Back in the top 10

Forced to start from 20th today following a 3 position grid penalty, Enea Bastianini took a decent start as he jumped from 20th to 16th to lead teammate Brad Binder who had dropped in the opening lap. He found a way next past Lorenzo Salvadori in the third sector of lap 2 to make a first entry in the point-scoring positions, with Raul Fernandez next ahead. Enea’s solid early pace gave him a boost to continue his ascension, and he could overtake Fernandez in lap 4. P14 for the number 23, with 6 positions already gained in just 4 laps. Some crashes ahead saw the Italian jump to 9th behind Johann Zarco on lap 6, and the next lap he could overtake the Frenchman to P8, but Fernandez was in for the fight, and overtook Bastianini shortly after. The Italian appeared to feel better than the past day on his RC16, and he was providing us with consistent lap times which allowed him to keep contact with Fernandez, as the battle for 8th awaited. A sudden small drop saw Enea lose a bit of ground, which gave Binder the opportunity to overtake our Red Bull KTM Tech3 rider, but Enea was quick to refocus and he claimed back his 9th place. However, Raul Fernandez was more than 3 seconds away, 8 laps to the checkered flag. Enea could not catch up on the 25, and settled for 9th, his first top 10 result since Jerez, so this one will be good for morale. Let’s take it all in, and continue working in that way! Next up for the Red Bull KTM Tech3 squad is Sachsenring! See you in two weeks for the Grand Prix of Germany, on July 11-12-13!

“It is one of our best results of the season, but it was also one of the best races in terms of feeling on the bike. I felt a bit more comfortable compared to yesterday, but the issues remain the same. When I am taking a slipstream, it is much easier for me to make the change of directions, but when I am alone, I can not push, the bike feels heavier, so it is a problem because we are losing time. I was lapping like the other KTM riders at the start when I was with other riders, but when I was alone in the middle of the race, I lost time unfortunately. I hope that we really figure out why this happens so we can improve!”