Overview
- Maverick Vinales ended his Grand Prix of the Americas weekend after first practice due to renewed pain in the left shoulder he badly injured in 2025.
- He plans to visit the Italian surgeons who operated on him for a fresh evaluation, and he has left open the option of another operation.
- The calendar now gives him nearly a month to recover because the Qatar round was postponed, with the next race scheduled at Jerez in late April.
- His early 2026 form has been poor with no points, and data he cited shows a sharp drop in strength on left-hand turns at anticlockwise tracks like COTA.
- The uncertainty could shape his future at KTM, with The Race reporting that a mooted 2027 factory promotion has not been finalized given his fitness and results.