What was behind Enea Bastianini’s worst season in MotoGP?

Enea Bastianini has offered insight into why he struggled to such an extent during a wretched first season on KTM’s MotoGP bike in 2025.

Bastianini moved to Tech3 this year on a factory-spec bike, partnering Maverick Vinales in an all-new line-up at KTM’s secondary squad.

But from his first test with the Austrian marque in Valencia 2024, it was clear that the RC16 was not playing to his strength — and a crash in which he completely wrecked his bike only reinforced that impression.

Problems persisted when the season kicked off in March, leaving Bastianini in the shadows of his new team-mate Vinales, who impressed with his adaptation to the RC16. Across the opening 10 rounds and before Vinales broke his shoulder at the Sachsenring, Bastianini managed just 42 points compared to 69 for the former.

There was a ray of hope that the Italian had turned around his campaign when he qualified fourth in Hungary and followed that up with a podium in Barcelona, but it ultimately amounted to little more than a brief respite.

He eventually ended the season a distant 14th in the standings, scoring just over a third of the points Pedro Acosta accumulated on the factory KTM (112 points vs 307).

It was a far cry from the heights Bastianini reached just last season, when he guided his works Ducati GP24 to two victories and seven other grand prix podiums.

In fact, this was easily the worst season of his MotoGP career; even in his rookie season in 2021, he managed to finish 11th in the championship and score 102 points from 18 rounds at a time when there were no sprint races.

Bastianini makes no secret in explaining how steep his learning curve proved after switching manufacturers for the first time in MotoGP.

“I think the adaptation to the bike this year has been very complicated for me, starting from the first test when I jumped,” he said. “It’s not been a shock, but very close to a shock because the bike was very different from the other one. 

“When it’s like this, you have every weekend to work, to change something. Also [despite] this, we were competitive on Sundays. 

“Last year, at the end of the season, I was fast in the sprints and I was always on top. I knew how it would be and what the approach of the weekend was, but you have to be clear. This year, the situation was not clear to me.”

For much of 2025, Bastianini found himself on the back foot early in the weekend, struggling with his feeling on the bike on Fridays. While there was often clear progress overnight and into Sunday, he was frequently left with too much ground to make up.

At Valencia, for instance, the 27-year-old toiled near the back in practice and qualified only 20th. Yet his race pace was strong, allowing him to climb steadily through the field to finish a solid 10th.

Enea Bastianini, Red Bull KTM Tech 3

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

“Friday complicated, Saturday a bit less and Sunday in the race we are competitive. This happened many times. I think [it happened] every weekend, from just two or three weekends apart,” he highlighted the trend.

Bastianini’s improved pace in race trim was partly down to his increased confidence on medium tyres, which are preferred during longer grands prix. With Michelin’s soft rubber, he suffered from a phenomenon called the ‘rear pushing the front’, which had a detrimental impact on his cornering ability.

“We are also competitive in the race because I find the confidence to be fast with the medium tyre,” he explained. “When we put a soft on the rear, the bike gives me the opposite; no confidence and I can’t push.

“[With the soft tyre], the rear pushes me out in every corner and it’s also much more complicated to turn. With the medium, it’s much better for me to slide with the rear, I’m much more confident. Lap by lap in the race, I’m much more confident. This has happened every time.”

Bastianini was pinning his hopes on the post-season Valencia test to find a breakthrough and head to the winter break on a positive note, but after trying a variety of components in a condensed schedule, he left Spain without the answers he had been seeking.

«I still haven’t cleared up all my doubts about certain things,” he conceded. “We also tested two quite different bikes. The new bike had a different chassis and a few other slightly different things. But I still haven’t really understood the pros and cons of both. The only thing I’ve understood is that the seat is much more ergonomic, anyway.

“But hey, I’m happier to have wrapped up 2025.”

Enea Bastianini, Red Bull KTM Tech 3

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

Bastianini knows that the first pre-season test of 2025 will be important for him as he heads into the second and final year of his KTM contract.

«More than confidence, I’m leaving knowing what awaits me next year. I finished 17th [in the test], and quite far back. So I wanted to finish a bit higher up the standings, to end on a high note. But we couldn’t work on the set-up.

“Therefore, Sepang will be a crucial test for me: I’ll have to work very hard and try to make the most of the three days we have.”

We want your opinion!

— The Motorsport.com Team