Emotionally recovered from the moral blow that the fall in his home grand prix last week meant for the boy from Gresini, an error that prevented him from continuing to score points in his fight for the championship, Enea Bastianini, the only rider who has won three races this year, he was very quick at the start of the Catalunya Grand Prix in one lap, finishing third at the end of the day and the closest to the two dominant Aprilias.
However, the young Italian driver failed to show a good lap rate and will need to improve a lot if he wants to be in contention for the podium on Sunday.
“The grip on the track is terrible, but we have to adapt. For my part, in the second free practice it was not so bad, although the pace with the rear hard tire was not good. However, in the time attack it was I was competitive.”
Barcelona has always been a track for Enea that has brought him good results, especially in the small classes.
“I have adapted enough. I still don’t ride a MotoGP bike here properly. Last year I had a lot of difficulties on this track and this year I still don’t feel comfortable. With so little grip it is difficult to use the entry phase to the curves hard, which is how you buy time”.
For Enea, Aleix Espargaró’s show of strength in his home race was not a surprise and that running at home and with the pace shown this Friday, he would not be surprised to see the Catalan’s second victory.
“If the race had been today, Aleix would have won on the run, but it’s only Friday. We can all still improve, Pecco, Fabio, me, even Maverick himself has been quick.”
“It is not surprising that the Aprilia is going from strength to strength. I think it is a very favorable track for them and especially for Aleix. He is a rider who does not use much lean angle and here he can make the most of his technique. He has a very agile bike, they have improved a lot, but on Sunday we will try to make it difficult for them”.
Aleix’s level of motivation is so strong in Barcelona that he could give him a few extra tenths to make up for any possible shortcomings compared to the Ducati in the race.
“It’s only Friday, I insist, Aleix is very strong, but motivation doesn’t give points.”
And speaking of points, the objective of Enea, third overall, is to cut back on the championship leader, Fabio Quartararo, who finished far behind (13th) in the morning and could only be seventh at the end of the day.
“I think Fabio will come out. He’s fast, and although I don’t think he’ll reach Aleix’s level, I see him on the podium,” settled the rider from Rimini.
