BASTIANINI’S TYRE MANAGEMENT POWERS MOTEGI PODIUM CHARGE

Enea Bastianini delivered his first podium of the season at Motegi, showing the tyre-management skill that has long been one of his strengths. The Tech3 rider finished just under a tenth of a second behind Marco Bezzecchi after closing a gap that had once stretched beyond two seconds. He also set the fastest lap of the 24-lap race.

Tyre choice shaped the contest. The soft rear was withdrawn from the allocation over concerns about excessive overheating, leaving riders to choose between the medium and hard. Although the hard was viewed as an uncertain option before the race, every rider ultimately selected it. Bastianini said it worked well from the outset after he had tried both compounds: “It was the right tyre choice for the race.”

His progress was not immediate. Bastianini lost time while trying to pass Pedro Acosta, then began pushing harder from the middle of the race onward. “I saw Marc and Jorge going, but from the middle of the race until the end I tried to push every lap a bit more,” he said. He was quicker late on, but could not get past Bezzecchi on the final lap.

The result was especially welcome after a difficult spell. “I was waiting for this moment for a long time to ride like that, and today it arrived,” Bastianini said. He admitted the tyre’s performance had surprised him that morning, and said he reached the finish with an unusually strong feeling from the rear. “In this track the tyre life was so good and I arrived at the end of the race with an incredible feeling, and had the chance to go on the podium. It was a surprise.”

That was notable because the KTM RC16 has often put heavy demands on its rear tyre at other circuits. Motegi, however, allowed Bastianini to preserve grip and build speed as the race unfolded. His late charge recalled the tyre conservation that earned him a reputation as one of MotoGP’s most effective riders at managing rubber, a quality he has had fewer chances to display since joining KTM.

Bastianini stopped short of calling the podium a lasting breakthrough. “It’s too early to say, but in this track we were competitive and found the speed,” he said. The team had worked extensively since the previous round at Spielberg, where Acosta had been more competitive. “We studied from Friday to now and in the end I’m back at the front,” Bastianini added. Whether that progress transfers to other tracks remains uncertain, but Motegi gave him a timely result and a clear sign that his pace and tyre feel are still there.