Enea Bastianini, in great difficulty yesterday in Australia, was brilliant during the Sprint. As a reminder, he was 16th at the end of Practice, which meant he had to go through Q1, a session from which he came out on the edge. In Q2, he could not do better than 10th, once again held back by his speed over one lap. But during the Sprint, he was transformed. Multiplying high-class overtakes, he left no chance to his teammate Pecco Bagnaia, who is nevertheless in the process of competing for the world title. Should Ducati blame him for this maneuver? In any case, the Italian denies it.
“Bestia” was quite happy at the end of this Australian Saturday. In his latitudes, which had not been successful for him last year, he was at ease. « It’s an almost unexpected result, much better than the qualifications. I always have a lot of movement at the back, and it’s worse in the wind. But with a good start and a good pace, we were able to catch up with the leaders. This gives us hope, but we still have a lot to improve.
When I was on my own, I had trouble staying on course and went off track many times » he confided to GPOne microphones. Regardless, it’s still a good result.
Could he repeat it tomorrow? He mentioned two parameters to take into account. Firstly, the tires, on a track that we know is rubber-intensive. “I don’t wear them much, but this asphalt is very abrasive. In the last two rounds, the software had a drop in performance, this will have to be taken into account. » he said about this. Second, Marc Marquez, his rival for third place in the championship.
« Marc is very fast in the last sector, especially at the exit of the last corner. I am worried, especially since I also have blockages from the front. » he continued.
Photo :
Michelin Motorsport
Questions regarding team instructions were quick to arise. Indeed, Bastianini did not give the slightest gift to his teammate Bagnaia, while the latter is playing for the title against Jorge Martin. The problem is that Bastianini is also competing for third place in the championship against Marquez. According to the main person concerned, this was not necessary. « Everyone must think of themselves. When we are on the track we are all opponents, no one can say otherwise. I have to think about my championship »
he concluded.
Do you think Bastianini could give gifts to Bagnaia in the next rounds? Tell us in the comments!
Sprint result at the 2024 MotoGP Australian Grand Prix:
Ranking credit: MotoGP.com
Cover photo: Michelin Motorsport
