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Three Grand Prixs and Enea Bastianini is living a completely different life. In his MotoGP debut, after an adjustment phase on the Desmosedici and in the category, the Avintia Esponsorama rider began to put together a series of stunning performances. Something he repeated at the Circuit Of The Americas, where he took home a sixth place, a follow up to his podium in Misano. His change in pace is certified by the numbers: 36 points scored between Aragon, Misano, and Austin against 34 in the first part of the season. The most constant behind riders of the caliber of Fabio Quartararo, Pecco Bagnaia, and Marc Marquez.
“Yesterday’s qualification didn’t reflect our real potential. Since this morning, the bike has made progress. I’m happy, since I absolutely did not think I would finish so high up, but in ninth, tenth place. I think it was one of the most complicated races to date. Usually, replacing so many positions is a tall order. The general feeling was excellent. I was able to brake hard, and I had a lot of grip on the front.”
Starting from the 16th box on the grid, the reigning Moto2 Champion quickly moved to the edge of the top 10. With the continuation of passes, he then recovered his disadvantage against the Jack Miller and Joan Mir duo, just before he was served the number six square on a silver platter. A comeback beyond all expectations.
“Joan is really aggressive. From some passes, I was noticing skirmishes between the two of them, so I preferred to stall, in order to avoid taking unnecessary risks,” he explained. “When that contact occurred, I managed to overtake them both. Mir tried to fight back, but ended up long at turn nineteen.”
At the end of the month, they'll be returning to the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, where the rider from Rimini reached his first historic podium in the MotoGP in front of his home crowd. It’s reasonable to expect a reconfirmation, perhaps starting not outside the third row. In any case, the 23-year-old is keeping his feet firmly on the ground.
“We’ll be racing in different climatic conditions. The goal is to always improve, even if you have to be realistic, and it won’t be easy to beat the third place of the previous time. I’m gaining further awareness of my means. I feel I can be part of the leading group, and I can dispute it. With the Ducati, I’m more at ease when there are low temperatures. On weekends, we prepare well for the race rather than the time attack. In fact, most of the time, I start from the rear. We’ll have to work on this aspect.”
Nonetheless, the stars and stripes Sunday afternoon was the stage of the terrifying multiple crash in the straight that took place during the Moto3 race, in which Enea raced in the five-year period between 2014 and 2018. Race direction used an iron fist against Deniz Oncu, who triggered the accident, so much so that he was suspended for the next two GPs.
“If I had been the one to decide, I would have suspended him for the entire championship. Unfortunately, that’s Oncu’s style. He rides over the top in every race. They need to be be careful. These are maneuvers to be avoided, especially considering what happened this year. When you’re young, you’re often reckless. I didn’t consider it correct to have a mini-race of just five laps, without forgetting the criticalities of the track. In my day, people didn’t behave that way,” he admitted bluntly.
