KTM boss Beirer on Vinales: "Not a nice situation"

Maverick Vinales recently made headlines!

The Spaniard criticised his KTM team and spoke openly about a possible departure from MotoGP. The main trigger for this was difficult contract negotiations. (More info>>>)

Now, KTM Motorsport Director Pit Beirer speaks for the first time.

"No secret that..."

"I mean, it's no secret that we somehow hoped he would be one of the factory riders in the future, and so we discussed that last summer and opened that door and that discussion," Beirer said on TV.

Last season, Vinales sustained a shoulder injury from which he actually still suffers today.

"There was a moment when we had the chance to get Alex [Marquez] and Fabio [Di Giannantonio]. And at that moment, Maverick was simply nowhere near showing us that he would return to his old form," Beirer explained.

"Rejection" from Vinales

Vinales was offered a Tech3 spot, with one rider coming from Moto2 and the other potentially being the Spaniard, but he clearly rejected that.

Beirer says: "We want an experienced rider next to him (next to the Moto2 rider), so I'm really sorry about the situation because we like Maverick so much, he's such a good guy. I don't know why he so clearly says no to something and gives us such a hard rejection."

"So we have to sort this out. It's not a nice situation, but it's definitely not like we told him: 'Please leave'," Beirer added.