Poncharal hopes that the performance of Viñales is

Both beginners on the KTM and in the Tech3 team, Maverick Viñales and Enea Bastianini did not adapt to the same speed. The Spaniard shone by the speed to which he took his marks, with a coup that remained in the memories when he led the GP of Qatar and passed the second arrival before demoting a penalty. It was the fruit of progress made from Argentina on its settings, having had the effect of improving its confidence on the handlebars and leading it towards increasingly effective piloting.

On the other side of the stand, Enea Bastianini continues to come up against difficulties that he deems unchanged. He who gave himself three or four races to be competitive, he is not there yet. Austin brought him a glimmer of hope when he said he was for the first time “and harmony” With the RC16, but the following great prices brought him back to his reality of the moment, that of a perpetual return to the starting point. It begins on weekends in pain before experiencing continuous progress until the race, but without having the impression of raising its level permanently.

With the parallel of these two situations, Hervé Poncharal hopes that Bastianini will be able to draw inspiration from the positive dynamics launched by his teammate. A hope that is not completely free, because the boss of the Tech3 team also perceives encouraging signals in the performance of the Italian and crosses his fingers for an upcoming click.

“Maverick signed the second best tour in Doha, behind Marc Márquez. Enea was the second fastest KTM driver in the Qatar race, in terms of time time, and he was close to Maverick from this point of view”, Hervé Poncharal analysis in an interview for Gpone.

“But Enea has had problems making a quick tour since the start of the season. For the moment, we do not yet know exactly what we have to give him to help him progress in the tests. In the race, he has already finished twice ninth and once seventh. Over the distance, he improves a lot.”

“Maverick has entered q2 three times in a row, the Time Attack works for him. Enea has quite good sensations in the race, but if we leave 17th or 20th, the race is already lost. Now, we know on Friday evening how the weekend will take place and if Enea is not directly in Q2, we know that he will have two difficult days in front of him.”

“The objective now is therefore to place ENEA in the top 10 on Friday, and then face the two races with good perspectives. All the pilots will tell you that if you are well placed in qualifying, the race takes place in a completely different way, it is a whole different world.”

“Hopefully Maverick’s latest performances also boosts mentally. The turning point could ask for time and a little more work with his chief mechanic Alberto Giriboola. But let’s remember the first two Grands Prix of Maverick: after Thailand and Argentina, it was not easy to draw a positive conclusion from his performance with the KTM. And suddenly, he was drastically improved.”

Apart from his teammate, it is also the other KTM pilots who are now dominated by Maverick Viñales. The big points lost in Losail when he was sanctioned earned him to appear in the last rank of this small group in the championship, however Jerez confirmed what he had shown in Qatar since he qualified sixth for the second time in a row and that he finished the Grand Prix fourth after seventh place in sprint. Each time, he piloted the first KTM in the ranking.

“Maverick’s performance in Doha and Jerez showed other KTM drivers that our motorcycle has a lot of potential”, Hervé poncharal observes. “Maverick was the weekend pilot in Losail! He showed the world and the other three pilots that it is possible to fight at the top with RC16. We therefore continue to work. The other KTM pilots now see that it is possible to get more than just top 10. They can now target higher goals.”