Enea Bastianini closes 2nd in Misano and does not spare the final assault on the future box mate Pecco Bagnaia.
Enea Bastianini scored a superlative weekend in Misano, where in his first MotoGP season he had reached the San Marino podium twice. He starts from the front row, in the initial stages he has to let the Aprilia of Maverick Vinales but it remains literally glued to the Spanish. The fall of Jack Miller after a lap paves the way to the podium, eight laps from the checkered flag the winning paw on Vinales, but the icing on the cake is missing.
The Romagna rider of the Gresini team closes second just 34 thousandths from Pecco Bagnaia, his future box mate in the Ducati factory team. He seemed to want to serve the success of his brand colleague on a red carpet, but on the 27th and last lap he tries everything with a braking that makes the fans jump, but raises the hairs on the arms of Claudio Domenicali, Davide Tardozzi, Paolo Ciabatti, Gigi Dall’Igna, all those present in the pits in front of the screens. Final sigh of relief, but after the race no one can hide the fear.
Bastianini tries the lunge on Bagnaia
Pecco is still in the running for the world title and accuses a gap of 30 points six races from the end of the championship. He was of little interest to the ‘Beast’, who would gladly have inflicted a low blow on his fellow countryman. “I wanted to attack on the last lap, unfortunately in turn 4 I got too strong and made a mistake. This cost me the final overtaking, I stitched up, I tried again at the last corner … But that’s okay“Commented Enea.
In the first laps of the Misano GP he complained of some problems with the front, solved after a few kilometers behind Maverick Vinales. “At the beginning I suffered, I couldn’t get the tire to temperature. But when I stayed behind the others it was easier for me and I was able to warm up the front. I decided to do the whole race behind, in the last seven to eight laps Pecco and I made the difference and went away“.
It is now too late to think about the world title, the zero collected at the Red Bull Ring has put an end to the last hopes. But Enea Bastianini he still wants to take away some satisfactions and get in top form at the starting line of the next championship. “We have to look race by race like we did here. Seeing so much of my merchandising in the stands is really exciting“.
