Struggling throughout the weekend on the Argentinian track, Enea Bastianini managed to gain a few places in the sprint race but cannot be satisfied with his 14th place at the finish.
Enea Bastianini realized on this second day of the Argentine Grand Prix that he still has a long way to go before he can be fully competitive on the KTM. While he managed to secure ninth place at the Thailand GP two weeks ago after a complicated start to the weekend, he encountered more difficulties on the Termas de Río Hondo circuit.
Having finished second to last in almost every session since Friday, he finished in that position again in Q1 and therefore started the sprint race from 21st on the grid. This was his first sprint race in Argentina, as he was injured and therefore missed the one held in 2023. He managed to gain three places in the opening corners, then took advantage of Brad Binder's crash to move up to 17th.
Following the double fall of Fermín Aldeguer and Miguel Oliveira, for which the Spanish driver received a penalty, Enea Bastianini climbed back to 15th position and then overtook Raúl Fernández to take 14th place, which he held until the finish. Although he didn't score any points (awarded to the top nine in the sprint race), the Italian can congratulate himself on having at times ridden in the same lap times as Pedro Acosta, the best KTM representative on the track.
A small satisfaction which obviously does not allow him to be satisfied with his result, but which opens the door to more positive things for tomorrow's main race. "To be honest, after Thailand I was confident about being fast here too, but when we arrived, we suffered yesterday and also this morning in qualifying.", he said to MotoGPcom. "I did everything I could during the 12 laps. In a race I can usually do a little more, but we're at 100% and I'm not feeling the bike very well right now. We have to work because we're behind and I don't want to stay in this position."
Results of the sprint race of the Argentine Grand Prix :
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
