"I still haven't found a base for the set-up." These are words that aren't very usual to hear from a rider at the end of the season, after a load-full of kilometers of tests and 40 races. But this is what Enea Bastianini confessed to us today, on the eve of the Portuguese Grand Prix. Over the course of the season, the RC-16 hasn't been an easy bike for the Italian rider to interpret and to adapt his riding style. When it looked like he had found a solution, like in Barcelona, all it took was to get to the next circuit, and everything went topys turvy again, like in Misano. The Tech3 rider judge the setting to be suitable for slow tracks but unsuitable for fast ones.
Portimão is a mix, since it has both low gear sections and fast corners, so they'll just have to wait and get their wheels on the track to find out how the moody RC-16 will respond this time. This was the same bike that was almost entirely stripped of its electronics in Malaysia. "A path to explore," inaugurated by Pedro Acosta and also undertaken by Bastianini on Sunday in Sepang.
"For these last two races, the goal is to start off on the right foot," the rider from Rimini said. "Portimão is a very special track, where I've been fast in the past, so I'd like to get a good result. We should start strong, try to stay in the top ten then, from there, the weekend will, somehow or other, show itself."
So the FP1s will already be very important to figure out if you have the right sensations.
"What I'm missing this year is to just find the good sensation from the beginning. Already in the FP1 tomorrow morning, we'll try to figure out which path to follow in case there's something wrong. Many times, it takes me a really long time to find good feelings. In Sepang, we changed the set-up a lot, from Friday to Sunday, while we usually never make too many changes. But, on the KTM, you sometimes have to change. It's a bike that requires it. I still haven't found a basic set-up to work well."
After 40 Sprints and GPs, isn't it a little strange not to have found a base yet?
"It's strange," #23 admitted. "But there are always tracks you have to work on. Your package doesn't work everywhere. I think my package worked well in slow tracks but, in fast tracks, like the non-European ones, we had to do something different, and we got there in Sepang where, both in the Sprint and the long race, we were fast. Here, in Portugal, the circuit is a bit slower, even though it has very fast corners like Malaysia, so it's a mix. We'll see."
In Malaysia, Acosta rode with minimal electronics. Do you consider this a solution that could work for you, as well?
"Sometimes, the KTM's delivery is just not great. I've been saying that since the beginning of the year, so Pedro's move was definitely smart. We also took off some electronics on Sunday, to try to be more competitive and have the bike more in hand, and it actually went better. That will be something not to underestimate here, as well. It's a path to explore."
You told us in Sepang that you also got a bit upset, lost your patience. Are you working on that a little too? On being able to accept things when they don't go the right away quickly?
"Absolutely, yes. You always have to work on yourself. I think I made mistakes in Sepang, because getting upset in this world doesn't lead to anything, and learning to put that aside will be crucial."