Enea Bastianini makes an impressive comeback with a start/finish victory on the first weekend in which he rode his factory Ducati with a thumb brake instead of a foot brake
After narrowly missing out on the podium in the sprint on Saturday of the MotoGP weekend in Sepang (Malaysia), Enea Bastianini immediately announced his intention to “take the next step” on Sunday. No sooner said than done
In the 20-lap Grand Prix on Sunday, Bastianini took a clean start-finish victory. In doing so, the long-suffering Ducati factory rider put a positive spin on what he himself describes as a “disastrous season” just before the end.
Bastianini laid the foundation for his first victory in red right at the start. Starting from P3, he took the lead on the second corner and never relinquished it. His Ducati brand colleagues Alex Marquez, Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin took second to fourth place, but this time they were clearly outclassed by “Bestia”.
“I guess the beast is back,” grinned Bastianini after his convincing performance, which for him is one thing above all: redemption. On the very first race weekend where the rear brake of his Ducati Desmosedici GP23 was built so that Bastianini operated it with his thumb rather than his foot, he instantly regained his strong form from the previous year (then with Gresini-Ducati)
The decisive call between Thailand and Malaysia
“After this disastrous season for me with many injuries, too many injuries, it’s fantastic that I’ve now come back here with this victory. We found the solution this weekend,” said a delighted Bastianini. In connection with the successful thumb brake experiment, the Ducati factory rider praises his crew chief Marco Rigamonti in particular.
“A week ago I got a call from my crew chief. He told me that he had checked my data and now knew what I needed. Well, what can I say? That’s exactly how it was. I think the result speaks for itself,” beams Bastianini.
The BE(A)ST OR NOTHING for @Bestia23
His first podium in @ducaticorse red is a win! And it happens exactly where he left off last year MalaysianGP pic.twitter.com/wuaPY1ojh4
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) November 12, 2023
After his pace had already been strong in the sprint on Saturday and he had deliberately refrained from attacking his team-mate Francesco Bagnaia in the battle for P3, Bastianini adopted a different tactic for Sunday’s Grand Prix right from the start.
“My goal was simply to be first after the first corner so that I could push like a bastard from then on,” grinned “Bestia”, who managed to do just that impressively over the course of the 20 laps.
And now that he has clinched his first victory as a Ducati factory rider in an otherwise uneventful race, Bastianini still has this to say about his season so far: “I was at the bottom. I was determined to come back stronger. That moment has now arrived. “
Bagnaia praises: Bastianini “deserves this victory the most “
Teammate Francesco Bagnaia is full of praise after Bastianini’s first victory in red. “After winning many races in a private team, the expectation was that he would fight for the world title when he switched to the works team. But then he crashed in the first race, broke bones and missed who knows how many races. When he came back, he first had to understand what the other riders had learned while he was away. Then he crashed again and missed a few races again.”
“So it was anything but an easy season for Enea. This weekend, however, he proved that he is very fast and very competitive. He has significantly improved his situation and managed to win the race. I’m happy for him,” said the world championship leader about his team-mate.
“In my opinion,” Bagnaia continued about Bastianini, “he deserved the win today the most, considering his whole situation, not only on but also off the track. It was definitely not easy. All I can say is that he deserves to ride for the factory team and he deserves this win. “
