The GP of the Americas is the second victory of the season for Enea Bastianini in MotoGP, proving that the first, that of Qatar, was not the result of chance. “Now we’re partying to celebrate,” she told AS with her trophy in hand as she strolled through the COTA paddock. And when asked what she had in mind, she said: “For me, having a hamburger tonight is already a party.”
-Congratulations. How can you explain this victory?
-It’s been a fantastic day. The first part of the race was very tough, because Miller set a great pace. Later, in the second, I decided to push and in the end I pushed like a bastard. It’s amazing to have won here, the people are fantastic, and now I have to go eat a burger!”
-Differences between the first and the second victory?
-The victory in Qatar was the first in MotoGP, so it was special and I was able to dedicate it to Fausto (Gresini). But this one has been even more important for me, because now I know that I can be constantly ahead. Excluding Argentina, which was a strange weekend….
-Have you won how and when you wanted?
-A race is never easy mentally. But right now I understand when it’s time to push and as soon as I put on the helmet I feel very motivated. I don’t even know why everything works out for me.
Was the strategy clear?
-We had carefully analyzed this race, because we knew it was going to be difficult. At the beginning I tried to take care of the tyres, but above all myself. It was important to come to the end still with some energy. When Rins started to try to overtake me I knew it was time to push, I passed Martín and Miller and then I took that advantage that allowed me to win. Yesterday I narrowly missed pole position, but today I made up for it.
-What still needs improvement?
-I am very fast at the entrance of the curve, especially under the strongest braking, although compared to the rest of the Ducati riders I lose in the center of the curve, that is where I must improve. We all have different styles, Jack is the one who drives the most similar to mine and I usually watch his telemetry a lot. As far as the bike is concerned, mine is not very different from the GP22, at the moment I don’t have an advantage.
Leader again…
-I think of myself as an almost debutante. I’m still trying to learn because I know I’m missing something. Now we will go to Europe and I think that on those tracks we will all be closer, I will have to see if I am capable of repeating. We have only run four races, the championship is still very long, but I have made a very good start.