After what he called the most difficult race of his career at Silverstone, Enea Bastianini shared his emotions straight away. Debuting at Le Mans, the KTM Tech3 rider from Italy struggled all race and came 17th, not managing to rise above his initial starting position. Plagued by technical difficulties all weekend which kept happening on the bike, Bastianini was left without hope and seeing few results at Silverstone.

Shortly after the race went into the night, Bastianini struggled to keep in sync with his bike. He then said that the front ride height device stayed active the whole first lap and greatly reduced his control of the bike. Even the uncooperative electronics on his bike made it difficult for the Italian to maintain his balance, not to mention catch up with the leaders.

“I had a complicated day today, as you can see,” he told people after the race. I couldn’t get anything out on the bike, so I didn’t do much. Movement like this is actually not possible for me. Without question, I saw that race as my worst of my career. It was plain that he was disappointed and at one point, he wondered about quitting the race. I almost entered the box while driving, but I stayed on track to the end for the team as well as for me. And to be truly honest, I can’t say I’m happy for anything,” he said.

He didn’t mention disappointment toward himself alone. He talked about wider concerns and warned that his involvement with KTM might have to be reconsidered, if improvement is not achieved. Right now, I’m not a very skilled rider on the track. No such effort from KTM will make things much harder for me over time.

Many KTM riders were also struggling at Silverstone in the race. Factory KTM’s Brad Binder, who came in 14th after lining up 19th, thought the race was “terrible.” According to Binder, it was hard to trust the front-end of the bike on straights, so he had to back off the speed from drive positions he usually protects.

“What happened was truly awful,” Binder said to reporters. The shaking in the straights and when I turned made me keep pumping the gas and that’s never a good idea. Like Bastianini, Binder was surprised by how much of a problem having no front grip had become. What I struggle with most is not enough confidence in the front. As soon as I was by myself, I couldn’t make the bike do what I wanted because the front kept sliding out.

The way both Bastianini and Binder struggled at Silverstone makes KTM’s showing in the race look gloomy. The analysis also finds that the issues come from deep and systemic causes, for example the set-up of the bike, its electronics or choices made by KTM for development.

The mood of the KTM garage was clearly captured in Binder’s closing comments. He said, “It’s not the best when you’re so far apart.” My goal isn’t to end up in 15th place, but that’s what’s happening for me at this moment. It’s exactly how I am. In other words, a bit challenging. I’m going to look for confidence and I trust it will get better for us.

The British GP is proof for Bastianini that things can shift fast in MotoGP. Because of his past successes, he now exists at a very meaningful stage in his career. Should KTM have the necessary resources and support for him or will he find them elsewhere? There is no doubt that things require fast fixes if Bastianini and KTM want to improve their results.

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