It’s on a track with good memories for him that Enea Bastianini attacks this weekend’s return to victory. At the French Grand Prix, the Ducati rider faces the Bugatti Circuit at Le Mans, where he was the winner two years ago. Now, he arrives in third place in the championship, with the lead within reach.
The Italian mentioned that the situation is different from when he won in 2022, despite having a favorable track: ‘My race in 2022 was really good, with this victory for me. But it’s completely different now. I failed the last race here in 2023, but I think it’s a friendly track for me’.
Regarding the fact that Ducati has been monopolizing victories in France in recent seasons, Bastianini was somewhat cautious, reminding that no two years are alike: ‘I remember also when Danilo [Petrucci] won and he was really fast also in the rain. I think it’s a really good track for Ducati. But it can change something. Every year is different, but in the last years only Ducati won here’.
As for the reasons why Ducati is so competitive at Le Mans, the #23 commented: ‘I don’t know. I think now Ducati is a really competitive bike everywhere. In the past it wasn’t everywhere, but here yes. I don’t know why. Because we can brake later, I don’t know… probably because we can accelerate earlier’.
In the Spanish Grand Prix, Bastianini had some difficulties with strong braking, particularly when he was behind Brad Binder trying to overtake him. However, he hopes it will be different in Le Mans:
– Brad is very competitive in that area, in the braking he’s difficult to overtake. But I worked on this in the Monday’s test in Jerez and I made a good step in that direction. Let’s see here, if it is the same. It isn’t simple because I have to start more on the front, but it’s important now because if you are behind with the MotoGP at this level is really hard to come back.