Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Grand Prix of San Marino and the Rimini Riviera was sadly brought to an early end of Sunday at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, with both Enea Bastianini and Maverick Viñales crashing in the main event, as the team closed the weekend with a double DNF.

Grand Prix of San Marino and The Rimini Riviera

After a solid top 10 in the sprint from P19, hopes were high on the long distance for Enea Bastianini, confident to be able to fight once again for the top 10. Starting from P20 today with Joan Mir back, everything had started well for the local boy, as the number 23 fired up from 20th to 14th in just a few corners at the lights out, and then he moved past Raul Fernandez in the next sector to sit in 13th within half a lap, behind Miguel Oliveira. His early confidence allowed him to quickly move through the Portuguese rider to 12th, just after 2 laps. Jorge Martin was 0.4 seconds ahead, with the World Champion due to shortly complete a double long lap penalty following an incorrect start procedure. Behind, Oliveira did not give up and pressed charges on the Tech3 rider at the end of lap 3 to claim P12 back. Two laps later, Bastianini returned to 12th with Martin completing his penalty, and then two more positions were gained to 10th, with Pedro Acosta retiring, and Francesco Bagnaia losing the front on lap 9. At the front, pole sitter and sprint winner Marco Bezzecchi was leading, closely followed by Marquez brothers. Unfortunately, Enea crashed from the 10th place on lap 12 as he lost it at turn 14, and that was the end of the story for an Enea Bastianini, who was hungry for more at his home track.

The long distance was expected to be difficult for Maverick Viñales, but the Spaniard was still going to give all he had, with a left shoulder still recovering of course. Starting from 17th on the grid, Maverick kept his grid position at the race start to sit behind teammate Brad Binder, but in the next lap he was overtaken by Jack Miller, and that was 18th. Unfortunately, the number 12 crashed on lap 5 while in a provisional P15 after making a small mistake that he could not recover from!

A weekend far from the expectations for the Red Bull KTM Tech3 squad, but we stay here at the track for an important testing day tomorrow, the last one of the season, before we head to Japan to start the overseas tour!

ENEA BASTIANINI: "This was a really difficult weekend, although we tried to give our best. We took a good start from P20, gained many positions in a few laps, to 10th. I tried to set my own pace, to stay close to the riders ahead, but I kept losing time in sector 3, I felt a lot of vibrations, and it was difficult for me to come back from T13. I was always braking at a different point in that corner. Eventually, I arrived a bit wide, I tried to release the brake, but the front closed and I crashed. We were competitive in sectors 1 and 2, but the third was always our weakness this weekend, so it’s a shame to end our home round this way."

MAVERICK VIÑALES: "I think that I arrived at the curve with too much angle, and I could not save the crash. We are feeling ok though, but it is a shame to just do 5 laps. The bike was working well though, I think that we had a lot of potential to grow up in the race, so we need to stick to that feeling. After two races in two weeks, we are happy with our evolution. Tomorrow's test will be the perfect occasion to go a bit hard on the shoulder, we are going to do a lot of laps, and build up some muscles. Then we will have a full week to recover to arrive to Japan in good shape. We won't be testing too many things or parts, because I'm not riding at the maximum, so we'll focus on us!"

NICOLAS GOYON, Team Manager: "Tricky San Marino GP for us overall. We never really solved the technical issues we’ve had since the start of the weekend, and these prevented us from Q2 on Friday as a start, to remain unsolved in the end. Luckily, we have a full testing day here tomorrow to address our problems, and hopefully arrive at the flyaways in a better shape. Today’s race was frustrating for Enea Bastianini who crashed while in P10 after ten solid first laps from P20 on the grid. It is difficult to recover from mistakes when you ride with an injury, and this is what happened to Maverick Viñales today. He made a small mistake, and he could not really recover due to the lack of strength of his shoulder, so he crashed. We knew this race would be difficult for him, and it was! Tomorrow, Maverick wants to test to keep building strength, and after back-to-back races, he will have a full week of rest to recover well, in order to prepare Japan in the best way possible."

RACE RESULTS

1. Marc Marquez (SPA), Ducati Lenovo Team, 41'20.898
2. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA), Aprilia Racing, +0.568
3. Alex Marquez (SPA), BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP, +7.734
DNF. Enea Bastianini (ITA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 16 Laps
DNF. Maverick Viñales (SPA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 23 Laps

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING

1. Marc Marquez (SPA), Ducati Lenovo Team, 512pts
2. Alex Marquez (SPA), BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP, 330pts
3. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA), Ducati Lenovo Team, 237pts
12. Enea Bastianini (ITA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 84pts
15. Maverick Viñales (SPA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 72pts

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