The KTM brand has been saved under new owner Bajaj Auto, but the medium-term outlook of its MotoGP programme is uncertain - not just because it is yet to formally commit to the new regulations in 2027.

For now, despite Bajaj's public proclamations of wanting to slash costs substantially in areas including racing, KTM is proceeding as planned with the 850cc bike for 2027, a prototype having already hit the track.

But it will need elite riders to ride it when it's ready - and the inevitable uncertainties that remain over the exact shape of the programme will make attracting top-tier rider talent from outside difficult, and hanging on to its own emerging star Pedro Acosta potentially impossible.

On the evidence of 2025, there is at least a genuine in-house Plan B.

Maverick Vinales finished as the lowest-scoring KTM regular by far, but did only meaningfully contest half the season - and caught the eye of the paddock in that early stretch.

While Acosta is desperate to win and hungry for a bike that will put him in the mix every weekend, Vinales' motivations and moods have always seemed a bit more nebulous. Which is good for KTM - because it seemingly enabled the 30-year-old to take the off-season news of KTM's financial strife in stride and to shrug off a difficult start to the season much more easily than some of his KTM peers.

An anecdote from a year ago goes that Vinales was so bought in into the KTM mission that he bought shares in the then-deeply troubled company. It's certainly the kind of endearing "true believer" behaviour that would be conducive to success in a down-on-its-luck project - and it's echoed in Vinales' well-documented impact on track at the start of the season.

"Especially on the beginning of the season, until mid-season, I was the only one to stay a little bit more calm and work on the details with the riding style," Vinales claimed recently. "So I was able to do good results."

He also claimed: "I feel that I made a big improvement on a mental side, especially with all the [KTM] people, I try always to...in the beginning of the season I was the guy to convince them to keep working, to keep the faith. This was something new for me.

"So I led them quite good. And this is something that, you know, somehow I planted the seeds, also for myself. And I can't wait next year to take the profits."

It's big talk, which would come off as self-important - if the im[act of Vinales' early efforts to KTM's season wasn't also something highlighted by other parties at KTM through the year.

Even Acosta, who wasn't taking so kindly to the idea of Vinales eclipsing him at the time, said more recently: "It's true that in a really difficult moment I saw Maverick, that was riding in another way, and maybe this opened even more doors to see around."

Acosta doesn't necessarily believe - like team-mate Brad Binder does - that this RC16 was very different to the previous versions; different enough that a smoother rider like Vinales was suddenly better-positioned to extract performance.

But regardless of the underlying mechanics, it was working for Vinales - until a shoulder injury destroyed his season.

His aborted in-season comeback was probably not among the best decisions of the year, as he rode around under-strength and limited in movement until he decided to take another break. Even coming back again, there was still really nothing much to be read into the laptimes - with Vinales unable to ride the RC16 how he wanted.

He's still riding compromised, he explained, shifted further forward on the bike than he'd like to be - so unable to take profit from the rear, like he had done after figuring out his preferred position a couple of rounds into the campaign.

"We don't need to think too much. It's because of the injury, not anything else. The bike is working. Just with the injury I'm not able to push the bike in the correct way.

"I think being smart, the first grand prix of next year I will do at 100%, so this is our target."

Assuming he's right in expecting a swift return at 100%, he might be a reasonable point of focus for KTM in its future manoeuvrings, at least as an insurance policy.

There will be enough good riders to go around, but getting any truly elite ones on board - or keeping the elite guy you have in Acosta - will be a hard sell.

Vinales is only truly elite sometimes, and maybe not often enough, but he might well be the right level of elite for KTM's next MotoGP era.