2023-11-09 11:11:01
Less than three weeks before the end of the 2023 campaign and the first test of the off-season, the MotoGP field is still not fixed. It’s not just the teammate’s name that’s missing. Joan Mir at Repsol Honda: with the turn taken by the championship in recent weeks, a new rumor has indeed emerged, suggesting that Jorge Martincurrently fighting for the title, might take the place ofEnea Bastianini in the official Ducati team from next season.
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The Italian arrives at the end of a very complicated first year in this position, marred from the start by an injury then by a very difficult adaptation to the 2023 version of the Desmosedici, which represented two notches of evolution compared to that with which he shone last year under the colors of Gresini Racing.
When he stood up to Bagnaia last season, Bastianini managed to convince Ducati to promote him and leave Martín in the Pramac team. A decision that the Spaniard had difficulty digesting, before overcoming his frustration this year to nevertheless assert himself as a candidate for the title. However, with the multiplication of his successes during the season, Martín regained a very clear advantage, mathematical but also psychological, over Bastianini. While it was thought this would help him secure his hoped-for promotion for 2025, speculation that this might be brought forward by a year is currently rife.
Asked regarding this burning question during the press conference presenting the Malaysian GP this Thursday, Pecco Bagnaia remained very stingy in commenting on the subject. “I have never been involved in these decisions and I do not wish to be. I think for Enea it would not be fair following the season he had,” nevertheless underlined the reigning champion. “But I’m just here to ride and it’s best to ask [Martín]not for me.”
And Jorge Martín was quick to comment on the issue with less timidity than his rival, not hiding his ambition to join the official team as soon as possible. “My goal is to aim for a factory team for the 2025 and 2026 seasons, but my dream now is to wear red, so if it might be brought forward to next year I would be delighted, as would I be delighted if I stayed at Pramac. It depends on them”, he pointed out.
“My goal is to join the red team, and why not anticipate it. But that’s something I’m not thinking regarding at the moment. I want to continue getting good results, I don’t want to change anything . I’m happy at Pramac, I have a family here and I’m winning. Afterwards, I’m not saying it would be better to go there, but I think it’s the goal of all drivers.”
The delicate situation of Bastianini
For his current teammate, Johann Zarcothis possibility of seeing Jorge Martín join the factory team next year, “it would be the worst for the Pramac team”. And the Frenchman defends: “Everything is working well, he can fight for the title. For Campinoti, it wouldn’t be good. And then, for the factory team, it would just be more problems for Pecco.”
“It would just be strange because the contracts are signed, so why make a change like that? I believe last year Martín signed for two years; with Ducati, yes, but with Pramac, having the factory bike and practically as if he were in a factory team. Given his results, he may deserve the official handlebar but given what they signed before, that would be strange, or it would mean that Bastianini should be put out. Certainly, Bastianini didn’t get the sensations he wanted this year, but he also had this big injury at the beginning of the year. So that would be very strange, and once more, [ce serait] a contract game that sometimes makes you lose hope!”
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Asked regarding the unfair nature of such a change for Bastianini, while he himself may have felt this frustration last year, Martín kicked in. “I don’t know what to say. I focus on my results and I believe that my results prove that I deserve this place. What he might think or feel, it is better to ask him”, he suggested.
Enea Bastianini was indeed asked if he felt under pressure facing the possibility of the Madrid driver winning the title and if it was possible for him to move to Pramac. “No, that’s not the question,” he replied on the eve of the first tests at Sepang, “The question is that I want to see myself at the top. That’s what’s very important at the moment, because I’m trying to move a lot on the bike, to find all kinds of solutions, but nothing changes. For me, it’s important to become fast once more, just that, the rest doesn’t matter.”
“We didn’t talk regarding it,” added Enea Bastianini, referring to Ducati’s management. “I was confirmed in Misano and I think I remain confirmed.”
Photo de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Enea Bastianini feels the threat is growing stronger.
Accidented in Portugal in the first race, Bastianini restarted his season in Italy, but still had to deal with the following-effects of a shoulder injury. Another injury then stopped him in September, leading to new withdrawals. After this choppy (he only competed in half of the Grands Prix) and complicated course, he remains dissatisfied with his sensations, but this week finally finds a track that he has already covered with the GP23, during the pre-tests. season.
“It was very difficult from the start. The other Ducati riders are fast, and I’m not,” he observed before launching this Malaysian GP. “It’s not very good, because I know the potential, but every time I do something more on the bike, nothing happens, nothing changes, and that makes me a little nervous. In the last races I was very nervous and that’s not good if you want to be fast.”
“I saw a lot of data in the last three races,” added the Italian driver regarding his difficulties, concentrated on the corner entry phase. “It’s strange, because one of my main strengths is now a problem. I saw that the other drivers are doing different things. Jorge and Pecco have changed their style compared to last year, and it I should probably do the same for this bike. Then we’ll see how it will be with the new bike, but I’m staying focused on trying to have the best possible end to the season and adapting to the bike.”
With Vincent Lalanne-Sicaud and Germán Garcia Casanova
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