Enea Bastianini has revealed that the narrow setup window of the RC16 is a constant source of concern as he approaches the end of his tenure with KTM. The Red Bull KTM Tech3 rider stated that the bike only performs optimally within a very limited range of settings, and any deviation risks disaster.
During his time at Ducati, Bastianini enjoyed the wide setup window of the Desmosedici, which allowed easy adaptation to different tracks and conditions, whether stop-start or flowing, cold or warm. However, he has not found the same flexibility with the RC16.
“The window is very small at the moment on this bike,” Bastianini said after the Misano MotoGP. “You have to work within that window. If you try to go outside, it’s a disaster. That is the main problem for me, and usually we have many times during the long race, starting from me but also from Pedro [Acosta] – we can do something more compared to Saturday and the rest of the weekend.”
Bastianini emphasized that he knows what needs to be found for the future, but achieving it is not easy. “I have it clear in my mind, but it’s not easy to do. At the moment, as I said, the window is very small,” he added.
In Sunday’s race at Misano, Bastianini impressed by recovering from 16th on the grid to finish eighth, passing Luca Marini on the final lap. He set a fastest lap of 1m31.2s when running alone, showing competitive potential late in the race. “I’m not surprised because usually at the end of the race, when I have confidence and support from the front, I can do it,” he explained.
However, his main issue is front-end instability at the start of the race. “It’s not just the difference at the end of the race, but at the start it’s very complicated. There’s a lot of movement from the front and I feel the front is very much on the limit. After that, lap by lap it improves, and I can ride more with the rear, open the throttle earlier, and maneuver with the rear tyre. That helps me turn and do different maneuvers,” he said.
Bastianini hopes the data from Misano will be valuable for understanding the bike’s behavior from start to finish. “I think after this GP we have more data to study, because I think it’s been the best GP to compare from the start to the end of the race,” he stated.
With his contract ending, Bastianini is determined to maximize the remaining races with KTM while pushing RC16 development. He acknowledges that consistency remains a major challenge, and technical solutions must be found quickly to compete at the top level.
“We are not always on top. Sometimes we are okay, sometimes very low in the classification. We need to find another solution,” he concluded.
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