The MotoGP had a chaotic race this Sunday in Catalonia, but Maverick Viñales left Barcelona with reasons to celebrate. The Red Bull KTM Tech3 rider finished the race in 11th place after penalties were applied to rivals and earned his first points of the 2026 season, shortly after undergoing shoulder surgery.
Read more MotoGP: Bagnaia overcomes chaos and secures podium in Catalonia
In front of nearly 75,000 fans in Monaco, Viñales started only from 17th position and even lost ground on the first lap, dropping to 20th. Even so, he managed to recover in a race marked by two red flags and many accidents.
The first interruption happened after a heavy crash at the front of the pack. Shortly after the restart, a new collision at Turn 1 took down three riders and caused another race stoppage. When the race was restarted for the second time, Viñales found his rhythm, gained positions on the track, and took advantage of incidents in the final laps to cross the line in 13th.
After penalties for Joan Mir and Alex Rins for irregular tire pressure, the Spaniard was promoted to 11th place. “Having to do three starts was not ideal for my shoulder, because I had to warm up every time, but the pace was good and the bike’s balance too. The most important thing was to finish the race,” said Viñales.
Read more MotoGP: Binder saves KTM with P7 in chaotic race in Catalonia
Enea Bastianini, the Spaniard’s teammate, also showed potential for a good result before retiring due to a technical problem on the tenth lap. The Italian was recovering in the race and was already closing in on the group fighting for seventh place when he lost power on the KTM RC16.
The team boss, Nicolas Goyon, described the race as “chaotic” and regretted the accidents involving Johann Zarco and Álex Márquez. Still, he highlighted Viñales’ performance after his physical recovery. Tech3 will remain in Catalonia for official testing before the next MotoGP round in Mugello, Italy.
Read more F1: Bortoleto and Norris are impressed with Formula E GEN4
