Enea Bastianini, who secured two victories on a Ducati at Silverstone the previous season, described his experience in the 2025 British MotoGP as
“probably the worst race of my career.”
The Italian rider encountered persistent challenges during the weekend and struggled to adapt his riding style to the KTM RC16 motorcycle, which severely affected his performance in both the Sprint and main race.
Problems Intensify Throughout Race Weekend
From pre-season testing, Bastianini had difficulty making his multi-race winning approach effective on the KTM bike. After finishing 15th in the Sprint race, the Italian crossed the finish line 17th in the grand prix, having served a lengthy long lap penalty he received in Le Mans. He fell a considerable 38 seconds behind the winner, Marco Bezzecchi, highlighting the gap in competitiveness.
Bastianini’s position was well behind even Miguel Oliveira, the next closest rider, whose own performance was punctuated by a 16-second post-race penalty for tyre pressure. Only two riders, LCR rookie Somkiat Chantra—who was recovering from injury—and Aprilia substitute Lorenzo Savadori, finished behind Bastianini, both also carrying penalties.
Bastianini Describes Frustrations and Safety Concerns
The rider struggled with uncomfortable handling during the race, especially on the straights where he found it tough to keep the throttle open because the front of the bike felt unstable and kept closing repeatedly. His fastest lap time was 2.1 seconds slower than Bezzecchi’s and 1.5 seconds behind Pedro Acosta, the quickest KTM rider, who himself voiced dissatisfaction after finishing sixth.
Reflecting on the weekend, Bastianini said,
“To be honest, the weekend did not start very well and finished worse!”
He added,
“It’s been a very complicated day because I tried to do something on the bike, but nothing, it’s impossible for me to push.”
He also shared his internal thoughts about possibly retiring from the race early due to the difficulty, yet chose to continue out of respect for “everybody,” including his team. Despite finishing, he admitted,
“But to be honest, I’m not happy about anything.”
Calls for Greater Support from KTM to Avoid Future Issues
Looking ahead to the upcoming Aragon round, Bastianini issued a plea for increased support from KTM, stating that currently he feels like
“the worst rider on the track,”
a stark contrast to last year when he achieved two wins at Silverstone.
“I think KTM need to do something for me for my future, because like this it’s impossible to continue,”
he said.
The Italian’s team experimented with various bike setups during Silverstone, but in the end, the motorcycle did not respond as needed, with issues in turning and electronics cited as major problems. Bastianini mentioned strong winds compounded difficulties, explaining,
“We can brake hard, but at this track and today with that strong wind, it was not a strongest point.”
He noted the difference compared to Le Mans, where KTM’s bike fared better due to the nature of the track.
“Le Mans was good because we had many stop and go corners and we were more competitive, but here no,”
he said.
Comparisons and Team Performance at Silverstone
Despite Bastianini’s struggles in 2025, he posted a sprint race time at Silverstone in 2024 that was 3.7 seconds faster than Alex Marquez’s best time this season. His top KTM finish so far this year remains seventh place, achieved at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA). Meanwhile, teammate Maverick Vinales finished the British GP in 11th place, trailing race winner Marco Bezzecchi by 11 seconds.
