Aggressive Strategy Costs Bastianini Podium Spot in Austrian MotoGP Sprint

Enea Bastianini admits to over-aggression, believes a podium finish could have been achieved 'without errors'

Enea Bastianini: "Today, my strategy was overly aggressive, particularly during the initial lap."

Enea Bastianini, a two-time victor at Silverstone, battled his way up from ninth position following a significant error in the first lap of the Austrian MotoGP Sprint.

The Ducati team's racer believed he might have secured a podium finish if he hadn't adopted an overly aggressive approach during the first lap, in an attempt to quickly make up ground from his starting position of seventh on the grid.

Bastianini was vying for the fourth position when he missed his line at the chicane on Turn 2, causing him to fall back to the end of the top ten.

With just four laps remaining, the Italian was in seventh place. However, a characteristic surge in the final stages of the race enabled him to overtake Jack Miller, securing fourth place. He finished a mere two seconds behind Aleix Espargaro, narrowly missing out on a spot on the podium.

"Bastianini admitted, “I was overly aggressive today, particularly during the initial lap.”

"Feeling anxious due to beginning slightly off pace, I aimed to accelerate early on. However, I erred at Turn 2, veering off course, which resulted in dropping to ninth place."

"However, following that, my performance has been surprisingly good, exceeding my expectations. This is due to the fact that I felt significantly better than I did yesterday and even this morning."

"I've had significant issues with the front tyre, yet securing fourth place is a positive outcome. I was nearly able to catch up to Aleix in hopes of making it to the podium – without the errors, it could have been achievable!"

Bastianini, famous for his tyre conservation skills, was completing laps half a second faster than Espargaro towards the end of the race, while keeping pace with the front runners Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin.

Marc Marquez's accident has allowed Bastianini to extend his lead over the Gresini rider to 19 points in the battle for third place in the world championship, yet he now trails his teammate Bagnaia by 52 points.

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