Super Saturday in Misano is a wrap, with plenty of MotoGP™ action going on at the Red Bull Grand Prix of San Marino and the Rimini Riviera. If qualifying did not quite go the way we would have wanted with Maverick Viñales set to start in 17th and local hero Enea Bastianini in 20th, both Red Bull KTM Tech3 riders produced solid work in the afternoon’s Tissot Sprint ahead of Sunday’s main event, with Bastianini closing the top 10 at the doors of the points, and Viñales finishing in P15.
Grand Prix of San Marino and The Rimini Riviera
QUALIFYING
A packed and challenging Q1 awaited both Maverick Viñales and Enea Bastianini on Saturday morning after the opening FP2 that saw ‘Top Gun’ finish in 17th and ‘the Bestia’ in 11th as they finetuned their respective packages ahead of both qualifying and sprint race. It was not a lucky session for Maverick, with 3 out of 4 flying laps cancelled for track limits. His final lap remained the one that counted, and his last lap in 1'31.087 saw him end the session in P7, meaning he will line up in P17 on the grid, just behind teammate Brad Binder. Unfortunately, Enea Bastianini’s qualifying went the wrong way. While in a provisional P7 after run 1, the Italian crashed out at turn 15 of the first lap out of the pits. As he ran back to the pit box, he had just one last flying lap, but he did not improve. His 1’31.364 from the earlier run will place him in P20 on the grid, with many battles awaiting the local hero, as he will still aim for a good result in sprint and main races!
TISSOT SPRINT
In the end, Enea Bastianini and Maverick Viñales both advanced one position on the grid, so P19 for Enea and P16 for Maverick, with Joan Mir out of the Sprint following his Friday’s crash. When lights were out at 3pm, Bastianini took a rocket start as he gained 5 positions within the opening lap to sit just 0.3 seconds off Ai Ogura entering lap 2. Next he moved past the Japanese rookie in a blink of an eye to 14th after lap 2, as next ahead was the two-time World Champion, Francesco Bagnaia. The ‘Bestia’ was providing a solid early pace, one that eventually allowed him to gain ground on Bagnaia, and that was P11 on lap 7, with Enea making the move on his old teammate while Marc Marquez had crashed out from the lead, officially endangering his title chances in Japan. Anywaaay, next ahead, there was Johann Zarco a few hundredths away, but Bastianini quickly closed the gap on the Frenchman to overcome the LCR rider in the first sector of lap 9, to make a top 10 entrance. 5 laps remained, but Enea did not have enough time to catch up on Raul Fernandez, more than 2 seconds ahead, and he settled for P10. Ten positions gained in 13 laps, we’ll be excited to see what Bastianini can achieve in 27 laps on Sunday!
As he lined up in P16, Maverick Viñales kept his line on the left at the sprint start, but he was slightly too wide arriving at T1, and he lost 4 positions in one corner to sit in 20th behind Alex Rins. After one lap, our number 12 sat between Rins and 'the' V4 of Augusto Fernandez. As he saw his physical form allowing him to move up to the next gear, Viñales increased his effort and he could overcome two riders on lap 6 to sit in 16th following the crashes of Fabio Quartararo and Marc Marquez. Next there was Jack Miller 0.2 seconds ahead, but the Australian kept his ground well defended, and Maverick somehow could not catch him. End result will be a 15th place, with Brad Binder’s unfortunate technical issue forcing him to give up 4 laps to the end.
Encouraging pace and a lot of data gathered for both Red Bull KTM Tech3 riders, as we now head to the big finale on Sunday, with the main event of the Grand Prix of San Marino scheduled at 14:00 LT (UTC+2), for 27 laps!
ENEA BASTIANINI: "Things are difficult when you start from P19. Unfortunately, we crashed in Q1, we lost the front without pushing, probably because the tire was not ready yet. I was confident to do a good lap, because we felt less vibration. We closed the sprint with a top 10, which is not bad, the feeling improved, but to be honest, we are still having some issues with wheeling, especially in T10, which I am struggling to manage, so I am losing a lot of speed for the fast corners. Somehow, I had high expectations at this track, but it is not so simple. So let's study everything tonight, let's try to see how we can improve T10, and hopefully we can do a good job tomorrow. I feel more confident with the medium tire, which is probably going to be our option, so it will be important to manage the 27 laps, but I think that a top 10 is a realistic target."
MAVERICK VIÑALES: "Qualifying was really tough for us, I am not really effective on one fast lap, but we feel that we are at the level, and we need to be patient. Just like last week, we want more, but we have to accept our physical condition, and that's it. The quick changes of direction at Misano are really challenging for me, there is more grip so the acceleration of the bike is more intense and you need to hold the bike. Somehow I am happy because the pain is similar to the one I had in Montmelo, so it is a positive because here it is tougher. We have a good chance to build a good rhythm for tomorrow, and keep building up for the next races."
NICOLAS GOYON, Team Manager: "Difficult start to the weekend for us here in Misano. We were expecting better from Enea Bastianini's side, but unfortunately he did not qualify for Q2 yesterday. Somehow, he improved his pace this morning to regain his confidence, and he rode a decent pace in the sprint to take P10 despite starting from P19. It gives us good hope for tomorrow's main event. We know Misano is a difficult track for an injured rider, because it is very demanding physically, so we knew it would be difficult for Maverick Viñales. He is a bit frustrated with his condition because he is fast, he proved it as he rode the second fastest lap of all KTMs. The only thing to do is to keep working this way, focus on doing a good job tomorrow, and it will get better and better!"
PRACTICE SESSION RESULTS
1. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA), Aprilia Racing, 1'30.134
2. Alex Marquez (SPA), BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP, +0.088
3. Fabio Quartararo (FRA), Yamha MotoGP Team, +0.094
17. Maverick Viñales (SPA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.606 (Q1)
20. Enea Bastianini (ITA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.883 (Q1)
TISSOT SPRINT RESULTS
1. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA), Aprilia Racing, 19'52.956
2. Alex Marquez (SPA), BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP, +1.000
3. Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA), VR 46 Racing Team, +1.551
10. Enea Bastianini (ITA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +12.928
15. Maverick Viñales (SPA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +16.861
TRACK RECORDS
All Time Record: 2024 - F. Bagnaia (ITA) - 1'30.031 - 168.9 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2024 - F. Bagnaia (ITA) - 1'30.877 - 167.4 km/h
Best Pole: 2024 - F. Bagnaia (ITA) - 1'30.031 - 168.9 km/h
Top Speed: 2023 - M. Bezzecchi (ITA) - 305.9 km/h
