Enea Bastianini: always the same problem with KTM—can it be fixed?

A good comeback from the Romagna rider in his home GP, but he wants to fight for better positions: will he manage it in Austria?

The final eighth place at Misano isn’t a bad result, considering he started from sixteenth on the grid, but Enea Bastianini knows he can finish higher. His major limitation remains qualifying; too often he condemns himself to start too far back and can’t achieve a race result in line with his true potential. He’s almost never felt completely at ease with the KTM RC16 and continues to deal with the same issue.

The comparison with Pedro Acosta is harsh, but if the rider from Rimini managed to improve on a single lap, the gap would be smaller. Obviously, “ifs” don’t get you anywhere; facts do: before joining the SuperFile Trackhouse box and riding the Aprilia, Bestia will need to try to be faster to give himself a positive end to this chapter with the Tech3 team.

Interviewed by Sky Sport MotoGP, the 2020 Moto2 champion emphasized that he couldn’t do better than eighth in the Misano race, acknowledging his responsibility for not managing to put together good qualifying sessions: "Doing more was difficult because, as often happens, I complicate things for myself on Saturday. I tried to do my best, giving 100% from the start of the race. I knew I shouldn’t waste too much time overtaking and in the end I’m happy".

Beyond the single lap, there’s also something else that slightly hinders Bastianini’s plans, preventing him from fully exploiting the potential of the KTM RC16: "When I’m behind someone, I can’t brake where I want. If I try, I always run wide. That complicates things for me. When I have a clear track, on the other hand, I can brake at the right point. We know this is the strong point of our bike and we have to exploit it 100%. My best laps came towards the end because I was alone. If I didn’t make life so hard for myself on Saturdays, maybe I could run different kinds of races".

The Romagna rider reiterated that he has never had the desired feeling with the KTM and, as a result, has not managed to replicate what once came more naturally to him on the Ducati: "The reality is that on this bike it’s always been about trying to adapt and understand how to be effective. I looked for something I couldn’t find; now I’m looking for something else. Pedro is the one who manages to make the biggest difference in every race, so we’re trying to figure out how to mimic his riding a bit, even if it’s not in my DNA. Little by little I’m managing it and the races are going a bit better, but when you can’t use your natural riding style, you can’t do what you want, like saving the tires for the end".

Watching what Acosta does, the best interpreter of the RC16, can certainly help. And it would also help to have full engine power, which Bastianini says he still doesn’t have after the recent interventions KTM was allowed to make to resolve reliability issues: "I haven’t asked anymore, I don’t know, I don’t think so. As I said in Aragon, I think they focused more on safety and reliability. I don’t think we have all the revs yet".

Next weekend MotoGP races in Austria, KTM’s home grand prix, and there will be plenty of motivation in the paddock. Enea himself would like to have a great GP with the Tech3 team, which on this occasion will once again have Pol Espargaro replacing the ailing Maverick Vinales.

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