Epic race in Phillip Island

A superb comeback marked Enea Bastianini’s race, as the Australian encounter saw had its share of drama. After a not-too-exciting start, a jolt after few laps activated the airbag system on the #23’s leathers; from then onwards, he put together an incredible pace, which allowed ‘Bestia’ to secure fifth place and keep his title hopes alive.

Today’s top-five result translates in a bunch of points lost to Bagnaia, but plenty recovered on Quartararo (DNF) and a few on Espargaró (9th). Bastianini is still 4th, but only 15 points away from the top three and still mathematically in contention for the title (-42 points).

I’m only half happy because we had without a doubt a great race, but a better starting position would have helped and not just a little bit. Even two positions would have changed the race. In any case, we’re happy: we had a great pace and recovered many positions and why not, even some points in the standings. We’re still in the title race and it’s never over until it’s over. We’re now heading to Malaysia, and we’re fully focused on doing well, and to do so on Saturday too