Enea Bastianini came in 10th at the end of Wednesday, confirming his place in the Top 10 on the third and final test day at Sepang This is a clear sign of the progress made by the 28-year-old along with KTM and his new crew chief, Andres Madrid, who's helping him feel more comfortable on the RC16, day after day.
"I can be happy with these three days, which have been positive for me. We worked a lot. On the first day, on the ergonomics of the bike. Yesterday, we worked a bit on the set-up while, today, we did some more comparative tests with aerodynamics, trying to find something else," Bastianini commented, as he summed up the tests. "We kept many positive elements, and I'm satisfied, but we need to close the gap with the riders in front of us because, honestly, we're fast. However, compared to the others, sometimes we're not that fast. We saw some laps in the 1'56" range, which was too difficult for us to achieve today."
The rider from Rimini has clear ideas about the areas where there's still work to be done.
"We're still missing something in corners, which is one of the keys to getting a good lap time. For me, the Sprint simulation was complicated, because I had a small problem with the rear tire. But it wasn't because of the tire. I had a lot of vibrations, and we tried to change the tire to find a solution. In the end, it went better, and we solved the situation a bit. However, today we also had vibrations on the front for the first time, and it gets a bit complicated after three or four laps. Compared to last year, though, it's much better," he acknowledged. "Did I have chattering problems at turn five and twelve? A little there, but also in others."
Among the new elements tested by Bastianini in Malaysia, the new 2026 chassis was missing.
"I didn't test it. I tried something else, but I didn't like it," he admitted. "I think I'll test the chassis in Thailand. Obviously, it's important for me that Binder and I test it too, because we have some conflicting opinions in the garage. Some liked it a lot, and some didn't like it at all."
Looking at the overall results of these tests, which way does the scale tip?
"I think it's positive, because I lowered my time by about a second compared to last year's qualifying here, so I can be happy," the Tech 3 team rider replied. "It's obvious that, like I said, our rivals are fierce. They were very strong, and there are definitely some manufacturers that are doing better than us. We have to keep improving, but you can't say we're not doing our best. I think KTM has done a good job, but we have to do even better."
Enea believes he has a package that will allow him to consistently achieve good positions.
"Yes, because I felt comfortable riding. I was able to be consistent in terms of race pace, and that was one of the things we needed to work on the most," he explained. "Even though it may not seem like it, we struggle a lot when we stop in the pits and return to the track. It's something we've been working on over these three days, and we've made some progress."
Bastianini's relationship with his new crew chief also gives him confidence before the start of the season.
"It's great working with him. It's always difficult at the beginning, and I thought it would be even more so. Instead, everything went smoothly," he said. "At least in this test, we got along well, and I liked seventy, seventy-five percent of the things we tested. I also liked the changes we made in terms of ergonomics. So, for now, hats off to Andres, who's helping me!"