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The first Superbike round in Phillip island ended on a positive note for Axel Bassani: a 9th place in Race 1 and a 10th in Race 2 behind Yari Montella's Ducati. An undoubtedly positive result for the two Bimota bikes, even if the Venetian rider doesn't hide a hint of frustration for a championship that is clearly Ducati dominated since the beginning. As many as seven of them in the top ten, even if "Phillip Island is a race apart," the Italian rider will later admit. So, he's alreadylooking forward to the next round in Portugal, where European soil and some more data could make the difference.
"The result of the first race weekend with Bimota was positive," Bassani began. "It was all new, the first time ever with this bike. We had no data or anything else, and we were always in the top ten, so it's already positive The two bikes were always close, both me and Alex Lowes, one of the strongest riders, so we're happy. Now let's see what's going to happen in in the European races. Phillip Island has always been a race of its own. Right now, we're racing in the Ducati trophy. Hopefully, the World Superbike will come back to Europe," he said, jokingly.
Has the difference with the Ducatis multiplied?
"During the winter tests, it didn't seem like it, then when we got here to Australia, and seems like it is. The reality is that, the first six positions are Ducati, there are seven in the top ten, it seems like the difference is a bit too much, maybe."
From the tests, it looked as if that the potential was higher.
"Australia is another race. If you also look at the tests in Jerez and Portimao, Alex and I were always close, and it was the same here, even if we took a step back. In fact, I thought he could maybe make a bit more of a difference. He was fast with Yamaha. He won with Kawasaki, with Suzuki he was fast. He was always fast. But we obviously still have a limit. Of course, if we had finished immediately in the top three, even that maybe wouldn't have been so normal."
Compared to last year, you feel like the bike is more your own.
"For my riding style, this bike is definitely better. I feel more comfortable and, if you look at the chronology in the last laps, we had a pace of the fourth or fifth. That's not bad! The problem though is that we can't overtake. You get there and stay there. You're never in a position to say 'okay, now I'm going to attack'. It's always fifty-fity. And, if you're tenth or ninth, it's not like you're second or third. You're not going to throw people on the ground or you'll risk ending up on the ground yourself."
Next week will be the MotoGP's turn. What do you expect?
"I expect Marc Marquez," Axel concluded.
