MotoGP | Bastianini: “Misano can help me find the Silverstone sensations”

Misano will never be a track like all the others for Enea Bastianini and not only because he was born a few kilometers from the racetrack named in memory of Marco Simoncelli. In 2015 he took his first victory in Moto3 here, his first ever in the World Championship. In 2021, the year of his debut in the premier class, he was instead able to get on the podium in both races held in Romagna, despite having a rather dated Ducati, moreover entrusted to the care of a backup team like Avintia Racing.

In 2022 he missed the victory by just a few thousandths, only giving in in the sprint to his current teammate Pecco Bagnaia, then in 2023 the positive streak was interrupted, because “Beast” was forced to skip the home race due to injury. Even more so, the desire to do well this year is really great, perhaps trying to be a third wheel in the title fight between Jorge Martin and Pecco Bagnaia, as he already did in Silverstone, where about a month ago he treated himself to a beautiful double.

“The plan is always the same as every race: you try to start as well as possible, hoping to have good feelings that you can then carry over during the weekend. Since Silverstone is where I felt best right from the start, I hope to have the same feelings as at Silverstone,” Enea told Italian journalists after the press conference that opened the San Marino and Riviera di Rimini Grand Prix.

“In the end you always start from your base, but sometimes you don’t feel comfortable, because the conditions aren’t always the same and the asphalt is different. However, this is a track that I know very well and I think that those who train here can certainly have some small advantage”, he added.

To try there is a first obstacle to overcome tomorrow, because we have to try to get directly into Q2: “On Friday we start to get some clear ideas. It is important now to be fast straight away and get directly into Q2 without making mistakes. The thing that I am carrying around a bit is that sometimes I exaggerate during the time attack, or I don’t feel comfortable so I make some small mistakes and find myself in Q1”.

When asked what he still lacks to compete with Bagnaia and Martin, he explained: “In terms of speed, in reality in the race I’m always aligned with them. Sometimes I even have a little more. Let’s say that I don’t lack speed, I lack a bit of consistency, but above all explosiveness. That’s the aspect I continue to struggle with the most”.

He knows Misano like the back of his hand, so it could be the right help to find that missing explosiveness: “Actually this year I haven’t trained that much at Misano, but it’s a track that can be my friend. It has been in the past and I like it, so it could help me”.

With seven races to go, the gap to the top is still quite wide, but Bagnaia’s dark weekend in Aragon showed that things can change quickly this season: “At the moment, the two of them have been more consistent than me, so they find themselves further up the standings. I have 71 points to make up, which is not a small number, so I have to look at what happens race by race. But as long as it is mathematically possible, you must never give up, that’s for sure.”