In the absence of Valentino Rossi, Enea Bastianini. That’s what many Italian fans will think of his massive return to the Mugello stands, the scene of this weekend’s Italian GP. And it is that The beast He has won almost half of the races held this year in MotoGP, three out of seven, and now he arrives at the beautiful Tuscan circuit willing to confirm an alternative with the Ducati, just like the bullfighters do in the Las Ventas bullring in Madrid. An important challenge for him and a good yardstick to see how far he can go this year, his second in MotoGP.
The one from the Gresini team has not yet been on the Mugello podium in any category and that is a slab that he wants to get rid of, although he would not be unfavorable if he stays close: “We will try to get a podium here at home, in Mugello. I have tried many times to get a podium here, but it is not easy. We’ll see if we’re capable this weekend. Being in the top five would already be a good result for us, and we’ll see from tomorrow.”
Bastianini is especially excited about the appointment at home: “It’s really special to always get to Mugello and this year there will be a lot of fans at the circuit, which is fantastic for everyone. We’ll see how we get on. We had a very good race at Le Mans, but we come to another circuit and it’s a different story. We have to stay focused from free practice, there are many riders who are going fast here like Fabio, Pecco and also Aleix, who is being very consistent this year. It will be tough, but I’m ready for this GP.”
And about the spectacular Mugello straight, where you can fly at the bottom, he says: “This year is different for me, because I have the rear device to lower the bike when accelerating, which came last year in Austria. It will be different here, I also like to take a small jump at the elevation change, but without going overboard”.