Factory Monster Energy Yamaha rider Maverick Vinales revealed strong winds around the Circuit of the Americas caused more issues for his M1 than he anticipated during qualifying.

The Spaniard ended the opening day of action in Texas as the fastest overall, and with FP3 cancelled due to a lightning storm; Vinales went into Q2 as the fastest man.

Despite the impressive free practice showing, the 24-year-old could only manage a best of sixth place, 0.702 off of Marc Marquez’ pole position lap time.

Vinales cited the wind as the biggest difficulty he faced, with the gusts having serious implications on how his bike behaved.

“It was really difficult today in qualifying,” explained Vinales.

“Honestly, I didn't expect the wind would affect the bike's behaviour so much, it was very difficult to turn in the corners and the bike was very aggressive, moving all the time. 

“I couldn't push, because I wasn't feeling at my best. We hope to improve tomorrow and be better during the race. I had many scary moments during qualifying.

“We need to learn from today, so we won't have the same problem on another windy day.”