MotoGP | Bastianini: “At every Grand Prix I lose 5 or 6 points”

In a German Grand Prix full of twists and turns, one of the great protagonists was Enea Bastianini, author of great overtaking and fighting for the podium positions until he could. The Ducati rider crossed the finish line in fourth position, nine tenths behind Marc Marquez, third and with whom he fought without discounts. However, the rider from Rimini does not appear particularly satisfied at the end of the last Sunday before the summer break.

The Sachsenring, in fact, tested all the drivers in terms of tyre management and strategy was key to getting as far forward as possible. The brawls, as spectacular as they were, certainly did not help to conserve the tyres: “On this track it is difficult to conserve the tyres, because you are always on the edge and my situation was the same as everyone else. But it was difficult for me to exit Turn 8 and 10, I lost time in those points, but I was confident of making the podium”.

“Then I had a lot of fights with Morbidelli and I understood that I had lost the chance to get on the podium. Marc had already gone and it was impossible. I liked the two passes I made on Marquez and Morbidelli at the last corner. I was able to make a move that I hadn’t done for a while, so it gives me confidence. The fight with Morbidelli? It was nice, but it also kicked my ass because I lost time! But that’s racing, that’s how it is. Frankie did what he had to do,” he continued. Beast.

The fourth position did not particularly satisfy the Ducati rider, who had different goals: “My goal was the podium, because the pace was good. But not all races are the same, this time it was not the best for me. I have to start further ahead in the future, because it is impossible like this. Fighting with Jorge and Pecco if I had started further ahead? I don’t know, maybe yes, when I did a lap alone I did 21”1 after 20 or 22 laps and it was a good time. But if you are behind you cannot fight for the victory”.

“I’m losing points and that’s not a good thing. At every Grand Prix I lose 5 or 6 points and that’s a problem. We have to try to solve this thing for the second half of the season, because there are still a lot of points up for grabs and anything can happen, so it will be important to improve the starts”, reiterated Bastianini, who confirmed qualifying as a weak point.

The first part of this 2024 season ends with the German Grand Prix and it’s time to take stock: “What grade do I give myself? I’ll give myself a 7, because I had a good first part, but perhaps with a few too many mistakes that you pay for in the end. Up until now we’ve raced on tracks that, at least in the past, haven’t been too congenial to me. But I don’t want to use that as an excuse, I think we’ve changed our base a bit. It’s very good for the race, we always manage to be very effective, but perhaps we’ve lost something for the time attack. I never feel that extra grip that others have and so in the end it’s different starting on the front row or in third.”