Axel Bassani is not afraid of anything or anyone, on or off the track, and even in interviews he says what he thinks, without mincing words. In our chat he says he is satisfied with what he has done over the past two seasons. He will have another year in a private team like Motocorsa, to continue and complete his maturation, but already in 2023 his goal is to be firmly in the top three. 

Bassani has a lot of respect for Rea ("he is the iconic man of Superbike") and for Toprak ("you may like him or not, but he is undoubtedly a phenomenon") but he also recognises Bautista's undoubted skills ("nobody rides the V4 like he does"). 

The weight limits? "I understand that the bigger and bigger ones complain, but we must be careful not to penalise the smaller and lighter ones too much. Limit the Ducati? They've been the best in both Superbike and GP, so it's up to the others to compete at the same level.