Enea Bastianini’s Thai MotoGP Sprint victory was a dominant lights-to-flag display that saw him quickly build a gap, and then manage his 🐼advantage after the first three laps.

Bastianini ultimatelꦆy won by 1.3 seconds, but both his performance and result were a surprise to the Italian.

🌳“It was more than my expectation, the race of today,” Bastianini said.

“The qualif﷽ying has been [good], but,ꦡ checking my pace, I wasn’t ready to win today.

“But, at the 🃏end, I don’t know, all꧟ the race I give my 100 per cent from the first lap.

“Also, to be alone probably, in that track❀, can be an advantage, because you can brake much harder and also for the temperature of the ty🧸re, we know that.”

Bastianini led the race for almost the entire distance. He was out-dragged by Jorge Martin off the line, but when Martin tried to dive under Francesco Bagnaia on the brakes, both of them ran𓆏 wide, and Bastianini was there to tak💜e advantage.

“Well, when I was in first position after the first corner, inside my mind I t🦹hink ‘Okay, you have to push for three, four laps to try to bring some distance’,” he explained.

“At the end, I♏ also [take] some risks to do it. At the end, it was the good choice. After, I have managed very well the situation, because for all the race the gap to the rider behind was always 1.3, 1.4 seconds.”

Bastianini felt his performance was the result of finding something in the setup of his Desmosedici GP24, but he maintains 🎃concerns about his pace over Grand Prix distance.

“At the moment, we have foun🧸d something, probably, because for the qualifying always wꦍe are competitive,” he said.

“But, we have more problems for the long distance. We have to solve ♏that pr﷽oblem for the three races that remain.”

Jor𓆉ge Martin complained after the race that the heat of riding in the pack with other bikes in front made the race more difficult. Bastianini agreed with this, but added that there🎀 are also challenges of being at the front.

“Probably in the front it’s better and you can push more,” the Ita🥂lian saꦕid.

“But it’s like this many times and all the riders know that. When you are behind, you 💛have to stay out of the slipst🤡ream, and if the pressure is coming up it can be a disaster.

“Also, when you are alone it’s not easy. W🐓hen you are behind it’s ꦐmuch hotter, but when you are alone to stay focused is more difficult, but for tomorrow we have to stay focused.”

Finally, the subject of tyres. Most of the riders chose the medium-compound rear tyre for Saturday’s Sprint, but Sunday’s full-distance race is likely to require the h⛦ard-🥃compound tyre, Bastianini thinks.

“For me, it can be a risk▨ to put the medium [compound tyre] on the rear [for the Grand Prix],” Bastianini said.

“A🐈lso, for the Sprint, it was pushing a bit the front, and when I start to push the front sta♔rted to move a bit.

“Probably the best solution will be t🎉he hard [compound rear tyre]. It’s not my choice at 100 per cent for tomorrow, but probably the hard will beꦑ the choice.”