Ducati’s Enea Bastianini says that his contentious overtake on Jorge Martin was his “only possibility” to take a home MotoGP victory at Misano in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Bastianini was fighting with championship leader Martin on the final lap of the race when he pulled a late move into Turn 4 to take the lead and would cross the line as the eventual winner.
The Italian rider, who was born less than 20 kilometres away from the circuit, has hailed his victory as “special”, and said that it came after analysing a lot of data following the Sprint.
“It was a special Sunday,” Bastianini said to MotoGP.com.
“Yesterday I worked a lot. At 10pm, I was inside my box looking at my data to be competitive today.
“In the end, this morning my confidence was nice. I was confident also for the race.
“Jorge pushed a lot all race and his riding was super nice, with a lot of strong points and nothing less.
“In the last lap, I saw a bit of space in Turn 4, I went inside directly.
“At the end he closed the line a lot and I braked more than my expectations, but I crossed the line and won the race.”
‘It was the only possibility for me’ says Bastianini on Martin move
The race-winning overtake came with some controversy, as Martin was pushed out wide by the Ducati rider during the move.
The stewards didn’t investigate Bastianini’s move following the race, a decision that has sparked debate amongst the riders, though Bastianini, insisted that it was his only chance at taking the victory.
“It was a very difficult overtake but when you have the chance to win the race, you have to do it,” said Bastianini.
“Yes I was a bit on the limit but at the end it was the only chance.
“Without this possibility, it was impossible for me because around the rest of the track he was super.
“It was the only possibility for me and I made it.”
Riders react to Bastianini’s controversial Misano move
While Bastianini insisted that his overtake was the only way to pass Martin, the rest of the grid seemed split on whether the move was fair.
Marc Marquez said in the press conference that the move was “not good for the championship” and that it should’ve resulted in a drop of one position for the Ducati rider.
Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro was also angry at the stewards’ call saying he didn’t understand their decision to not give a penalty to Bastianini.
“I don’t understand what the Steward panel is doing,” said Espargaro via Crash.Net.
“Apart from the action, I’m a little bit worried, because the message they are sending to all of the riders is that you can do whatever you want.”
On the other hand, Bastianini’s teammate Francesco Bagnaia – as well as Jack Miller, Fabio Quartararo and Johann Zarco – defended the decision, describing it as “normal” and fair racing.
READ MORE: Frustrated Jorge Martin says Enea Bastianini Misano MotoGP overtake was a ‘bit too much’
