Enea Bastianini : I Have a Problem That Needs to Be Solved in Portimao

RiderTua.com – A year ago at the opening MotoGP race of the 2023 season in Portimao, Enea Bastianini’s debut with the factory Ducati team was disappointing. He was knocked out of the sprint race and suffered a shoulder injury which greatly affected his performance last season. The shoulder injury cost Bestia his chance to fulfill his hopes of becoming a title contender. Bestia is delighted to be back at the Portimao race for the first European round of the season. “This is an extraordinary track, and at the end of January we trained here with the Panigale V4S,” said the 26 year old rider.

Enea Bastianini : I have a problem that needs to be solved in Portimao

Enea Bastianini added, “I have problems to solve in Portimao. I didn’t race last year because of the injury I suffered after crashing in the sprint. The first series of the season in Qatar went well, but to be honest I hope to achieve something more. So I’ll try to make up for it this weekend.” Even so, Bastianini managed to win the Malaysian GP at the end of last year. Barring injuries, the 2024 season started with a 5th-place finish in Qatar. A quite promising result, considering that Jorge Martin is eyeing his seat in the factory team. Apart from that, he must be ready to challenge teammate Francesco Bagnaia for the title in 2025.

Pecco managed to win the Qatar GP and Martin won the sprint, so they both set a high standard for Bastianini to live up to. The future of defending champion Bagnaia is guaranteed after the VR46 student rider signed a 2-year contract with Ducati. Pecco remains the rider to beat as he seeks a third consecutive world title. Bastianini explained, “I’m happy to be racing again in Portugal. Portimao is a track that I really like and we were always fast in the past. Last year, I won the sprint and Sunday’s race,” he said.

Bestia and his team feel that they have the potential to do well again this year, but it won’t be easy. He estimates that many opponents will be able to fight for victory and the competition will be very tight. Anyway, they are ready. The team will work as usual from Friday to try to be as ready as possible for the two races, added the Italian.

Martin won the sprint, so they both set a high standard for Bastianini to meet. The future of defending champion Bagnaia is guaranteed after the VR46 student rider signed a 2-year contract with Ducati. Pecco remains the rider to beat as he seeks a third consecutive world title.

Pecco explained, “I’m happy to be back racing in Portugal. Portimao is a track that I really like and we were always fast. Last year, I won the sprint and Sunday’s race,” he said. Rossi’s students said they had the potential to perform well again this year, although it would not be easy. He estimates that many opponents will be able to fight for victory and the competition will be very tight. After all, he and his team were ready. “We will work as usual from Friday to try to be as ready as possible for the two races.”