Enea Bastianini: How the Tech3 rider outshone KTM ace Acosta

At the Japanese Grand Prix, too, Enea Bastianini brought smiles of delighted surprise to the faces of the Tech3-KTM team led by owner Günther Steiner. The Italian demonstrated once again that, particularly over long distances, he ranks amongst the sport’s top riders. Unlike the previous day, when three of the championship’s leading riders were forced out of the race, the Tech3 rider held his own against Acosta and Alex Márquez in the field.

Whilst Bastianini had shot straight up to P4 in the sprint, he took a slightly more measured approach in the GP. The number 23 rider first dealt with his team-mate Acosta. The Alex Márquez situation sorted itself out – the culprit from the sprint returned just behind Bastianini after his first long lap – and was unable to ride any faster.

The Tech3 rider was getting faster and faster. As Bastianini saw Marco Bezzecchi’s black Aprilia looming ever larger ahead of him in the final quarter of the race, the rider turned into the ‘beast’ we all know. Bastianini, running in P4, lapped four times in a row. The charge culminated in a time of 1:43.041. Bastianini was not only 0.25 seconds faster than Marc Marquez – the rider chasing Marco Bezzecchi had beaten the Motegi record for the fastest lap ever by a sensational 1.3 seconds.

Admittedly, the speed was also down to the new tarmac. However, the fact that all riders were now using a hard rear tyre, following an urgent recommendation from Michelin, played further into the hands of tyre specialist Bastianini.

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Bastianini was delighted: “At last, the moment has come when everything has worked exactly as I need it to. It was a very good combination – including the tyre, which performed really well. The durability was astonishing; towards the end, I had a pace that even surprised me.”

Nevertheless, the record-breaking laps came just a little too late. Bezzecchi, who had sensed an opportunity, pushed so hard on the final lap that he managed to cross the line 0.08 seconds ahead of the Tech3-KTM. Enea Bastianini had lost just 2.5 seconds to winner Marc Marquez. Acosta, fourth in the World Championship, crossed the line 14.5 seconds after Bastianini.

The rider could only partly explain why Bastianini was now significantly faster than KTM hero Acosta. “It’s true, Pedro was riding alone at the front towards the end; the other KTMs were much slower. After the race at Spielberg, we spent a lot of time analysing that. I think it was a combination of several factors.”

Even though Bastianini was once again not invited to the podium ceremony, the future Trackhouse Aprilia rider could still feel like a winner. In the World Championship standings, the Italian made up ground on Fermin Aldeguer, who is tenth. Overall, even without a podium finish, it was a successful day for the Austrians: all four RC16 riders scored points.

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Pedro Acosta

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Fans

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Pecco Bagnaia

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Jorge Martin

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Start des Rennens

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Jorge Martin

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Ai Ogura

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Fermin Aldeguer

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Marco Bezzecchi

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Pedro Acosta

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Jorge Martin und Marc Márquez

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Raúl Fernández

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Enea Bastianini

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Ogura und Fernández

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Luca Marini

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Marc Márquez gewinnt das Rennen

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Sieger Marc Márquez

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Jorge Martin, Marc Márquez, Marco Bezzecchi

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Sieger Marc Márquez

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Willkommen zum Rennen in Motegi

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