After a perfect weekend in Texas, Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) landed in Jerez oozing confidence. The Spaniard was enjoying his best spell with the Noale factory but things didn’t work out as expected in Andalucia, with the #12 crashing out of the Tissot Sprint and picking up a P9 in Sunday’s race following a P11 result in Q2.

But what caused Viñales to have a quiet weekend after such a high in Austin? Well, as we learned on Monday afternoon and as reported by Motorsport.com, there was a good reason for it. However, this was only spotted during the Official Jerez Test when Viñales and his team were able to identify a problem on his ‘B’ bike that he’d raced on Sunday.

“We need to understand between bike A and B what is happening. I did a [1m]36 high on the rhythm. In the race, I was doing 37-high in the mediums,” stated Viñales.

“There is a difference between A and B bikes. Unfortunately, I raced with the bike I felt I'm not competitive [with]. This is something to alert us to really check even the last detail.”

Erring on the side of caution, Viñales raced his ‘B’ bike after crashing on his ‘A’ package in the Sprint, not knowing there was a substantial issue with his second RS-GP. In Austin and over the weekend in Jerez, Viñales complained he couldn’t brake as he wanted with his ‘B’ bike – an issue pinpointed to a front brake problem. 

“I said at the weekend and also in Austin that I was not stopping with bike B. We related it to a front brake problem and at the end it's not a front brake problem.

“Today we discovered more or less what it is and now they are working similarly. So that's a huge step for the future because in the race I could be much faster. So this is something we have to be alert of and every race we will learn more and more, so the team is more prepared.”

On the one hand, a promising weekend was hampered by the issue as Viñales lost valuable points in the early Championship chase. However, if you look at the glass half full, it means – as Viñales points out – it’s a vital step forward for the upcoming races. 

With the issue now resolved, expect Viñales to be further towards the front in Le Mans next time out.