Enea Bastianini (KTM/6th): “We weren’t far off the podium”

Enea Bastianini secured a creditable sixth place for the struggling Tech3-KTM team in the main race at Assen. With KTM’s leading rider Pedro Acosta (Red Bull-KTM) forced to retire, ‘La Bestia’ ended up as the best KTM RC16 rider on Sunday at Assen. He finished ten seconds behind winner Ai Ogura, having started the race from 11th on the grid. He gained one place after the race had finished because Marc Marquez committed a track-limit infringement on the final lap and was demoted one place.

Willkommen zum Rennen in Assen

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Marc Márquez und Pecco Bagnaia

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Luca Marini

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Raul Fernandez

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Fabio Quartararo

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Start des Rennens

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Jorge Martin

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Marc Márquez und Fabio Di Giannantonio

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Brad Binder

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Pedro Acosta

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Enea Bastianini

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Raul Fernandez und Ai Ogura

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Alex Márquez

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Miller und Morbidelli

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Ai Ogura gewinnt das Rennen

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Sieger Ai Ogura

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Raul Fernandez, Ai Ogura und Team

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Raul Fernandez, Ai Ogura, Jorge Martin

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Assen-Sieger Ai Ogura

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Willkommen zum Rennen in Assen

© Gold & Goose

Bastianini – who is likely to be riding an Aprilia for Trackhouse in 2027 – closed in on the group of contenders comprising the two Marquez brothers and Fabio Di Giannantonio – all on Ducatis – towards the middle of the race, but was then unable to make any moves. “I think it was a good weekend for us – perhaps even our most solid one so far this year,” said the 28-year-old, who hails from the Adriatic coast.

“I’m happy because we were able to fight for good positions today. We weren’t far off the podium. But Aprilia were in a league of their own this weekend. We were very close to the rest. In the end, it would have been better to use the soft tyre. I wasn’t sure about the choice, but that seems to have been the case.” Bastianini finished just one second behind his compatriot Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46-Ducati).

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11.09.2026 - 08:55

Former Moto2 champion Bastianini reveals: “My feeling with the medium tyre wasn’t great from the start – there wasn’t much grip. I lost ground coming out of the fast corners. Yesterday I lost ground to Marco Bezzecchi towards the end of the race; the lads then told me he’d fitted the soft tyres.”

Improved corner entry

Commenting on his bike’s handling, Bastianini says: “The corner entry has improved slightly. But I had problems the moment I released the brakes before fast corners – particularly in turns 6 and 7. The bike dived in more there. That’s why I was usually a bit behind the Ducatis there. Otherwise, I was able to apply pressure quite well – I wasn’t completely at the limit, as I was in Brno.”