RiderTua.com – After winning two podiums in a row, Enea Bastianini managed to rank 2nd in the standings. The factory Ducati rider delivered a solid and intelligent performance in the 2024 season, completely different from the previous year which was difficult.
After the sprint (finished 6th), Bastianini was not too optimistic for Sunday’s main race. Because Bastianini had a good start, he immediately tried to take the lead. After that, unfortunately he made some mistakes and other riders were able to overtake him…
How Enea Bastianini Saves Tires, Starts ‘Pushing’ in the Last 8 Laps
However, the second half of the race went better for Enea Bastianini. He explained that in these situations, he reminds himself to stay calm. He is one of the few riders to use a soft rear tire. He had to save tires and only push on the last 7 or 8 laps.
Bestia was involved in a duel against Jorge Martin, one of many battles that took place in Sunday’s race. With two laps remaining, he managed to overtake the Pramac rider and didn’t leave even the slightest gap to prevent Martin from launching a counterattack.
It is clear that Bestia is satisfied with this podium, considering that he could not perform optimally due to an injury at the American GP last year. “Honestly, my feeling on the bike was never there last year. On the one hand it was due to injury, but also because everything was new, both the bike, the crew chief and the team. This year felt different. The first test was good, I was able to get used to the bike in Malaysia and Qatar and now have a solid and consistent base. I assume that I will be able to continue fighting for the top position in the future,” said the rider from Rimini, Italy.
What was clear from Sunday’s race at COTA this year was that there were continuous overtaking maneuvers in the crowd of riders and in contrast to last year, the increase in temperature on the front tires did not cause any problems for the riders.
World Champion Pecco Bagnaia’s teammate explained that he didn’t know what it was like to race here last year because he was still injured. When he fought today in 6th or 7th place, he felt the temperature at the front rising. But with the new front tire design, this seems to be less of an issue than before.
All riders know the problem and know what they have to do to cool the tires. That’s part of a rider’s job. “In a group, always try to get out of the slipstream of the bike in front and give fresh air to the front tire,” said rider number #23.
