Enea Bastianini converted a 20th start at MotoGP in the Netherlands on Sunday to 9th, labeling it at KTM as “one of our best results” for the 2025 season.
But it was the feeling of riding the RC16 that went beyond the point and offered the greatest encouragement to the Italians at least in the slipstream.
“It’s much easier to turn around when I’m on a slipstream, but when I’m alone, I can’t push. The bike feels heavy and I’m losing time, so it’s a problem,” Bastianini said.
Bastianini, who received a third-place grid penalty for disrupting Alex Lyns during qualifying, recovered to 16th on the first lap and was ninth by the sixth lap of 26.
However, once traffic was gone, Bastianini realized he couldn’t maintain the same rhythm and remained ninth in the checkered flag, 16 seconds behind Tech3 teammate Maverick Venares.
KTM Lap Time, 2025 Netherlands Motogp
“This was one of the best results of the season, but it was also one of the best races in terms of how I felt on the bike,” Bastianini added.
“I used to wrap my other KTM riders when I was with other riders, but unfortunately I lost time when I was alone in the middle of the race.
“I hope they really understand why this happens so that they can improve.”
Bastianini led the five-rider train with the flag ahead of pole sitters Fabio Qualtalaro (Yamaha), Blood Binder (KTM), Johan Salko (Honda), Alex Lyns (Yamaha) and Jack Miller (Yamaha).
Team manager Nicholas Goyon praised Bastianini’s efforts. “I want to congratulate Enea Bastianini. He was mad yesterday because he knew that the P20 would make things even more difficult.
“But he kept pushing, leading the second group to take the second place from 20th to the final ninth on the grid.
“After a little rest for us, we’ll start with the German MotoGP and prepare for the next doubleheader.”
After a mid-race podium challenge, Pedroa Costa, the fourth on the entire line, was the top KTM finisher on Sunday.