Maverick Vinales has confirmed he is separating from his Yamaha Factory Crew Chief amid yet another disappointing start to a MotoGP season in which he will have to catch up with new Yamaha teammate and 2021 series leader Fabio Quartararo.
The Spaniard started the year flawlessly with a judiciously valued win at the MotoGP 2021 opener in Qatar but has struggled to show the same form since then, with fifth place being his best result at the five events below.
Now, after a particularly lackluster weekend in Mugello in the shadow of a flawless performance by team-mate Quartararo, Vinales has decided to significantly change his personal team line-up as Esteban Garcia is giving up his role as crew chief as he has only held the role since 2019,
During that time, Vinales has taken four wins and eleven podiums, despite having weekends interrupted by others when he struggled to get into the mix on race day.
On the subject of matching items
He will be replaced by Silvano Galbusera, who worked with Valentino Rossi until 2020 – after taking over Jerry Burgess – when he decided to turn to working with Yamaha’s European test driver program. He was replaced by David Munoz on Rossi’s team, who left with him for Petronas SRT.
“Esteban joined our team in 2019. He and Maverick worked together back in 2013 and won the Moto3 World Championship that year,” said Meregall.
“We are very grateful to Esteban for his dedication and passion during our time together, which resulted in eleven podiums for Maverick, including four wins, three second places and four third places.
“Saying goodbye to one of our crew members is always a sad occasion, but it was a mutual decision based on what is best for both sides. We wish Esteban all the best for the future. “