Enea Bastianini Optimistic Yet Realistic About 2024 MotoGP Title Chances After Strong Indonesia Sprint Performance

What does Enea Bastianini think about his chances of winning the title after the MotoGP sprint in Indonesia?

“Now I am significantly nearer…”

Enea Bastianini admits that his aspirations of claiming the 2024 MotoGP championship remain “far off” even after reducing his points gap in the Indonesian Grand Prix sprint race.

The Ducati factory rider overcame a poor start, where he fell from his fifth-place grid position, during the sprint race at Mandalika on Saturday, narrowly missing out on victory to his teammate Francesco Bagnaia by only 0.107 seconds.

Following a crash that took championship leader Jorge Martin out of the race on the first lap, Bastianini's second-place result has reduced his gap to just 50 points behind the Pramac rider.

When questioned about whether Martin's recent error improved his own title chances, Bastianini responded: "I'm much nearer now; 50 points is a better situation than it was yesterday."

"It's a goal, possibly one of mine. However, to be honest, it feels somewhat out of reach right now. But we'll see what happens."

Bastianini recorded the fastest lap during the sprint and consistently maintained the highest speed throughout the 13-lap race.

He believes that with a stronger beginning, contending for a win would have been achievable.

"If we had a better start, it would have been much easier to compete for the win," he mentioned.

"Later on, you're unsure if victory is possible."

"Without another rider ahead, I can go much faster, brake as I choose, and potentially secure a victory in the race."

In Friday's practice sessions, Bastianini demonstrated impressive race speed, positioning himself as a strong contender for a win in Sunday's grand prix.

He warned that tomorrow would be challenging since the medium tire requires two or three laps to reach optimal performance.

"Yesterday, I performed my best after completing 20 laps on the tires. This is positive, but we also need to evaluate the start."

"Perhaps, I'm uncertain if the soft tires will be suitable for tomorrow – I need to verify that now. With the medium tires, after two or three laps, I found a good rhythm."

Bastianini executed a late maneuver to pass Marc Marquez and secure second place at Turn 12 during the second-to-last lap.

The Italian rider mentioned that his overtaking maneuver on Marquez didn’t stir up as much debate as his last-minute move on Martin for the victory at Misano the previous week. He also acknowledged that the controversy from Misano wasn’t on his mind during the pass on Marquez.

“No, I never considered that,” he replied.

"It's somewhat simpler to pass in that turn than it was in Misano."

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