Ducati scores a nice one-two in the Sprint of the Japanese Grand Prix, which took place this morning on the Motegi track, thanks to the victory of Francesco Bagnaia and the second place of Enea Bastianini.
The Rimini native himself became the protagonist of a tough but equally fair duel with the rider who will take away the seat of the official Ducati from 2025: Marc Marquez.
Enea, who was second until 2 laps from the end, saw himself attacked by the Catalan of the Gresini team in turn 9, then gave him the pass back two turns later, in turn 11, thanks to a violent but calibrated braking action to the millimetre.
That maneuver, although risky, succeeded perfectly. So Enea finished second, just a few thousandths behind Bagnaia who in the meantime had slowed down to manage the second margin he had gained thanks to the fight between the two brand mates for the position of honour.
“Nice Sprint. The pace was very good throughout the race and in the end I was very close to Pecco. But I lost time in the last laps to defend myself from Marquez. At turn 11, then, I closed my eyes and let go of the brakes to keep the position and everything went well”, declared Bastianini once the race was over.
Enea Bastianini, Ducati Team
Photo credit: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“When I was overtaken by Marquez, I came in a bit wide, I didn’t exit well and the corner is strange due to the particular banking. I straightened the bike early, Marc entered and I wasn’t able to defend myself on that stretch.”
Bastianini is 71 points away from the World Championship lead. Many, probably too many to hope to win the title. Yet if he had still had one lap available, or at least the opportunity, he would have tried to attack Bagnaia to take home the victory. In short, at least for the moment, there is no teamwork between the two.
“The last lap, knowing that I had Marc behind me, I tried to do something more. On this track if you brake an extra meter at each corner you gain, but you also know that you take a lot of risks by doing it that way. But Pecco I think that I was managing. I saw that he set a slow time on the last lap. What is certain is that if I had had one more lap, if I had had the chance, I would certainly have tried to win.”
In closing, Enea admitted that he performed borderline maneuvers in the last 2 laps not so much due to a well-managed tire, but rather from the desire not to be overtaken and lose the duel with Marquez.
“When you’re fighting with someone something lights up in you, nobody likes to be overtaken, it spurred me to do something more. It’s up to me to then understand how I can do something more. Because it wasn’t something due to tires or performance I have to try to understand what I did differently.”
#MotoGP #Bastianini #lap #win