Enea Bastianini lit up Barcelona with a storming ride to third in the Catalan Grand Prix — his first-ever podium as a KTM rider.
Tech3 boss Herve Poncharal didn’t hold back afterwards, branding new team owner Guenther Steiner “a lucky bastard” for witnessing a rostrum result on his very first weekend in charge.
Just two days earlier, Tech3 announced that a consortium led by the ex-Haas F1 chief would take control of the squad from 2026. Steiner stuck around in Barcelona and was rewarded with Bastianini’s breakthrough podium on Sunday.
Starting ninth on the grid, Bastianini muscled his way into contention. On lap 11, he dived on Pedro Acosta at Turn 1 with a no-nonsense move for third place.
From there, he chased the Marquez brothers but ultimately crossed the line 5.562s adrift. Still, third marked a huge milestone: his first grand prix podium on a KTM and second visit to the box this season after his Sprint result in Brno.
Poncharal was ecstatic:
“The cherry on top,” he declared in parc ferme.
“And I think Guenther is a lucky bastard! He’s just come in, got a podium. No, honestly, it was a great weekend with all the announcement and everything. Enea was on fire. He was really cross with what happened in Hungary and he wanted revenge. And I think today he showed he has mastered the RC16 quite well now. And now we get to count on him for the rest of the season. Very happy. Red Bull gave us wings today.”
Bastianini’s Hungary weekend had been full of promise before two crashes ruined his pace. This time, he kept it together and delivered.
Pedro Acosta finished fifth, giving KTM a double top five. Brad Binder crashed out, while a battered Maverick Vinales clawed through from the back to claim 13th.
With Aprilia floundering, KTM now sits just two points shy in the constructors’ battle for second.
