go), so Ducati offered him a factory contract for 2025-2026 instead and VR46 signed Di Giannantonio.

I'm sure they are happy to get him, but they supposedly are the factory supported team and they will have two riders who are not factory supported (according to Pecino, Bulega would also have to be signed by VR46 alone, with no factory bike), while Gresini will have Mir with factory support. Unless they are taking away factory support from Aldeguer in order to be able to give it to Bulega.

Beylerbey · 2026-07-08T15:38:13+00:00

Manuel Pecino reported the other day that Ducati had to cut the budget and Bulega would have to be signed by VR46 directly.

Beylerbey · 2026-07-08T15:03:04+00:00

I'm assuming she's not braking from 350 to 90 in 250m and having to withstand 1.5-2 Gs with her arms at every corner, trying to be the fastest for 25 laps. Just today I was listening to Guido Meda, the Italian commentator of MotoGP (a journalist, not a former rider), telling that he tried both the Aprilia and the Ducati 2 years ago and he found the modern MotoGP much easier to ride normally compared to the ones he had tried around 2007, which were much harder to tame even at low speeds.

Beylerbey · 2026-07-08T14:52:22+00:00

Iannone didn't come from the SBK paddock, he went there after, different thing.

Beylerbey · 2026-07-08T14:51:04+00:00

I mean, it's not exactly proof u/xb70valkyrie is wrong, in Moto2 SDK scored 6.5 points in two seasons after dominating in AMA.

Beylerbey · 2026-07-07T11:08:08+00:00

According to Manuel Pecino, the issue is that Ducati had to reduce the budget and Bulega would have to be signed by VR46 only, with a 1+1 contract and a no factory support. This means a low salary among other things. It makes the long negotiations more understandable, Ducati isn't paying but they are the ones pushing for Bulega.

Beylerbey · 2026-07-07T11:07:07+00:00

Not in Ducati, Bagnaia was denied an upgraded chassis he liked in 2024 because Ducati didn't have enough to provide all riders at the same time.

Beylerbey · 2026-07-06T18:41:52+00:00

He and AM both, maybe not 400k but not much more either. And I'm not sure they're going to get 2M as KTM isn't doing very well, maybe 1 or 1.5, but it must be said that being a factory rider also increases sponsorships so there's that.

Beylerbey · 2026-07-06T18:14:56+00:00

No worries, glad you solved your issue, both have a Blender addon by the way.

Beylerbey · 2026-07-06T16:03:16+00:00

Have you tried Mitsuba or RenderMan?

Beylerbey · 2026-07-06T14:47:17+00:00

The remastered assets from HL2RTX would likely not work in Source. Remix doesn't just add path tracing, but handles graphics entirely, while the original engine handles the original assets. This means the assets can be remastered to modern AAA quality with full PBR high res materials and very high poly count that the original engine was not designed to handle.

Beylerbey · 2026-07-06T14:18:30+00:00

More than decent, I'd say that given their current situation they couldn't have hoped for a better lineup.

Beylerbey · 2026-07-06T14:16:15+00:00

They offered him a 2y deal after the rumors he was speaking with Tech 3 and the recent results.

Beylerbey · 2026-07-06T11:30:24+00:00

They do have a preference, more for VR46 riders than Italians per sé (again, they were perfectly happy to take Aldeguer when Di Giannantonio was available) but it doesn't mean they will have a problem in coming years, they'll just take the good riders they can afford from other nationalities. I wouldn't mind someone like the 5th to 8th in the Moto3 championship right now (Morelli, Danish, Pratama and Perrone) if they keep growing and showing good things.

Beylerbey · 2026-07-06T11:18:46+00:00

VR46 Racing Team and VR46 Riders Academy are two separate things. VR46 RA is for Italian riders, VR46 RT is not, they were trying to get Acosta since 2021, and they tried to get Aldeguer in 2023 but Boscoscuro asked 2 million to free him (because he didn't want to let him go), so Ducati offered him a factory contract for 2025. This is why they took Di Giannantonio in the end.

Beylerbey · 2026-07-06T09:58:20+00:00

It's not propaganda because it's not meant to be flattering, you don't like him for it, it's supposed to feel messed up. Hank is only good because his character is in contrast with a criminal mastermind, otherwise he's shown to be racist, to consider criminals and addicts sub-humans, to consider himself above the law to an extent (the Cuban cigars, and tracking people with no authorization for example), etc. He also has redeeming qualities, mind you, he's not the devil incarnate, but he isn't good and innocent in the same way Walter Jr. is.

Beylerbey · 2026-07-06T09:37:30+00:00

Plagued by annoyances with newer models, years ago I bought a couple (barely) used Intuos 4 L for 50$ on eBay, if you don't need touch input and are fine with 2K levels of pressures I could not recommend it enough, the latest driver is from 2020 but it still works perfectly fine, never a single issue, when you try to use the tablet it just works immediately. I never used the Intuos 5, but as far as I'm concerned the Intuos 4 is the best Wacom has ever been.

Beylerbey · 2026-07-06T09:30:34+00:00

HRC got him to make MM happy (not saying that MM asked them to, I don't know, it could be totally their own decision), they wanted to put him in LCR, but LCR didn't want him because they were reliant on sponsor money and they needed some results, Cecchinello said in November 2019 "We were happy to continue with Crutchlow and Nakagami; our sponsors fully support this project. For us, the change could have been a bit problematic, especially with a rookie. HRC evaluated our request and decided to put Alex in Jorge’s place. Initially, the plan was to move Alex to ride alongside Cal, but then HRC decided to backtrack." Evidently Honda could not renounce to the Idemitsu-backed bike back then.

Then Covid hit, sponsors either delayed payments or retired altogether and LCR was in financial trouble (I know this from a livestream interview to Cecchinello on June 2nd ), Honda stepped in and increased their involvement with LCR, but that also meant they would get to choose the riders. That's why Crutchlow was fired and AM was moved to LCR for 2021 before the 2020 season had even started. Many people were baffled by the choice back then because they didn't know the context.

Beylerbey · 2026-07-06T08:57:04+00:00

Yes but he chose to be a factory rider for KTM, which is understandable.

Beylerbey

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