Marco Bezzecchi
Enea Bastianini may find himself sliding down the MotoGP standings this season after signing a deal to race for Red Bull GasGas Tech3.
The 27-year-old was dropped by the Ducati factory team in favour of six-time champion Marc Marquez despite winning two races in 2024.
He finished fourth in the championship, one place behind his replacement with only one less win than across the 20-race season.
Teammate Francesco Bagnaia won nine more races (11) than him though, and missed out on the title by just 10 points.
Bagnaia says Ducati losing Pramac for 2025 is a big loss but his ex-teammate waving goodbye may be just as damaging to his title hopes.
Marquez will probably bring more competition to the team and take points away from the Italian, who will need to raise his game to compete for the title again.
Enea Bastianini has signed a ‘relatively small’ MotoGP deal with Tech3
Bastianini changed agents recently, leaving behind experienced MotoGP manager Carlo Pernat to pair with Enrico Zanarini.
Zanarini managed Formula 1 stars including Eddie Irvine, Giancarlo Fisichella and Jacques Villeneuve before he turned his attention to two wheels.
Bastianini’s move coincides with KTM’s recent financial issues and compounds the misery for a man set to ride a bike which has finished in the top 10 of the championship just once since 2021.
According to The Race, he signed a ‘relatively small financial deal’ with Tech3 before finding out about the team’s external struggles.
They’ve lost staff since, leaving Bastianini to debate whether he should have waited longer before deciding on his future.
Why Enea Bastianini can still have a good MotoGP season in 2025
Bastianini can take some confidence from Pedro Acosta’s Tech3 campaign in 2024. It should fuel the belief that there are good results to be achieved with his new bike.
The 20-year-old rookie managed five podiums en route to a sixth-place finish in the championship standings.
READ MORE: Marco Melandri fears KTM will fail Pedro Acosta with ‘major’ issue for MotoGP team
Acosta hasn’t been to KTM’s factory since the team emphasised their commitment to the sport amidst financial issues.
Their factory and satellite operations are set to remain intact until the end of the 2026 season. Their factory riders are out of contract after the year ends, meaning they could leave the sport.
Der Standard reported that KTM are looking to escape the sport after 2026, which would be bad timing considering they have just acquired the best rider line-up they’ve had for a long time in Brad Binder and Acosta.
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