Maverick Vinales: “I was closing on Pecco and Fabio, but…”
Francesco Bagnaia and a podium almost within reach for Maverick Vinales in the Spanish MotoGP, before banking his best KTM finish.
Maverick Vinales came tantalisingly close to another KTM MotoGP podium in Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix, before banking his best official Tech3 result with fourth place.
Stripped of second at Lusail by a post-race tyre pressure penalty, Vinales rose from seventh to fourth early in the Jerez race, then began chasing down Francesco Bagnaia and Fabio Quartararo ahead.
The Spaniard looked poised to mount a late rostrum challenge, but after repeatedly struggling in the dirty air he opted to hold station for his best Jerez result since 2020.
"We are really happy with today's race, and the weekend in general which we have really turned in the right direction," Vinales said. "Especially after being out of Q2 on Friday.
“Today in the race, I had a really good pace, I was even recovering on Pecco and Fabio Quartararo in the end.
“I was very fast in the fast corners, also on the traction side. So I closed the gap to them, but every time I got too close, it was so hard to stop the bike.
“So then I’d drop back, the bike would work well again and I’d catch up. Then I’d get close and have to drop back again. Like elastic!
“When I saw two laps to go, I said, ‘OK Maverick, today you need to be satisfied with 4th position’.”
Vinales took the chequered flag just 3.678s behind race winner Alex Marquez and improved on his 2024 Jerez race time, when riding for Aprilia, by over nine seconds.
“Happy to take 4th place for the team and for KTM," he added. "We are working well, we have found a really good base since Argentina. We are building up.
“There will be some tracks where we have higher potential, some less. Also myself. Jerez was one of the least, so I’m quite happy. It’s a long time since I’ve been fourth in Jerez! It’s a really good result.
“We are in a totally different position from when we started the championship but there is more to learn and room to improve.
“Tomorrow during the test, we will focus on details mainly and also try to improve ourselves on the braking. We still need to learn and understand the bike, so we have plenty of work on Monday!"
Tech3 team manager Nicolas Goyon said: "A big bravo to Maverick Viñales who has shown good form all weekend, to finish with a 4th place today.
“He rode at a very similar pace to the top guys at the front, which is a huge positive boost for our project and our package, so congratulations to him."
Vinales was the first of four KTMs inside the top nine at Jerez, completed by team-mate Enea Bastianini, who produced another impressive Sunday comeback from 18th.
"We can be happy with our final result especially after the weekend we have had," Bastianini said.
"I felt confident in the first part of the race, but the vibrations of the bike in the fast corners were really difficult to manage, and I lost a bit of the feeling at some point. Still, I managed to overtake a few riders and I felt much better after."
Like Vinales, the Italian is eyeing Monday’s Jerez test as a crucial opportunity to make a step forward.
"We have an important test tomorrow, we have important things to try out to increase our performance so I am looking forward to that," he added. "After that, we will go to Le Mans, one of my favourite tracks and my team’s home round where I want to be competitive, so let’s get the work done tomorrow!"
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
