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For Enea Bastianini, the Spanish Grand Prix on the Jerez track ended with a 9th place. His RC16 was the last of the KTMs at the finish line and, yet, his steady pace and the comeback he made starting from the 18th box on the grid gave some hope of something positive, even during a weekend that turned out to be decidedly hostile since Friday. If nothing else, with the exception of Maverick Vinales, the pace that the former Moto2 champion kept during the race proved to be in line with Brad Binder's and Pedro Acosta's, respectively 6th and 7th after the 25-lap race. In technical terms, what was also interesting were the vibrations that did not increase on the rear that the men in orange expected due to the classic rise in temperatures in the afternoon.
Overall, it was a Top 10 to be judged fairly, waiting for the IRTA tests in which all the riders in the premier class will be participating tomorrow.
"Yes, it was better in the race today. Unfortunately, I expected to be the last of the KTMs," Enea admitted, aware of his situation. "Starting from so far back, it's always a mess moving back up. The pace was quite good, but turns seven and eight unfortunately slowed us down all weekend. They've been a weak point since Friday, especially the vibrations. Today, at those points, they were felt quite a lot. However, besides those turns, I wasn't losing that much, in general. Definitely, some information we gathered. I even did some laps with Luca [Marini], trying to figure out where I was losing and where I was gaining. We saw a little something."
From Qatar, we can say that Maverick Vinales, fourth today, is making a bit of a difference. But, here, all the KTMs seem to have taken a small step. Both you, Binder, and Acosta finished the race in the Top 10, recuperating many positions from the starting ones.
"We all took small steps today. On the pace, we were all pretty close. Only Maverick had a bit more. We can't say why we were more aligned in performance, but we were. Despite the heat, which usually increases vibration, we also managed to stay pretty consistent on lap time."
What do you have planned for tomorrow's tests? Do you expect to try anything specific?
"Tomorrow we'll definitely work with aerodynamics, trying to see if that's an area where we can find something that can help me. In my opinion, there's room on that side. Then we'll try a little something on the engine and set-up." In short, there doesn't seem to be any resounding news coming out of Mattighofen, but the Italian rider stresses how crucial it can sometimes be to work carefully. "I don't know if something will come. Sometimes, it's the little things that make the difference. So far, we've tried a lot of big things that, in the end, didn't yield the expected improvements and a lot of small things that worked instead. So who knows, maybe I'll find something effective. It might even be trivial."
