Factory Yamaha MotoGP rider Maverick Vinales said that he was lucky to avoid a big highside on his way to topping the opening day of free practice at the Circuit of the Americas.

The Spaniard left it late to post the fastest lap of the day, a 2:03.857, which was 0.044 seconds ahead of second placed Marc Marquez. Despite posting the fastest lap of the day, Vinales echoed the comments of a lot of other riders bemoaning the bumps around the circuit.

“The track is very bumpy,” said the 24-year-old. “It was funny, when I was pushing I made a big lateral slide, but honestly I was lucky I didn't have a big highside."

Scary moments on the bumps aside, Vinales was happy with the way he and his Monster Energy Yamaha team worked through the day, establishing a good base ahead of the forecast rain for Saturday.

"I think today was very important to work on the basic set-up, because in Argentina we misunderstood some things,” he said.

“But I think we worked quite well here today. I tried to be very competitive, especially on the first laps, but we still have to improve.

"We have to be more precise in the first laps and I need a little bit more grip, especially on the rear, because I still didn't feel that I'm at my best. It's important to be at the top today, because I think tomorrow it's going to rain, and we need to start at the front.”