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2021 MotoGP World Championship
Round 15
Grand Prix of the Americas
Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas
Sunday 3 October 2021
19:00
Enea Bastianini will look to carry his momentum into Round 15 of the 2021 MotoGP World Championship, the Grand Prix of the Americas, set for the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on the evening of Sunday 3 October.
Bastianini has defied all logic in the past two races at Aragon and San Marino, claiming sixth and third place finishes respectively. What makes the Italian’s achievements so impressive, is that his Avintia Esponsorama Ducati is two years out of date and renowned for being a difficult handling bike.
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Yet somehow, Bastianini was the ‘best of the rest’ behind the Riders’ Championship top two of Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) and Francesco Bagnaia (Lenovo Ducati) at the previous round, and may have even challenged for the win had he started the race higher up on the grid.
“Passing riders like [Alex] Rins, Jack [Miller] and [Marc] Marquez was incredible, when I overtook Jack I saw the blackboard and I thought third place was great, in the last laps I closed the throttle a bit. It’s great to be here with a 2019 bike, we still have good potential in some races,” explained Bastianini after his podium in San Marino.
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The Italian explained that his improved speed is down to adapting his riding: “I have changed my driving style a bit in the last three races, I am a bit softer in my driving movements. I also saw the date of Pecco [Bagnaia] and Jack, it is true that the bike is not the same [year of Ducati] but the DNA is similar. Now I’m more relaxed when I’m driving.”
He added, “Now the bike is much better. I have some gaps in some circuits, I will still have to change my style race after race, but I have a greater awareness of what I have to do [to be competitive].”
Riders’ Championship standings
1 – Fabio Quartararo, Monster Energy Yamaha, 234 points
2 – Francesco Bagnaia, Lenovo Ducati, 186
3 – Joan Mir, Ecstar Suzuki, 167
4 – Johann Zarco, Pramac Ducati, 141
5 – Jack Miller, Lenovo Ducati, 140
Teams’ Championship standings
1 – Monster Energy Yamaha, 329 points
2 – Lenovo Ducati, 326
3 – Ecstar Suzuki, 235
4 – Pramac Ducati, 216
5 – Red Bull KTM, 211
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