- March 8, 2022
“The Beast” Enea Bastianini delivers a beautiful victory in Qatar MotoGP
24 years old, Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer, Enea Bastianini nicknamed “La Bestia” (The Beast), won the season-opening Qatar MotoGP on Sunday. He dedicated the season’s first win to former team boss Fausto Gresini, who passed last year after contracting Covid-19.
Bastianini was born in Rimini and began riding a minibike when he was three years and three months old. This signifies his racing number, 33. After a successful career in minibike racing, Bastianini raced in a variety of categories including the Honda HIRP Trophy 100cc, the MiniGP 70cc Italian Championship, and the Honda RS125 Trophy, where he became the champion during the 2012 season.
Bastianini competed in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup in 2013, winning two races on route to a fourth-place finish in the overall standings. Bastianini also made his Moto3 debut, competing in five races in the Italian Championship.
Bastianini debuted in the Moto3 World Championship in 2014, riding for Team GO&FUN Moto3. Bastianini’s first points came in his second race, when he finished 13th at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas, kicking off a run of four straight points finishes, including top-ten finishes at the Argentine, Spanish, and French Grands Prix. Bastianini took his first podium with a second-place finish in Catalunya after failing to finish his home race at Mugello; he added another second-place finish in the Czech Republic and a third-place position in the next race in Great Britain. Bastianini placed eighth in the riders’ standings at the end of the season.
Bastianini emerged as Danny Kent’s closest opponent in 2015, claiming five podium finishes – including four-second places – and two pole positions in the first eleven races. Bastianini won his maiden race at Misano in September, after starting from pole position and remaining in the five-rider lead battle throughout the race, eventually winning after a final-lap overtake on Miguel Oliveira. Bastianini finished third in the championship standings at the end of the season.
Bastianini competed in the Moto3 class in 2016 with Gresini Racing Moto3. He finished second in the championship with 177 points, six podiums, and a victory at Motegi.
He joined Italtrans Racing Team in 2019 and finished the season in 10th place with 97 points and one podium.
He won 205 points with three victories and seven podiums in the 2020 Moto2 season, making him the world champion.
In the opening season of MotoGP 2022, Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGPTM) delivered a Grand Prix of Qatar masterclass to clinch an emotional victory under the lights a little over a year after the terrible death of much-loved Fausto Gresini. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) finished second, only 0.3s behind the winner, with Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) rounding out the podium on the season’s first night.
The top 10 finishers of the debut season of MotoGP 2022, Qatar were:
- Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™)
- Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) + 0.346
- Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) + 1.351
- Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) + 2.242
- Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) + 4.099
- Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 4.843
- Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 8.810
- Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) + 10.536
- Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) + 10.543
- Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) + 14.967
After the commencement of the first season of MotoGP 2022 with a lot of excitement and drama, it is time for the next chapter, Indonesia!