Enea Bastianini handed Tech3 the first silverware of its new ownership era after being promoted to third place by a post-race penalty for fellow KTM rider Pedro Acosta in the US MotoGP Sprint.
The high of the Italian’s best result since Catalunya last season came just a day after the low of team-mate Maverick Vinales being forced to withdraw due to his shoulder injury.
“That’s the beauty of this sport and it’s what MotoGP is all about. It’s a real mix of emotion,” said team manager Nicolas Goyon.
“We started the weekend in a very difficult way, with Maverick making the difficult but sensible decision to stop racing for the remainder of this weekend.
“At the same time, Enea managed to go directly into Q2 on Friday afternoon, which was the first time since Barcelona and gave the team a good boost heading into Saturday.
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“We know that when Enea starts inside the Top 12, he can deliver a brilliant race. Today, he had a good start and built his race very cleverly. “
Bastianini was only eighth with four laps to go but matching the late race pace of eventual winner Jorge Martin, on the medium rear tyre.
The Beast overtook Luca Marini for seventh, which became sixth after Marco Bezzecchi’s exit.
A dramatic last lap then saw Joan Mir crash out and Bastianini overtake Alex Marquez for fourth, which then became third after Acosta’s tyre pressure penalty.
“Finishing fourth after starting 12th on the grid was already a great result,” said Goyon.
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“In the end, Pedro Acosta’s penalty promoted us to third position, so congratulations again to Enea.
“It has been a good day for us, but tomorrow remains the main target, and we will keep working to achieve another strong performance.”
Bastianini hadn’t finished higher than twelfth this season, ahead of the COTA Sprint.
“I am happy with this result. After a couple of difficult weekends, we were able to find our speed again and be competitive,” he said.
“There was a bit of luck with what happened at the start, but we also fought hard, recovered positions, and the team did a very good job.
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“This podium shows that we are still capable of challenging at a high level.”
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