Axel Bassani: “Money is not important, now I need to win”

Bassani failed to step on the podium in any of the three WorldSBK races at Most, however, the Italian was a constant threat throughout the weekend as he closed in on Andrea Locatelli for P4 in the championship.

The Motocorsa Ducati rider has been in great form over the last two rounds, as he nearly claimed a maiden win at Imola before contesting for third in both races on Sunday. 

• Rea on podium treble: “I would’ve snapped your hand off to have these results” 
• Gardner: “We were lucky not to get a flat tyre, had a few holes like Toprak”

But while P4 was a strong finish in Race 2, Bassani felt like the opportunity to win was there for the taking.

"Today, we had the possibility to fight for victory," Bassani told WorldSBK.com. "Our pace was really good; I’m not happy with myself because I made a really s**t mistake and I don’t know why. 

"I got near to second position after a really good recovery, so I am happy for that but for the next races, I need to understand what way I can do the opening laps of the race. 

"Today, on the first lap, I tried to overtake Alvaro a lot of times, which isn’t good because I need to stay more relaxed and push at the end of the race."

Bassani missed out on the podium as Danilo Petrucci and Jonathan Rea got the better of him.

Bassani and Rea have been closely matched in recent races and the young Italian is aiming to get one up on the Kawasaki star before the end of the season.

"Jonny has many years in this World Championship and it’s not easy to beat him," added Bassani. "He’s an old fox! I’ll try to beat him again before the end of the season; we’ve beaten him at Imola, so it’s possible. 

"We’ll try to repeat that result. But now, I want the victory; I need to win."

In terms of his future, Bassani is expected to remain with Ducati next season although it looks as though the coveted Aruba.it Ducati seat is heading to Nicolo Bulega.

That means staying with Motocorsa is the most likely scenario for Bassani, who claims money is not driving his next move.

Bassani began by saying: "My manager has a lot of work to do in this break. For me, I need to stay alone with myself and start to understand how I can do the first part of the race better and try and win the last races of the year.”

"The money is not important; it’s important to be the best rider. Alberto Vergani, my manager, starts to think about it."