Bastianini and KTM’s aerodynamic secret: one move could change his 2026

Not only Acosta—Bastianini also shone on the KTM in Texas: is this a real turning point for the rider from Rimini?

Enea Bastianini’s 2026 MotoGP championship might have truly begun in Austin. The results in the sprint race (third) and in the main race (sixth, just behind Marc Marquez) are encouraging for the future. He definitely needs to improve in Qualifying, his long-standing weak point, though in the USA he already took a step forward by going straight into Q2. We’ll have to wait for Jerez (April 24–26) to understand whether there has truly been a real turning point.

It was certainly great to see the rider from Rimini back in form like in his best moments. You could tell he had full control of the RC16 and was able to ride the way he likes. He had some fine battles and several overtakes. On Sunday he engaged in a nice duel with Marquez, losing out by 143 thousandths.

He’s waiting for confirmation on other tracks, but at COTA the KTM Tech3 rider feels he made concrete progress that finally allowed him to fight for positions more in line with his great talent: "We’re on the right path," he told Sky Sport MotoGP, "objectively we’ve made a step, even if the track and the tire helped us. In any case, we also made progress with the setup and aerodynamics. I struggled in practice before qualifying because with the wind I couldn’t keep the bike straight on the straight. That was the only problem; otherwise we were fast. The first lap of the race was very difficult—everything happened to me—but in the end it went well."

Bastianini confirms that after Marquez’s overtake he changed his approach a bit, even if he still wasn’t able to pass him back in the end: "When Marquez passed me, I lit up. I knew I could get by the rider ahead after a few laps, but when he came from behind I knew he had a great pace, and I tried to improve mine as well. I pushed to the maximum without worrying about tire wear, I just tried to stick with him. I was almost there—we’re still missing just a little something. Making the overtake would have been the cherry on top."

Pedro Acosta revealed that KTM tried some updates with Bastianini and that he too was able to benefit from them. The Italian rider specified the area where there was an intervention, without going too much into detail: "We tried an aerodynamic solution at the start of the weekend, I think it helped. We can’t say much more, but I think Pedro tried it too and it worked."

Having more riders going fast is important for KTM, which can benefit from it for the development of the RC16. Even though this is the last year under the current regulations and work on the 2027 prototype is already underway, the Mattighofen manufacturer wants to achieve excellent results in 2026. Since they are also seeking investors for the MotoGP project, doing well makes everything easier. Enea probably won’t be riding a KTM next year, but he’s eager to be a consistent protagonist for the rest of the 2026 season.