After a record-breaking Gran Premio de España which saw 224,420 fans come watch MotoGP™ at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto on Sunday, Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Maverick Viñales and Enea Bastianini were not quite over yet with their Andalusian adventure, as a busy day of testing awaited them on Monday morning.
Spain MotoGP™ Test
Still fresh from an extremely positive weekend after we saw him earn a brilliant 4th place on Sunday’s main event, Maverick Viñales was already looking forward to a full day of work dedicated to the development and optimization of his package, after four full rounds in orange. Since Argentina, ‘Top Gun’ appeared to have found a bike base suiting his riding style, and he has been able to ride the RC16 at his convenience, feeling better and better session after session. The goal of the day for Viñales was to start building from that base found, and fine tune it to fully adapt it to his riding style. One of the focuses of the Spaniard was the engine brakes to try improving the bike’s deceleration, one area pointed by Vinales as he is still trying to understand how to properly handle the braking. It appeared that some positives came out of the tests done. The Red Bull KTM Tech3 rider also focused on the aero, tried different engines and electronic configurations, as well as trying out the new evolution of Michelin’s front tyre. As the day kicked off at 10:00 under sunny, but quite windy conditions, Viñales rode a total of 43 laps in the first session ending at lunch time, with a best lap reached in 1'36.894, one that ended up being the 6th in the timesheets of the first session. The work continued in the afternoon with Viñales putting in another 46 laps to gather key data for the team. A late push in the final minutes saw him clock in a solid 1'36.237 to wrap up a busy day of testing, and end second fastest rider of the Jerez Test.
A big day of work also awaited Enea Bastianini with some clear targets for the day. The Italian has shown that he is definitively a Sunday man with his remontadas, but it has been an obvious point that the one fast lap needs to improve to be able to start from better positions. It was therefore a whole process to work on today which included aero tests, engines and electronic configurations. As ‘Bestia’ adaptation to the KTM RC16 continued, he showed improvement throughout the first session of the day, with a best lap in 1'37.658 reached towards the end of the morning after 37 laps of work. Bastianini continued the work in the afternoon despite the windy conditions making the bike a bit shaky in the straights of the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto. As he rode another 26 laps in this afternoon's session, Enea appeared to find some positives on the adjustments. He ended the day with a best lap in 1'37.226 14th of the timesheets. Andalusia is over for us now after an exciting Gran Premio de España, and a busy day of testing. Time to analyse all the work done over the last couple of days and arrive in good shape for the team's home round in two weeks, as we now head to Le Mans for round 6, the Grand Prix of France, on May 9-11.
MAVERICK VIÑALES: "It was very important to do as many laps as we could to continue getting used to the bike and start to understand how and when to push it to the limits. We had some aero to try, but we did not do anything too crazy. It went well and I am happy with the rhythm which has been fantastic. The grip was great today, but we also faced a lot of wind, however, we can be happy with our pace. The bike I have at the moment is one that I like a lot, so we will continue working with this one, and build on it. Next on for us is Le Mans, and I am really excited to go there after this huge day of work, which I know will benefit us for the upcoming round."
ENEA BASTIANINI: "I think we made small steps today, we felt a bit faster in the time attacks in the afternoon and learnt some things. The wind was strong so it was not easy, but anyway the feeling was a bit better. However, I am still not feeling quite comfortable on the bike, especially in the middle of the corners, and when you are not feeling everything perfectly, you can not push at the maximum. However, seeing how Maverick did today makes me believe that we can get there too. His riding style suits the bike really well, he is the reference for us at the moment, while I need to adapt a bit more as we have different styles, but I am sure that it will come. We have not really worked on set ups, but mainly on trying parts for the factory. We found some positives and some negatives that I am sure will help us move forward!"
NICOLAS GOYON, Team Manager: "Really good day in the office for Maverick Viñales in this Monday test in Jerez. He found some good configurations on the engine connection and in the corners entry, in addition to trying different parts and chassis configurations for the factory. Once he put everything together, he managed to set a fast lap in the windy conditions, which was good, so we are happy with the work done from his end today. Enea Bastianini tested different aero packages and different engine elements. However, none of these elements seems to have solved his main issues, but he is feeling a bit more comfortable and a bit happier than yesterday. Thank you to the whole team for their hard work, it has been an intensive day, but very important for our riders' confidence, and we feel ready for the next race in Le Mans in France."
COMBINED SESSIONS RESULTS
1. Marc Marquez (SPA), Ducati Lenovo Team, 1'35.876
2. Maverick Viñales (SPA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.361
3. Fabio Quartararo (FRA), Yamaha MotoGP Team, +0.477
15. Enea Bastianini (ITA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +1.350
TRACK RECORDS
All Time Record: 2025 - F. Quartararo (FRA) - 1'35.610 - 166.5 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2025 - A. Marquez (SPA) - 1'37.349 - 163.5 km/h
Best Pole: 2025 - F. Quartararo (FRA) - 1'35.610 - 166.5 km/h
Top Speed: 2025 - M. Bezzecchi (ITA) - 301.6 km/h
