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Enea Bastianini likes to disavow his own prophecies, when only yesterday he underlined how it would be impossible to make a gap in the sprint; clearly he was not referring to himself. The Rimini rider in fact, thanks to an excellent qualifying session that saw him second on the front row alongside poleman Bagnaia, took advantage at the first corner of the tussle between the two contenders for the title to impose his authority from the first lap and dictate his own race pace. Thirteen laps in which the Ducati rider led a lone race, first among the eight Ducatis that monopolized the top positions in the standings today. A total domination that, however, for the near future, does not seem to bother Bastianini much, as he jokingly pointed precisely to KTM, his next bike from 2025, as being the first among the rival manufacturers.
Yesterday you seemed to be the one in difficulty among the fantastic four, and today you won.
"I lied to you! - jokes Enea - it is clear that starting in front was an advantage, we know when you are behind you struggle more especially with the front. It was important to impose my authority in the first lap, Jorge's mistake was to go under too much on Pecco and I took advantage. Maybe it was my best first lap since I have been in MotoGP. In the first four laps I tried to push hard, took some risks and then got into race management mode."
What was your feeling before the start, did you think you could win with such a gap?
"I knew that the first corner was crucial, obviously once I found myself first I pushed hard because it was crucial to take advantage of the opportunity to find the rhythm right away. The sooner I found it the sooner I could get away. Being in front is also an advantage because of the temperatures, you can brake harder. Maybe I didn't expect to win today, but I was hoping for it."
Did you predict Jorge would go long or was it instinct?
"He braked really late, he did well and he was good because it's not easy to keep it in at those speeds, however, he went long."
Now what are the expectations for tomorrow?
"Tomorrow we will have to see how to manage the tires, already today I was at the limit especially with the front which is what is giving me the most problems on this track. But I don't know if it will be the case to change the front, we have a harder compound available that is actually called medium, but we have little data. As for the rear, the medium was pushing a lot on the front, the hard could be an option."
Today we saw eight Ducatis in front of everyone else. That's great news for those who ride them, but does knowing that next year you won't have one worry you?
"The good thing is that the first manufacturer after the Ducatis is KTM! - joked the Rimini native again - I think Acosta was fast, even though he crashed. Right now the Ducati is the best bike, not only in practice but especially in the race where we can make even more of a difference."
You have recovered points for third place in the standings, while the distances between Jorge and Pecco have increased. How do you see this championship finale?
"It's still open, it's not as if a sprint race changes things. It's open but not for me, for me it's closed! - he continued still joking - Pecco is reacting well, but it's not easy because Jorge is really on form."
