MotoGP | Bastianini: “I always believe in the title. Now I have more certainties”

Enea Bastianini believes in it. The first position in the World Drivers’ Championship is 49 points away, so he is not one step away, but there are several factors that lead the Rimini rider of the official Ducati team to believe he can be in the running for the big target, resulting in him being the third wheel in the fight between his teammate Francesco Bagnaia and the leading standard-bearer of the Pramac team, namely Jorge Martin.

Bastianini is coming off two victories at Silverstone, where he first took victory in the Sprint and then repeated his feat in the Sunday race, the long one that awards a larger haul of points.

At this point in the season, the Romagnolo seems to have found greater continuity compared to the first part of 2024. This is perhaps also the secret that has seen him recover several points from the leaders in the last outings of the World Championship.

“It would be nice if I could maintain that level of performance for the rest of the championship,” Enea said in the first riders’ press conference at the Red Bull Ring. “I’m happy because I managed to win the Sprint at Silverstone and I’m usually not one of the best in that type of race. But I always try to improve and learn from the past. The Red Bull Ring is a good track for Ducati and I think we’ll be the strongest. We’ll have to see the other manufacturers, though, because KTM has also been strong here many times. But I’m confident, I feel good and I think I’ll be able to get a good result here too.”

As has often happened in recent weeks, Enea has been at the center of questions related to the interruption of the relationship with Ducati – which will occur at the end of the season – and his move to KTM.

“We’ve already received a lot of questions related to the market. I don’t know if I was already out of Ducati’s projects at the start of the season: I’ve always fought to be faster. It wasn’t easy for me, because in 2023 I missed a lot of races and it was important for me to find consistency and speed in the first part of the season. Now it’s late. I can make better use of the bike but it’s late. That’s how it went and next year I’ll be in KTM”.

In the post-press conference interview phase, Bastianini had more time to express some very important concepts. The first is that he believes in the title. Or rather, he wants to continue dreaming about it and, to do this, he will have to close the gap that separates him from Jorge Martin, the current leader of the Drivers’ World Championship.

“You know, Misano is always great for Italian riders because we all come from that area. But it will be difficult as always, because Martin was very strong on that track, especially last year. Now there will be many important tracks for me. I will have to try to recover points on those in front of me and it will not be easy, because I am 49 points behind. But I want to dream and I have to continue to do so”.

“I always believe in the World Championship. Race after race I’m getting faster, I have more data and I have more certainties and I feel better.”

To continue to have a chance of winning the title, Bastianini will have to continue to qualify very well for the races on Saturday and Sunday. Now, even in MotoGP, the starting position in the race has taken on an almost capital importance and Enea, this aspect, has understood it well.

“It has now become essential to start from the front row to fight for the victory. It is already more risky from the second row, because you could be passed by the drivers who are in third. On the other hand, from the first row it is more difficult to receive many overtakings. On many tracks, coming out first or second from the first corner makes a big difference”.

“Winning is different. Whether you like it or not, winning makes you feel lighter. However, I knew I was fast. I lost many races because I started too far back and struggled to be effective in the first laps, so I compromised the race. I know I can do well, but I have to be more consistent in starting further forward and that’s something I haven’t had much of.”