Once again, Maverick Vinales was in podium contention at the Spanish Grand Prix, but missed out on the rostrum.

Maverick Vinales was once again in the podium fight at the Spanish Grand Prix as he finished in fourth place at the Circuito de Jerez.

After being stripped of his first podium as a KTM rider at the Qatar Grand Prix, Vinales was seeking revenge at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Even though he did not manage to get on the rostrum, he was once again the top KTM rider and picked up his best result at Jerez 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 went on to explain that since the Argentine Grand Prix, he has been able to build a good base setup on his RC16.

But he knows that realistically he will not be in the podium fight at every round, despite his performances at the last two rounds.

“Happy to take 4th place for the team and for KTM," Vinales said.

"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."