KTM Hired a MotoGP Rider, Then Fired, Then Hired Someone Else All Within a Week

If signing a contract that someone sent you isn't valid, then what do contracts even mean in the first place? Ask Maverick Viñales.

By: Janaki Jitchotvisut

Jul 10, at 9:12am ET

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Depending on how long you've paid attention to motorsport, you might recall a time when every rider and driver didn't clearly have a metric ton of media training. While it might've sometimes been cause for both teams and their sponsors to sweat more than a little, those times also made for more memorable moments for fans.

After all, there's a reason that the 2012 Abu Dhabi Formula One race is particularly memorable, and it's Kimi Raikkonen's in-car radio, which will forever live in my head rent-free. Hey, leave him alone; he knows what he's doing, you guys!

Here in 2026, those moments don't happen all too frequently anymore in any of the top racing paddocks. So, on the rare occasion that they do, that makes them stand out all the more.

As one example, take this brand-new claim from Maverick Viñales, who's now publicly stated that he thought he'd signed a contract for next year with KTM. But then, later, he says he was told that this contract is "not valid," and that he doesn't actually have a ride after all. This report comes from our sister publication Motorsport.com, by the way.

Let's think about this for a moment, as it's a terrible way to treat anyone if it's true. As we're not contract lawyers, I don't feel comfortable offering any opinions about any legal action that could potentially be involved; no doubt, Viñales has his own legal team to help him out on that score.

Whether it's true or not, the fact that Viñales felt the need to offer this information up publicly seems like a clear indicator that he feels he has nothing left to lose, in terms of securing a place in the MotoGP paddock for 2027. Anyone who's ever held down a job can tell you that you probably don't let every thought that goes through your head fly fast and free out of your mouth, you know?

At least, not if you're planning to stay employed.

But if you already know you're on your way out, suddenly you find that you can be a lot less quiet about how you really feel. It does seem, from that interview, like that's where Viñales' head is at right now.

"After Montmelo, because of what was published, I knew Fabio Di Giannantonio was going to take my place. So I asked KTM about it and then, when I arrived at Mugello [31 May], they sent me a contract. They sent it to my email. And I signed it.

"Okay, the truth is that it [the contract] wasn't good at all. But in any case, I wanted to race. I really believe in KTM's engineers. That's why, even though it was against my own interests, I signed it. And two weeks later, they told me it wasn't valid. What can you expect after that?

"I don't want to stay here. They didn't take it seriously."

--Maverick Viñales

What do you think?

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What can you say, except that the man clearly isn't mincing words here. And if that's what happened, it's difficult to blame him for feeling a certain type of way. As to what happens next after this, that's unclear.

Could he show up in WSBK, perhaps? One other avenue that's unfortunately closed to him and others who've recently left the paddock is coming back to MotoGP as a wildcard, since that's now been banned. Could he, perhaps, come back to motorsport in a management role, much like the aforementioned Kimi Raikkonen and plenty of other former racers have done? Only time will tell.