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After taking his first podium of the season in the GP of Portugal, Enea Bastianini repeated himself in Texas, hitting the third position in the Grand Prix of the Americas, behind Pedro Acosta and the winner Maverick Vinales. A result that was the result of a second part of the race run all on the attack by the Rimini rider of the Ducati team, who climbed from sixth position after losing ground in the first laps of the race. A comeback that led him to snatch the lowest step of the podium from Jorge Martin after a good duel in the last laps, propelling him to second place in the World Championship, 21 lengths behind the Spaniard.
"It was important to get on the podium here at COTA as well, also because it is one of my favorite tracks and I had missed the race last year. Seeing how yesterday had gone, I wasn't very confident for today, but the start was good. I wanted to get to the front right away, but I made some mistakes and so I was overtaken by some riders in the early stages of the race - Enea told the press conference - Unfortunately, wanting to pass right away to put myself in the lead compromised everything a bit because I lost positions, but I knew I had to stay calm, because I was one of the riders with the soft rear tire. For that reason, I only tried to push in the last seven or eight laps. Passing Jorge was very complicated and I think I made it when there were only two laps to go. I can be happy."
A great start to the season for Enea, who last year had struggled to show his full potential due to the injury suffered at the beginning of the championship.
"Last year was very strange for me. I had a strange feeling with the bike, I had a crash in the first race and after the injury my adaptation to the bike was very complicated. The bike was new, but also my chief technician and the squad were and you have to be able to find a balance to be able to do something more. This year we started off on the right foot in testing, we worked very well and I did a lot of laps in both Malaysia and Qatar to be able to be consistent over the course of the championship. Now we have a solid base and I think we can always fight for a good position in the future ," he noted, " I still lack some explosiveness, so I will try to find it as soon as possible, especially during the Sprints where I struggle a bit compared to the others. Let's see what the future holds, but I'm ready."
Despite being caught in traffic at the start of the race, the Ducati standard-bearer did not particularly suffer from the overheating of the front tire, which had given big problems last season.
"I don't know how it went last year here, but I think the front tire was not a big problem today," he said , " When I was in sixth or seventh position I had some difficulties, but coming out of the slipstream then it's better.
More than the tires, after all, it was the physicality of the Austin track that tested Enea.
"In this aspect it is one of the worst races, if not the race, of the year, because this track is very physical. I am quite tested and Pedro was sick, so it was not easy for any of us. Maverick obviously had a little more, however physically I held up well - stressed the Beast - In the second part of the race, which is always my favorite spot, I was able to express myself at 100 percent. I came back and I would have liked to win, however, I can be happy with my work."
Also allowing Enea to give his best in this new year is the fact that he feels the GP24 much more his own than the Desmosedici of last season.
"Compared to last year, the way the bike works in insertion has changed," explained the 26-year-old. " The fact that we have revised the engine and chassis helps me hold the brakes more, something I couldn't do with the 2023 bike. One of my strong points had failed, but with this bike we are back on the right track. Obviously we can still do a little more, but our base works on all tracks and I'm happy with it."
