Enea Bastianini is the sensation at the beginning of the season, with two races won when her name was not initially among the main favorites. According to the MotoGP classification table, the Italian is currently doing better than the five riders with the 2022 prototype, with a Ducati from last season that has climbed more times than the one from this year on the podium.
Used for more than a year on a wide variety of circuits, this Desmosedici GP21 is, according to several riders, more accomplished and docile than the new bike.
When asked about the disparities he perceives with other Ducati riders, the Gresini rider assured that he did not know if the difference was in technique or style.
“The other drivers have a very different style to mine. Jack [Miller] is very close to my style and I often compare my data with his. For me, GP21 is very similar to GP22. They are very close, I think not there is a big difference. At the moment I am not at a disadvantage”, summarized Enea Bastianini after finishing in Austin.
Jack Miller, on the other hand, is more assertive on the subject. For the official rider of the Ducati team, it is thanks to his style that Bastianini has achieved the best results for the brand this year.
“If I knew [how it makes a difference], I would!” said the Australian. “He’s good in all aspects. When Enea [Bastianini] overtakes, it seems like he does it effortlessly. He has a very particular style. He manages to let the bike move and stays very calm on it, and that works very well.”
“And then of course he’s very small, so he’s very, very fast on the straights. He also knows how to brake the bike almost perfectly.”
For Miller, Bastianini ‘s two successes are therefore more the result of his riding than of a proven Ducati: “Last year, he was in GP19 and the problem was the same. He did exactly the same thing last year, except it was for sixth place or something. That’s him! It’s crazy the way he hits the gas,” he said.
“For some reason, he doesn’t use the rear of the bike, which is my big problem. He manages to run very fluid, steady and fast. And that’s the best thing. If I could try to copy his style… I’ve been here seven or eight years, I’ve tried and I still can’t, so I’m going to keep looking into that.”
