Pedro Acosta’s crew chief, Paul Trevathan, has commended Maverick Viñales and Manu Cazeau for their crucial role in helping KTM navigate a tough beginning to the 2025 MotoGP season. Viñales, who transferred to KTM from Tech3 this year, brought along the experienced Cazeau. The duo first partnered in 2015 during Viñales’ time with Suzuki, where they celebrated his first premier class win at the British MotoGP in 2016. Their collaboration paused briefly when Viñales moved to Yamaha in 2017, but Cazeau remarked that had Viñales stayed at Suzuki, they might have contended for the championship. They later reunited at Aprilia before both joined KTM.
Following a sluggish winter and a disappointing opening race in Thailand, Viñales and Cazeau quickly identified a promising approach for the KTM RC16. Viñales explained during the Argentina warm-up that they aimed to add more rear weight to better control rear sliding entering corners. Although he often slid sideways under braking, his goal was to maintain better control for improved throttle application and corner entry, recognizing that braking remains critical but still has room for refinement. Viñales introduced not only a fresh bike setup but also suggested a smoother riding style could be effective on the KTM, contrasting with the aggressive technique of the factory riders Acosta and Brad Binder.
While not all of Viñales’ ideas were directly applicable, Acosta and Trevathan welcomed the new perspectives. Trevathan highlighted that having diverse teammates helps riders develop and advances the bike’s evolution. He noted that Viñales’ riding style is the direct opposite of Acosta’s, illustrating another path to achieving competitive lap times, which broadened their strategic options. Acosta responded positively to this without ego, showing openness to trial and error.
Trevathan emphasized that Viñales and his crew chief Manu, who adeptly guided the bike adjustments, brought valuable experience to the team, even though the approach suited Viñales more than others. Viñales led KTM in the Qatar race, but lost his first factory podium due to a tire pressure infringement and later struggled with a shoulder injury. Meanwhile, Acosta overcame a rough start to finish as KTM’s top rider, earning 12 podium finishes in the latter half of the season and climbing to fourth in the world championship.
Fan Take: This development highlights how collaboration and open-mindedness within a team can unlock new potential even during challenging seasons. For racing fans, it shows that innovation in riding techniques and bike setups can lead to exciting strategic shifts that keep the sport dynamic and unpredictable.
