Bassani: "It’s my first year here so every day I try to learn something new!"
The Italian rookie claimed his first top-five finish in WorldSBK at Most and revealed his process as he builds on a strong first half of the campaign
A first visit to the Autodrom Most for Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) paid dividends in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship as he secured his best-ever result of fifth place in his rookie campaign at the Tissot Czech Round after holding off the challenge from Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in the closing stages of the 22-lap encounter at the Tissot Czech Round.
Bassani qualified inside the top ten after a strong Tissot Superpole session, the second time in his rookie season he has started Race 1 from the top ten. Taking advantage of incidents around him as well as showing strong pace, the youngest rider on the 2021 grid shadowed Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) for the entirety of the race as he looked to finish in fourth place but had to settle for fifth.
Fifth place for the Italian rider means he closes the gap to both Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) and Gerloff, who claimed sixth, in the battle for top Independent rider in the 2021 campaign; Bassani 14 points behind fellow Ducati runner Davies and 44 behind American star Gerloff.
Looking back on his best result in WorldSBK to date, Bassani said: “I try to learn from all the riders, in particular from Scott and Michael. I completed the whole race with Michael. I tried to overtake him. I did pass him, in the last sector, but he re-overtook me, and I finished fifth. It’s good, it’s my first year here so every day I try to learn something new. I’m very, very, very happy for me, my team, my family, for everyone. I want to continue in this way. Stay all the race, in free practice, in the top ten. If I arrive in the top five it’s even better. We try to stay calm, focus on our job and try to do the best possible.”
Bassani’s strong pace throughout the 22-lap battle and ability to challenge the factory Ducati of Rinaldi as well as hold off five-time podium finisher Gerloff will give the 22-year-old a massive confidence boost heading into the Tissot Superpole Race and Race 2 during the remainder of the weekend.
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