MotoGP, Bastianini and Marini continue to grow at Portimão

They were direct rivals in Moto2, so much so that Enea Bastianini and Luca Marini came to MotoGP as world champion and runner-up respectively. The two Italians are now sharing the Avintia Esponsorama garage and competed in their third race at Portimão, Enea scoring his best result of the season so far, while Luca shone in practice and qualifying.

 Bestia ninth across the line

Having finished tenth and eleventh in the first two races, Enea took a step forward in Portugal to cross the line ninth. The Italian continues to adapt to the Desmosedici GP, supported by Andrea Dovizioso’s former crew chief Alberto Giribuola, and he’s performing well in the races. His weak point is qualifying in fact, unlike Marini who reached Q2 in Portugal, but Enea is able to find a good set-up for Sunday and the results demonstrate this.

 "Maro", a flying lap specialist

It’s a different situation for Luca, who having maintained top-ten worthy pace for most of the race, ultimately crossed the line twelfth. And yet Marini stood out on Friday and Saturday, quickly able to interpret the technical Portimao track. He qualified eighth aboard the Ducati in fact, although these positive sensations got a little lost in the race. If we look at the general standings, there’s a notable difference, Bastianini holding 18 points and Marini only 4, but both riders are clearly growing.

Translated by Heather Watson

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