Enea Bastianini: “A small mistake, but I paid a lot”

When Enea Bastianini stormed through the field from 11th to 4th in the space of half a dozen laps, a repeat of his shock Sprint podium was firmly on the cards.

But after overtaking former factory Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia for fourth and setting his sights on the factory KTM of Pedro Acosta ahead, the Tech3 rider lost control and crashed out at Turn 3.

“The start was a bit bad compared to yesterday, but we were able to comeback, with good overtakes,” Bastianini said.

“Once I was in 4th, I pushed a lot to close the gap to Pedro, I arrived int Turn 3 and – I don’t know why – the back of the bike did not come back and I was without that [rear braking] support.

“I pushed a lot with the front brake and crashed. I committed a small mistake but paid a lot.”

Despite the disappointment, Brno was by far Bastianini’s best weekend as a KTM rider.

“It was nice to arrive at a new track, to discover it without any other reference [to Ducati riding style],” said Bastianini.

“Our bike worked really well, so I am happy with the steps made. I tried to fight once again for the podium, but we will try again next time."

Tech3 team manager Nicolas Goyon called the race “a rollercoaster of emotions”.

“We knew that Enea Bastianini had the potential to do a solid race. He took an ok start, but he was able to quickly recover many positions until P4. 

"Unfortunately, he crashed at lap 7, which is a great shame, but I really want to keep the positives of this weekend.

“Enea achieved Q2 for the first time and he took his maiden podium with us yesterday, so it was his best weekend of the season, which is a good sign for the second half of 2025.”

Bastianini, who had missed last weekend’s German MotoGP and was briefly hospitalised due to food poisoning, starts the summer break 17th in the world championship.

Meanwhile, temporary team-mate Pol Espargaro - deputising for the injured Maverick Vinales - completed his first grand prix of the year in ninth place.