Enea Bastianini explains “strange” KTM MotoGP trait he needs to adapt to
Tech3 rider is finding his feet on the RC16 in testing
Enea Bastianini says the support the KTM MotoGP bike gives him under braking is “a bit strange” because “it’s something new to me” compared to what he experience on the Ducati.
The seven-time grand prix winner is known for being one of the hardest brakers in MotoGP currently, which matched well with the Ducati machinery he previously rode.
After two days of testing the KTM this week in Malaysia, Bastianini notes that the RC16 is even stronger under braking to the point that it feels unusual for him.
Asked what he likes most about the bike, he said: “The most? You can push a lot with the brakes.
“Sometimes I lost the front with the old bikes, and with this if you are more aggressive the bike supports you.
“It’s something new to me and it’s a bit strange.
“I need some time to understand in which area I have to work more, because this point is very, very strong about this bike.”
Bastianini hasn’t had the easiest of weeks at Sepang so far, having finished around a second shy of team-mate Maverick Vinales on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Bastianini says he “suffered” in the morning because numerous changes to the bike didn’t work.
As the day went on KTM was able to make Bastianini more comfortable on the bike, with the Italian 17th at the chequered flag but only just under a tenth of a second behind Vinales.
“This morning, I suffered,” he said.
“I suffered because I made a lot of changes and nothing worked well.
“But for the afternoon, we did some modifications on the bike and also I tried some new solutions and this helped me to bring confidence.
“At the end I started my work, because I received some information and it has been possible to give that information to the team.
“At the end, I stayed much closer to the other riders on the time attack but also much closer on the pace.
“But we need to work more. Probably tomorrow we need to do some laps and some time attacks, because it’s important and it’s what I miss more at the moment because the strongest point of this bike is much different to my old one.
“Sometimes I make some mistakes.I can improve. I have time.
“We have just one day left here, but then we have Thailand and this is important because I’m a bit behind.”
Specifying the changes that made him feel better on the bike, he added: “I changed something on the swingarm because I tried to do some modifications like in the past but it was too bad.
“We went in the opposite direction and then it was good. But we have to do something more to try other set-ups tomorrow, maybe also my position on the bike is not the perfect one.”
