Enea Bastianini says h𝓡e “pushed like never” to ensure he beat Marc Marquez in their battle for second in the Mot🗹oGP Japanese Grand Prix sprint.

The factory Ducati rider made a🍸 good launch from fourth on the grid to move up to second at💜 Turn 1, though was soon overtaken by Tech3’s Pedro Acosta.

Bastianini found himself locked in a hea🍒ted battle with Gresini Ducati’s Marquez in the last laps over second after Acosta crashed out of the lead, with the pair swapping positions at Turns 9, 10 and 11 on the penultimate tour.

Marquez ultimately had to conceded defeat, while a slow last lap for Bagna♏ia meant Bastianiไni was only 0.181s away from victory.

“Has been ♔a nice fight today,” Bastianini told TNT Sport.

“I wasn’t confident to🎃 do a great race like 🍒I did today.

“Well, it’s improving my pa💧ce because on the time attack I was good but for the pace it was so and 𒐪so.

“Then in the end arrived this fight in the last two laps with Mar🏅c. I commit a small m⛦istake at Turn 9 and Marc entered.

“We arrived very close together at Turꦅn 11, he released the brake a bit - me too. And again another time.

“But in the end I was in a better line and I pushe🐼d all the last lap like never and I won this fight. Second place is good.”

Bastianini’s runner-up spot ܫin the sprint has kept him in third in the standings, five points clear of Marquez.

But their figh𝓀t to complete the🌊 championship top three is not something that Bastianini is thinking about ahead of Sunday’s grand prix.

“Every time it’s important to fight and usually I don’t check anything on the classification,” he added🔜.

“I have only my objective inside my mind and it’s always tꦰo arrive on top.

“Tomorrow we have to adjust a bit the set-up because at the end my rear tyre,🤪 especially🌠 on the right side, was destroyed.

“And tomorrow the race will probably be with the medium. So, we have to check the dat💎a to do it again.”