Maverick Venares claims that his KTM RC16 remains “at Qatar’s level” despite missing out on Jeres’ second quarter location following technical issues on the final lap at Spain’s MotoGP practice session on Friday.
Fresh from Doha’s shocking second place – lost later due to post-race tire pressure penalty – all eyes lies in whether Venares can replicate that shape with Jerez.
The early signs were promising, with Venares kicking the home weekend in his fourth practice in the morning practice. He then ran into second place in an important afternoon session, but ran into trouble on his final run.
“We prepared well during practice,” explained Vinaru. “We were pushing more and more slowly with strong laps, but unfortunately we were having technical issues with the last attack so we couldn’t put it all together. The bike stopped and we couldn’t play.”
“The bikes are certainly on the Qatar level.”
In this case, Vinal ranked 14th overall as others improved, sending him to Q1 for the first time since Argentina.
But he remains rebellious.
“To be honest, I was really positive on this day. The bike feels good and I miss more or less 0.2 seconds to compete in the top four that I want to find over the weekend,” he said.
“The bike is certainly on Qatar levels, but the Ducatis is a little strong in Jerez with fast horns, so I feel a small gap in this regard, but otherwise our package is strong.
“Good rhythm, we’re happy, so let’s continue working.”
With Pedro Acosta (8th) the only KTM rider securing the top 10, Vinales will be joined by Brad Binder and Tech3 teammate Enea Bastianini in Qualifying 1.
“I feel that the scenarios are similar every week,” Bastianini said. “We feel happy after the race at the end of the weekend, but the first day is always difficult, so we have to start over again with a new bike, so we have to do it again.
“We have improved between the morning and afternoon, but we are still far from expectations and very far from the level I want.
“The bike was tense and we struggled to spin properly at the fast corner, which lost a lot of time, especially in sector 3 on the left. The strong winds today weren’t easy, but anyway, let’s work tonight and try and improve and arrive on Saturday.”
Meanwhile, the binder revealed that he felt improvements after moving towards the Vienal-style bike balance.
“The balance was a little closer to what he used in Qatar, giving me more confidence in the brakes and entry,” South Africa said. “When I pick up a bike, especially on the throttle, I don’t spin far.”
Acosta has been stuck with what he calls the “2024” bike, regaining his braking confidence in Qatar.