The third place in the MotoGP Malaysian GP was bittersweet for Enea Bastianini. The Ducati rider managed to reach the podium after Marc Márquez (Gresini/Ducati) crashed out, but failed to achieve his original goal, losing out to Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) and Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati).
In a press conference, #23 commented on his race: ‘This afternoon has been more or less like yesterday, with the same problem. The first start was good for me, I was in third place. And in the second one I was fifth and it was much more difficult to be closer to those guys’.
Then, Bastianini did not have the ideal feeling on the bike, as he mentioned: ‘Also, when I was alone, after overtaking Franky [Morbidelli] I was a bit slower and my feeling wasn’t the best. So, I preferred to stay calm’.
Despite the podium, «Bestia» made it clear he was not satisfied with the result, now looking ahead to the season’s final round: ‘In the end, Marc crashed and gave me the podium. But we came here with a different goal – to try to win the race. That didn’t happen, but we have to stay concentrated and fight in the last race. Pecco explained what the critical corner is in Barcelona, and we have to be safe, but also fast’.