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Enea Bastianini finally succeeds in archiving the bad memories of last season at the Algarve circuit by finishing with an excellent second place in a race conducted in pursuit of a very fast Vinales first, and then an uncatchable Martin in the last stages of the race. A performance of the highest level that not only gives a sigh of relief to the Rimini rider after the problem at the start in Saturday's sprint, but also sends the Ducatista to the next round in Austin with a respectable calling card: he is 3rd in the world championship with 39 points, just 3 points behind Binder's KTM.
In the last laps you really pushed to the limit, setting the fastest lap for several consecutive laps, did the thought of being able to snatch the win from Martin pop into your head?
"It was a good race - Enea declared - after the big mistake in yesterday's Sprint it was important not to make any today. The start was good but Jorge's was better and he immediately took the lead in the race. I chased Maverick for many, many laps until I passed him in the last stages of the race."
That's such a difference in one year.
"A lot, last year I was in the hospital and now I'm here on the podium. It's nice to be on the podium here in Portimao, I had never been here."
How did you manage the last few laps?
"I hoped a little bit to catch up to Martin, but instead it was impossible, maybe if I had been able to make more of an impression on Maverick the race would have ended differently, but he was always very fast in the last sector. Jorge then did not make many mistakes, today in the race he was perfect, to dare more would have meant risks."
Maverick then had a technical problem on the bike.
"It's very difficult to overtake, and as we had two different bikes when I was approaching we had two different styles so I struggled. I don't know what happened to him, I heard a strange noise coming from his bike, like he didn't put the gear in. The last lap would have been a good fight, I could have tried to overtake at turn 5".
You thought a lot about that lowering device at the start.
"I have to admit yes," he joked , "even though I was much calmer at the start today, I have to say that then in the first few laps I was more nervous, maybe there I lost the chance to do better. Jorge managed the race well, every time we got closer he would pull out that tenth."
Did you get a chance to see the contact between Bagnaia and Marquez in Turn 5?
"I saw it at the end of the race, it looked like a racing incident to me. Pecco threw himself back in and couldn't see where Marc was at that moment. Unfortunately, in today's MotoGP overtaking has become more difficult and contacts can often happen, but I can't say for sure what happened."
The Ducatis seem to be suffering from a vibration problem with the soft rear.
"Yes, today with the medium this problem was not there but as for other teams on this track it was never the main problem this weekend. I think it's a common problem for other manufacturers as well."
Now two weeks of waiting before the next stop in Austin, you go there third in the world championship.
"The mentality will always be the same, although this year we have started off on the right foot since the winter. I knew it would be a more difficult start, we saw it in Qatar, but now we know what we have to work on. Let's say we are, I'm not saying calm, but confident. As for Austin, I have very good memories in 2022, because last year I was injured. It was my favorite win of that season and it's good to be back there, but I also know that there we will have to face Marc Marquez who has always been competitive on that circuit."
