Maverick Venares intrigued another KTM MotoGP Podium at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, depositing the best official Tech3 results in fourth place in the bank.
Vinall, who was second-stripped at Lessile in a post-race tire pressure penalty, rose to seventh early in the Jerez race and began chasing Francesco Bagnaia and Fabio Cartalaro.
The Spaniard appeared poised to mount the late performance challenge, but since 2020 he chose to hold the station for his best Jerez outcome after struggling repeatedly in the dirty air.
“We’re really happy with the race today and we’re really heading in the right direction for the general weekend,” Venares said. “Especially after coming out of the second quarter on Friday.
“I was on a really good pace today, and finally, Pecco and Fabio Cartalaro were recovering.
“I was on a fast angle and was very fast on the tow surface, so I closed the gap to them, but it was very difficult to stop the bike every time I approached.
“So I’m back, the bike works well again and catches up. Then I need to get closer and go back again, like elastic!
“When I saw the second lap, I said, ‘OK Maverick, I need to be satisfied with my fourth position today.” ”
Motogp for Vinales, Bagnaia, Quartarraro, 2025 Spain
Vinall won just 3.678 checkered flags from race winner Alex Marquez, improving his 2024 Jerez race time, riding more than nine seconds into the 2024 Jerez race time.
“I came in fourth because of the team and KTM,” he added. “We’re working well. We’ve found a really good foundation since Argentina. We’re building it up.
“We could be higher, some few tracks, some less, too.
“We are in a completely different position than when we first started the championship, but there is something to learn and room for improvement.
“Tomorrow during the test, we will mainly focus on the details and try to improve ourselves with braking. We still have a lot of work on Monday as we need to learn and understand bikes!”
Spain’s top 5 finishers lap time
Nicolas Goyon, Tech3 Team Manager, said:
“He rode at a very similar pace to the guys at the top before. Congratulations to him as this was a huge positive boost for our project and packaging.”
Vinales is the first of 4 KTMs within Jerez’s top nine, completed by teammate Enea Bastianini.
“I can be pleased with the final result, especially after the weekend,” Bastianini said.
“I was confident in the beginning of the race, but the vibrations of the bike at the fast corners were really difficult to manage.
Like Venares, Italians are looking at Monday’s Jerez test as an important opportunity to take it a step forward.
“There are important tests tomorrow, and I look forward to it because there are important things to improve performance,” he added. “I then go to one of my favourite tracks, Le Mans, and go to the home round of teams that want to be competitive.