Losing home WorldSBK podium “hurts” for Axel Bassani: “It’s part of the game”

A first podium since round one looked to be on the cards for Axel Bassani at the Misano WorldSBK before he crashed out late on.

Bassani had been running in third place in Race 1 from the start as he started strongly and Yari Montella got pushed backwards.

Montella was able to get back to fourth place efficiently in the opening laps and soon arrived on the back wheel of Bassani, but despite the Ducati’s obvious racing advantages compared to the Bimota Montella was unable to find a way through on his compatriot for several laps.

Bassani’s defence seemed to pay off with five laps to go as he started to pull back ahead of Montella, but a crash at turn eight handed over the position and left Bassani pointless.

Bassani insisted it was a “positive” Sunday at Misano, regardless, although he admitted that it was painful to lose a home podium in such a fashion.

“I think it’s been a really positive Sunday, and the whole weekend’s been good,” Axel Bassani told WorldSBK.com.

“We were always in the top-four. I think we worked really well with the team. 

“This afternoon, we were fighting for P3. When we were doing the last few laps, at turn eight, I lost the front. 

“I was quite on the limit from the beginning of the race, trying to control the situation. I saw Montella started to slow down a little bit, so I tried to stay at that pace. 

“It can happen; it’s part of the game. 

“We know, to fight for the top-four, we need to push at the limit, always. It hurts a little bit, but it’s part of the game.”

Donington is up next for WorldSBK, and Bassani is trying to stay optimistic after a strong Misano round speed-wise.

“I’m happy to go to Donington,” he said. “I like the circuit, and it’ll be the home round for my team-mate [Alex Lowes]. We will try to get the same results we got this weekend. 

“I think both of us are doing a good job so I will try to stay with him there, as Alex is quite fast there. 

“The last three rounds, I’ve felt really good with the team and the bike. The atmosphere is really good, both sides are working together, so I’m happy when I jump on the bike.”