Enea Bastianini explains “disaster” Sepang MotoGP Sprint

Enea Bastianini had been one of three KTM riders to make it into Q2, but like Maverick Vinales he could not go with the leaders in the Sprint.

Brad Binder was the only KTM rider not to make it to Q2. He had a much better Sprint than both Vinales and Bastianini, though, finishing seventh, while Vinales pitted for wets which killed any chance he had of a good result, while Bastianini crossed the line ninth.

Bastianini was especially unhappy with his Sprint, which he labelled a “disaster” afterwards, as it followed what he felt was a decent qualifying, even if he lost time in the third sector.

“This morning, I was pretty happy,” said Enea Bastianini after the Sprint, as reported by GPOne.

“Things were actually going well. In qualifying, we lost a bit of time in the third sector, while we were up front in the first and second sectors, like we were in sector four. 

“Today’s race, however, was a disaster, since I had no grip right from the first lap. I struggled in accelerating, as if the bike wasn’t working properly. 

“I had to make up ground when braking, and the condition was difficult. 

“After a while, it started to rain, so I dropped back a bit. On the last lap, I managed to close the gap a little, but, by then, it was too late.”

The Tech3 KTM rider explained that he is unable to use his characteristic strength of being fast at the end of races on used tyres.

“I can’t ride the way I used to anymore, and I can’t tap into my potential to be fast in the final stages, especially on tracks where we wear out the tires a lot,” he said.

“It seems like we’re struggling more. In Japan, without tire wear, we managed to be strong in the final stages, while we struggle on tracks with heavy tire wear. 

“This is the current situation. We'll work for tomorrow.”