After intense background work carried out on the Sepang International Circuit in Sepang, Enea Bastianini has completed his three-day MotoGP test programme, and we saw him gradually finding his own way on the Red Bull KTM Tech16 Team RC3 on the third and final day of testing in Malaysia. And it seems the polar opposite of his teammate Maverick Vinales...
Indeed, if The latter said he still had room for improvement in braking., this is precisely the point that we particularly appreciate Enea Bastianini on his RC16. Let’s bet that the test in Buriram will bring the feelings of the two men closer together…
Enea Bastianini seemed a little more positive at the end of day two though after the Italian found some direction to ride his new machine a little smoother. His lap times improved markedly towards the end of Thursday, and he looked set to continue working in that direction on the final day. He was just shy of the 1’57s before the lunch break, with a best lap of 1’58.093 after 24 laps in the morning session. For the #23, there were no real new special parts to try other than the already-seen ‘black box’ under the seat, with the main objective being the same as for his team-mate, namely to do that adaptation work. He made some progress on the final day, but we know that adapting to a new bike is always a long process, and one that the whole team is eager to continue when they resume testing next week in Thailand. The Italian finished the day with the best time in 1'58.011, taking 18th place on the timesheet.
Enea Bastianini: “We have improved in the last three days, but, I repeat, everything is very different and we need to work more. The progress is not very important, because from the beginning to now I have only gained a second, or something more, but not much. We have tried different things on the bike, but for me there have been no major changes. For now I just need to understand how to exploit this bike and find its strong points. I will give information to the team because I know in which area we need to work, but we need to try other solutions, and for the moment it has been impossible because we have tested some parts of the bike and we have changed to try something new. In Thailand it will probably be easier to work with the same bike and try to generate more confidence.
Yes, I know where I lost time. I saw the videos, I saw the data, and also my feeling is not high in the corner entry. In the corner entry, the entry speed is very very low at the moment and it is difficult to turn for me. In the braking phase, we improved a lot and we are very close. I like the braking a lot, there are some movements but we can improve it. Sometimes we can do something better than the others, like in the last sector where we were always very good, and also in the fourth sector, but in the second and third I also struggled in the fast corners in general, I felt vibrations, and we lose 0,7 or 0,8. It is a lot. But we have time, and we have two more days of testing in Buriram next week.
Nicolas Goyon, Team Manager: “We have just finished the first test of the 2025 MotoGP season here in Sepang, which always marks the start of a new campaign. It has been, as always, three intensive days, with a lot of time on track, so I would like to start by thanking Enea Bastianini and Maverick Viñales for their hard work. The speed and the final position on the timesheet are not what they expected, but they worked tirelessly, kept putting in laps and gradually improved their lap times. It is never easy to change bikes, it is a long adaptation process, but there is some good. They both have the right mentality, which is to keep working, keep doing this basic work to learn the RC16, and I am sure that they will soon be fast on this bike. I would like to warmly thank the team and the mechanics who have put in crazy hours in the last few days. We will have a few days of rest before heading to the key and final test in Buriram, the last chance to prepare before the start of the season at the end of the month."
Next up for the Red Bull KTM Tech3 Team is an exciting stop in Bangkok for the 2025 MotoGP™ season launch on Sunday 9th February, then we head straight to Buriram in Thailand for the Buriram Test on 13th and 14th February, the final two days of testing before the season kicks off later this month.
Combined classification of the 2025 MotoGP test at Sepang:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
Enea Bastianini Sepang Test
