Bastianini: I saw something fly off... it hit Diggia! ‘Excited’ for 2023

The Gresini Ducati rider, currently locked in a duel with Jorge Martin to be Bagnaia’s 2023 factory team-mate, suffered the aerodynamic loss when he was squeezed between Martin and Marco Bezzecchi at turn one.

The contact left Bastianini down in eleventh, but the loss of his upper left wing could have been his biggest problem, several competitors describing their bikes as almost unrideable after losing wings in previous races.

“It was difficult to manage the bike in this situation,” Bastianini admitted. “In the first lap I didn't understand this problem of the wings because I touched Marco and Martin, and I lost something, but I didn't see the wings.

“I saw something fly [off[ very fast, and [found out later team-mate] Diggia got my wing in the face!

“After 2 laps I understood I had a problem on the bike, because every time in the left corners the [front] was closing a little bit. But when I understood this after 3 or 4 laps, I was confident with the bike, I got some feeling, and at the end, it was more difficult compared to having two wings, but not too bad.

“It was more difficult to make the changes of direction but I was lucky because the wind today was really low, and if the wind was too high, it would be more difficult for me to ride [with one wing].

“[Overtaking] was the same. Only on the left corners you had to pay more attention on the release of the brake and the bike wheelies a bit more. I learned a lot, the aero is very important at the moment in MotoGP!

“But I was fast, and this is the most important.”

Still outside the top ten as the halfway mark approached, Bastianini was able to adapt to the uneven downforce and the final ten laps saw the Italian mount an impressive charge through the field to fourth place.

Aided by renowned tyre-saving ability, Bastianini was one of the few riders to set his fastest lap in the second half of the race, passing Brad Binder, Miguel Oliveira, Aleix Espargaro, Fabio Quartararo, Alex Rins and finally Martin to cross the line almost within striking distance of Jack Miller and the podium. Bagnaia and victory were just 1.6s away.

“At the end of the race, we know I'm always faster. We don't know why this is!” Bastianini smiled. “But when I'm very close to the last five laps, I push to my best… [the podium] was very close.

“After two races that were not very good for me, now is the time to restart and to reset. Today I was riding very well, the guys have checked the data and I was fast in entry, which is my style like always, I hope we can continue like this.”

With a decision on the factory Ducati ride due to be taken after the next round in Austria, had it also been important to beat Martin?

“I’m happy to finish in front of Jorge, but because I recovered positions, not for the decision of Ducati. This depends also on other questions," Bastianini replied.

Whichever rider Ducati chose, Bastianini will have a new team next season, either alongside Bagnaia or in place of Martin at Pramac. He will also be promoted from a year-old bike to the latest GP23.

“I'm excited, because it's a new adventure, new team in both cases,” Bastianini said. “But I have to stay focused and concentrated on the championship of this year.”

The British MotoGP result has moved Bastianini back to fourth in the world championship, 13 points behind Bagnaia and - following Johann Zarco’s fall from the lead - as the top Independent rider.