Bagnaia Takes Wet Buriram Race Win, Martin Limits the Damage
Francesco Bagnaia closes the gap in the championship with his ninth race win of the season at Buriram. Jorge Martin…
In a race that was meant to revive his last sliver of hope for a chance at the title, Enea Bastianini instead found himself grappling with technical challenges and early setbacks that left him far from the front pack.
Starting from the fourth row, Bastianini slipped to 10th, his Ducati Desmosedici lacking the early speed to keep pace with the leaders.
“To be honest, I don’t know what happened at the start,” Bastianini admitted. “It was as if I was with 30 horsepower less. I was without the front start device because the team said that for me it’s better to not use it.”
The Italian openly questioned the decision, explaining how his competitors with front devices surged ahead, while he struggled to keep up. “The rider with the front device on was much more competitive compared to me.”
Once he finally found rhythm, things looked up, as he reeled in several positions to join the top seven. However, an over-ambitious entry into Turn 8 brought his charge back up the order to a stop in the gravel trap.
“The confidence was not bad, but I crashed,” he reflected after the race. “The main problem was the front, every time it started to move a lot.”
With his own title hopes now out of reach, Bastianini is left with questions whether he’ll play a supporting role for teammate Francesco Bagnaia in the title race. Bagnaia, winning the race at the Thai GP, has pulled within 17 points of leader Jorge Martin.
Bastianini, however, is not yet ready to play second fiddle. “It’s not yet time,” he said when asked if he would support Bagnaia at Malaysia. “I want to win also in Malaysia.”
