MotoGP | Bastianini: “Today Marc showed that he can be overtaken by starting from the back”

From spectator to protagonist: how things change in a year, Enea Bastianini knows well, who in 2023 was forced to withdraw from Le Mans due to an injury and today returned to second place in the general classification after a great comeback race . The Ducati rider is demonstrating that he wants to keep his official place at all costs and, despite a complicated qualifying, he showed his worth in the Sprint by gaining a fourth position.

Beast he cherished the dream of the podium in the final stages of the short race, when he saw the silhouette of Maverick Vinales getting closer and closer. Only a close call, that third position, but fourth place after starting tenth is an excellent result. In fact, in qualifying, a yellow flag prevented him from setting his fastest lap and running out of fuel forced him to stop. But Enea was able to turn the situation around, thanks to a good pace that allowed him to compete.

“I’m happy with the race, but not with the qualifying,” explains Bastianini. “Both yesterday and today the pace was good and we could fight for the podium or the victory. In qualifying, however, I got a yellow flag, then I ran out of petrol and I couldn’t do another lap. In the race, however, the pace was good. The good thing is that I was able to overtake, unlike the other races, so it means that we improved in this area. In the bad, it went well.”

Yesterday, Aleix Espargaro had predicted a Sprint without overtaking due to the heat which put excessive stress on the tyres. However, it was denied by both Bastianini and Marc Marquez, also the author of a great comeback: “Certainly when you’re behind it’s more difficult, but I managed to overtake quite quickly and when you’re in front you manage to make more pace, go more strong. We lapped well, I got to Maverick, but he also pushed a little harder and it was impossible to overtake him.”

“The podium? I believed it because Vinales always went long at Turn 8, but then he settled down. I took a few tenths off him every lap, but it wasn’t enough. For tomorrow, the race is longer and we’ll see. Today Marc demonstrated that even starting from the back, with a good start you can do well. Unfortunately I wasn’t even able to make the starts today, overall we can be happy, but these too many errors or negative things are disappointing”, explains the official Ducati rider in anticipation of tomorrow’s long race.

The biggest question mark is represented by the weather, which could play a fundamental role: “The weather unknown can change all the cards on the table, as always. I hope for a dry race, like everyone else thinks. But in case of rain you have to adapt and it will be interesting.”

Meanwhile, Bastianini is the closest in the championship to Jorge Martin, firmly in command after Sprint’s third victory of the season. With today’s fourth place, the Ducati standard bearer moves into second position in the championship, 28 points behind the Spaniard of the Pramac team and with a one-point advantage over Pecco Bagnaia: “We are all very close, therefore, apart from Jorge who has a advantage of 28 points, we have always been competitive. This is the most important thing, to always be in front.”