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A good first take… like an actor, Enea Bastianini immediately got to grips with the Ducati on his first day of testing as a MotoGP rider in Qatar. This was also confirmed by the stopwatch, which put him fourth quickest, ahead (by 5 thousandths) of Michele Pirro. When we speak to him, he has just arrived at the hotel and the adrenaline still has the upper hand after such an intense day.
“It went better than I could have expected - he said - I'm not talking about the times, but about the bike. I didn't expect so much power ”.
How would you describe it?
“Yeah, the Panigale is strong, but this one is very strong. It actually took me three laps to figure out where it could go, because in the first few laps I changed at 15,000 laps but I still had 3,000 more. It already seemed like a lot but instead it goes like a rocket!".
Besides all the horsepower, what else impressed you?
“The thing that struck me the most is the speed of shifting, because every time you change it seems like there is someone behind pushing me. Usually all the bikes drop in gear changes, but the Ducati pushes harder, it's a strange feeling at the beginning. Then the brakes also struck me, but just about right, and the tyres are working very well ”.
And the electronics?
"Above everything you can hear the anti-wheelie, while the traction control works well but I still haven't pushed hard enough for it to kick in too much. I was cautious ”.
Do you already feel the Desmosedici is a bit yours?
"It took me a while to find the correct ergonomics, I'm very small and I had to make some changes. Also today was a very windy day and I had to make some changes, but in the final two sessions I felt
How did you get on with Giribuola, your crew chief, and the new team?
“I have already noticed that they are very good and they only showed me 10% of what can be done on the bike. In these days it will be important to understand the working method and meet half-way, because I come from a bike without electronics and this has a lot of them”.
Tomorrow all the riders will be on the track, will it be useful to be able to compare with them?
"Today I was unable to follow anyone unfortunately, I hope tomorrow to be able to ride with some strong rider on the track to understand how to change the trajectory and learn some tricks, even if it is still early".
What is your goal in the next two days of testing?
“It will certainly be important to manage my energy because at this moment I’m riding very strongly, so I will have to try to relax in the saddle. I also want to improve the ergonomics, do many laps in a row to prepare for the race and of course, gradually get to know the limits of the bike ".
