There are only two rounds left now until the conclusion of Axel Bassani 's first season with the Kawasaki Racing Team. The first year as an official rider has certainly not been one of the easiest for the 25-year-old from Feltre, who has struggled to get the best out of his ZX-10RR. It is in the difficulties, however, that character is tempered, and that is precisely why Axel has not lost his smile, trying to treasure everything good that this 2024 is giving him.
"It's definitely been a tough season because the results have been a bit lacking, but I've improved from last year. Even looking at the lap times, many times I am faster than 2023. The problem is that the level has risen, lapping a little bit better than last year is not enough and so very easily you get left out of the top ten," Bassani told our correspondent Riccardo Guglielmetti on Thursday at Estoril. "The problem is that this is a very difficult bike. It has potential, but you have to know it well and it's not always so easy to go to the limit, so the results don't come. I know people maybe don't care, but I feel like a stronger rider than last year. Then someone watching from home maybe says, 'you finish outside the 10, so you're not going strong.' Those are points of view: everyone can think what they want."
One aspect that has always struck me about you is that you know what it means to suffer and you don't beat yourself up about it. Is what we find after this season the same rider, or have you changed in some way?
"Doing a season like this, five or six years ago, would have depressed me much more. The truth is that we riders are strong mentally, but we are normal people and if you don't go strong you suffer. I'm not strong in the head, I try to do the best I can and when a weekend doesn't go well, I'm sick two or three days and then I get over it because I know I have to keep going. I am 'happy' with how I am coping, because I would have suffered more a few years ago. Whereas now I try to find the positive side of things. It's not easy, but if you don't give up sooner or later you get where you want to be. Or at least you tried."
How does being an official rider change life ?
"You do a little more travelling. In the sense that there is a lot more work than before, you do a lot more testing and you stay more days away from home. Before I used to do the races, but then I was quite free. Whereas this way it becomes a real job, because you work for a manufacturer and you have to try to always give 100 percent and develop the vehicle. I don't feel more pressure in Kawasaki. In fact, I think there is more peace of mind here than in smaller teams, but also more determination to get where you want to go."
Do you still go into the woods to chop wood?
"No. As I said, it's a real job now and I only have to do that from morning to night. Being careful not to get hurt and not to screw up, because then you have to answer to head office."
Has it improved with English and on a current account level?
"With English I make myself understood. At first I had a bit more of a headache, but now it is easier (laughs). My current account? Yes it has changed, but in my opinion everyone, I'm not talking about me but in general, we take a little less than what we should take compared to other riders. We can't complain, though."
What do you miss about the Ducati?
"The engine, because we suffer in gears from fourth to sixth compared to others. We lack some speed and power. The Ducati engine was a nice help. It also made it quite easy for you in overtaking."
What is the Kawasaki giving you instead?
"Kawasaki has brought out the best and worst in me. It has brought me to ride on the limit for 20 laps, which I never did with the Ducati. Here you have to take advantage of what you have at 120 percent, and that helps you work on your flaws, try to understand the bike and adapt, continuing to push at 100 percent, for this is a bike that stops working if you start going 90 percent from mid-race. It's a very physical bike, which makes you work a lot, and this has also changed my training. I think for better or worse it has improved me."
What is the worst thing about you?
"A lot of times I give up a little bit. I get down a little bit and I'm pissed off, or cranky. When you're not doing well, that's how it is. It happens to everyone to get up with their balls in a twist sometimes. Even riders."
Last year there was a lot of talk about you, while now you are less in the spotlight.
"That's fine with me. I would be happy if I could win and no one was looking at me! (laughs). What I care about is being able to do the result for me and for the team, because I think the greatest satisfaction is seeing your team and your family happy when you're going strong. That's what fulfills me, not the newspapers talking about me. It still gives me pleasure, but I also like being normal: doing my job and then coming home the next day to my dog."
How do you feel about the battle for the World Championship?
"I was already saying since last year that for me Razgatlioglu has won. This winter I saw him lapping in the tests in Jerez, and he was going very well. He was not at the limit with the Yamaha, he could and managed. In my opinion, he wins this year and next year as well. In my opinion right now Toprak has a machine that is very good and he is half a step, or maybe even a whole step, above everybody."
Has Bulega's start surprised you?
"No, the team is very good. The bike also and he is a good rider, so the whole works."
What's your take on Bautista's season?
"He does his job and wins his races, as usual. As I've always said, he's not one of the riders I'm most excited about, but he's definitely a great rider."
There was also a lot of talk in 2023 about the rivalry between you and Rinaldi, who took your place in Motocorsa this year. It didn't go as hoped, so much so that now Michael is in danger of being left without a ride. Did you expect that?
"I didn't expect it, however, I thought it would be difficult because they have two very strong personalities. Mauri is a hard worker, he has his own ideas and he always tries to follow and Rinaldi is also a very strong believer. When you have two people who don't want to put their heads down, you always risk a confrontation. In my opinion Michael is getting results that don't reflect his potential, because a rider who wins races in SBK is not a poor one, and if he were to leave SBK we would lose a good character. It would be a shame to lose him like that."
Do you miss the battles of last year?
"Of course you miss being up there at the front, who wouldn't? However, it's not the rivalry with Rinaldi that I miss, but being able to fight for the positions that matter. In my opinion, however, we will get there."
What is the benchmark bike for you right now?
"I don't think there is one. I think it's a mix between the Ducati and the BMW. They are the strongest right now, then I think the Honda has improved so much in the last two races. Both riders are going strong and working hard. Then there's us and Yamaha: the bike is good and the teams are working well, but the others have been working and developing so much so we're kind of chasing right now."
When will you win your first race with the Ninja?
"I hope as soon as possible, even this weekend! (laughs). I would love to win, more because you take a burden off yourself. Then I would definitely not settle for winning one, because it can also happen by luck. You have to do it again. That's what's difficult."