Bastianini’s Battle Delay Costs Podium Chance at Japan MotoGP Against Marquez

Enea Bastianini missed his chance for a podium finish against Marc Marquez in the Japan MotoGP

The Ducati competitor fell behind in the initial laps at Motegi, preventing a challenge against Marc Marquez

Enea Bastianini expressed that he missed the opportunity to contend with Marc Marquez for the last podium position during the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix, stating he acted "too late."

The Ducati team's racer had a rough start to the race at Motegi, falling to seventh place after initially starting from the fourth position on the grid in Sunday's 24-lap Grand Prix.

Bastianini overtook KTM’s Jack Miller in the third lap but struggled to surpass his teammate Brad Binder until lap ten, after an unsuccessful attempt on the lap before.

After surpassing Binder, Bastianini faced a 2.5-second deficit to Marquez in third place but was unable to overtake the rider from Gresini.

"Bastianini expressed dissatisfaction with his performance at the Japanese Grand Prix."

"I'm displeased due to losing several spots after Bran passed me in the opening lap."

"I encountered significant instability as I approached Turn 11, making it difficult to brake forcefully, and during this, Jack managed to pass me."

"Overtaking other KTMs proves to be a challenge; it requires several laps to accomplish."

"Eventually, I achieved this goal, but by then, it was already too late to attempt to compete for the podium because the distance between Marc and me was too vast. Ultimately, I was near him, yet not close enough to challenge."

In the end, Bastianini crossed the finish line just 0.536 seconds after Marquez, but was actually only 0.036 seconds short of securing a spot on the podium.

Marquez went beyond the boundaries of the track on the last lap at Turn 4, however, the officials view a tight race as one where the gap is 0.5 seconds or less.

Consequently, Marquez was determined to not have benefited from going beyond the track boundaries and retained his podium position.

Bastianini holds onto his third-place position in the championship standings, yet Marquez's recent success with two podium finishes at Motegi has brought the eight-time world champion to within a mere two points of the lead Ducati team rider.

"Bastianini also mentioned, "I'm constantly battling for top positions, and this holds significant importance for me."

"However, luck plays a role, and on Sunday at Motegi, fortune wasn't on our side. Yet, we must come to terms with that reality."

Francesco Bagnaia, a team member alongside Bastianini, clinched victory at the Motegi Grand Prix on Sunday, narrowing the gap to Jorge Martin's lead in the championship to just 10 points, with only four rounds left in the 2024 season.

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