Enea Bastianini, during the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix, was involved in a throttle clutch twitch, which handicapped him throughout the race, and he only finished fourth, closely missing a podium. These were the frustrations and disappointments of a factory Ducati rider unable to hold his place on the grid and inability to pass key rivals. The fact that in this race, with only several rounds left until the championship ends, Enea Bastianini was back on Motegi, one can question strategy, luck, and the fierce competition in the MotoGP arena.
Struggling to Overtake
Enea Bastianini passed Austrian KTM’s Jack Miller on lap three and then spent several laps behind his fellow Italian teammate Brad Binder. At some point, of course, he was able to overtake Binder for the first time on the tenth lap, but he tried at least during the nine laps. When he got past, Enea Bastianini had two and a half seconds behind him to Marquez, who was all locked into third position.
After the race, Bastianini complained that after passing Binder in the first lap, he fell back several positions. He was struggling heavily with considerable turbulence at Turn 11; unable to brake hard, Jack overtook him. He agreed that attempting to beat other KTMs is not easy and takes time.
Missed Opportunity for a Podium Finish
Even though he did close the distance to Marquez, Enea Bastianini knew he could no longer fight for the top three positions. He eventually crossed the line 0.536 seconds behind Marc Marquez, a mere 0.036 seconds off the podium. Although, Marquez went beyond the track limits on the last lap at Turn 4. Nevertheless, stewards decided he had not made an exploitable gain as the distance to him remained within 0.5 seconds, which would otherwise deem their race fight fair.
However, that should not take anything away from Enea Bastianini, who still sits third in the championship points. But, thanks to the podium finished by Marquez at Motegi, the cushion that was he has now been reduced to a mere two points ahead of the eight-time world champion. he stressed, however, that the goal should always be to aim for podium positions to secure as many points as possible where a little luck helps—something that the rider felt was missing in the race at Motegi. Better still, his teammate, Francesco Bagnaia, remains at the top in the Motegi race, leaving Jorge Martin with only a 10-point lead in the four races remaining of the 2024 MotoGP season.
Conclusion
The race at the Japanese Grand Prix proved that MotoGP is a very unpredictable competition where sometimes the decision of a single moment and a little fortune defines success. However, he is still within a possible shot at clinching the championship, though the heat is on with Marquez on his tail. The desire for more top-three finishes will be imperative for Enea Bastianini as the season reaches this point, increasing competition. This being the case, each run will be a struggle for the I-In for the fastest car, as seen with his competitors. There are only four rounds to go, and every race will be a fight to the finish.
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