Bastianini struggles with the KTM, the same problem persists: waiting for the Aprilia breakthrough

The 2020 Moto2 champion continues to struggle with the RC16, but he hopes to improve and finish the season in the best possible way before his new adventure.

At Assen, a growing Enea Bastianini had looked confident about confirming himself in good positions, but the subsequent Grand Prix at the Sachsenring did not go as he had hoped. He failed to reach Q2 in MotoGP qualifying and started from the fifteenth spot on the grid. In the sprint race he went no further than fourteenth, while in the long race he fought back to ninth place.

Without the crashes of Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio, he wouldn’t have made the top 10. As we always say, credit to those who stay on the bike and finish the race, but that doesn’t change the situation: the KTM Tech3 rider’s potential was fairly low in Germany. The break before the GP at Silverstone (August 7–9) should help to thoroughly analyze the data and produce solutions. Should.

The 2020 Moto2 champion highlighted the main issue that limited him in Saxony, and it’s nothing new: "I’m not very happy with the weekend," he told Motosan, "because it was very complicated. We were on a positive run, even after a good race at Assen. At the Sachsenring there were very few positives. In the race the engine braking wasn’t that bad; the problem appeared in the first ten laps. When there’s a lot of engine braking, the bike moves around a lot and that was the issue. We tried different solutions over the weekend, but we’re still facing more or less the same problem."

The KTM RC16 is a bike that moves around a lot, it’s unstable, it doesn’t allow you to brake and turn easily, and it’s physically demanding as well: "Our bike is very complicated," Bastianini explains. "The instability is there, but it wasn’t the main problem. The worst thing is the engine braking. When you arrive at corners in fifth, sixth, or seventh gear, you want to make the bike turn, but the brakes don’t work as they should. If you try to do that after five laps, you can’t finish the race."

The rider from Rimini feels fine physically, while Pedro Acosta and Brad Binder had arm issues due to the difficulties encountered when riding the RC16. However, even for him managing the bike in the race is no walk in the park. Together with KTM and the Tech3 team, it will be crucial to understand how to take steps forward.

Bastianini is determined to do his best to end his time with the current team on a positive note, but it’s only normal that he’s already thinking a bit about 2027: perhaps he can’t wait to try Trackhouse’s Aprilia and turn the page.

Even though there’s still no announcement of the move to the American squad, his future should already be set. He could have ridden an RS-GP as early as 2025—specifically, the factory team’s bike—but together with his then manager (Carlo Pernat) he decided to commit to the KTM project. Looking back, he would certainly make a different choice.

His hope is that he has chosen well for 2027, when a new technical regulation will come into force in MotoGP and there will also be a new tire supplier (Pirelli). He’s eager to show his true potential and to consistently fight for good results, something he has only managed occasionally with the KTM Tech3 team.

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