Enea Bastianini has now changed his mind about Ducati signing Marc Marquez as his replacement

Add as preferred source on Google

Enea Bastianini is the forgotten victim of Ducati’s Marc Marquez move. It cost him the most desirable seat on the MotoGP grid.

By the time Bastianini was informed about Marquez’s promotion from Gresini, he knew it was coming. He’d only scored one podium in his first 11 races (including Sprints).

That left him 61 points behind satellite rider Jorge Martin, who was leading the championship. Bastianini says qualifying for the French GP, where he ran out of fuel and ended up 10th on the grid, was a decisive moment.

He ended up signing with Tech3 KTM around a week after the Marquez announcement. While a Sprint podium in Brno offered him a boost heading into the summer break, he’s still on for his worst MotoGP season to date in 17th place.

Enea Bastianini says Ducati’s move for Marc Marquez can no longer be questioned

During his appearance on the Mig Babol podcast, Bastianini reflected on his departure from Ducati. He originally thought that he was battling Martin for the seat alongside Francesco Bagnaia.

The move for Marquez caught him by surprise, even though he was excelling on a year-old bike at Gresini. The six-time premier-class champion was just two points behind Bagnaia when the decision was made.

It seemed ‘very strange’ to snub championship leader Martin. But Marquez has utterly silenced any criticism of the decision by rattling off eight wins in his first 12 races to build a 120-point championship lead.

“My hope of staying at Ducati was gone after Le Mans,” he said. “In qualifying, I ran out of fuel. I could have started from the front, but instead I had to start down there, even though I had the pace to be able to fight for the victory. Those were decisive races for Ducati’s choice.

“Then came the decision on Ducati’s part to take Marc. Few expected it, because Jorge was having an incredible season, he was always at the front. At the time, it could have seemed like a very strange choice on Gigi’s part. Obviously, nowadays, you can’t say anything, because Marquez is going really strong.”

Bastianini had spent his entire MotoGP career on Ducati motorcycles, and two years at the factory team, before losing his seat. He won seven races, peaking with a third-place finish in the championship in 2022.

How did Enea Bastianini find out that Ducati were signing Marc Marquez?

Regrettably, Bastianini discovered the Marquez news ‘through the back door’. Ducati weren’t able to impart it themselves.

Still, he retains a good relationship with Luigi Dall’Igna and co. He scored six podiums between the announcement and the end of the season.

“We parted on good terms, and the relationship continued smoothly without any problems, and we finished the season in the best possible way.

“They told me about it at Mugello. Obviously, I knew about it. I found out through the back door. But at Mugello, I had confirmation.”

Amid his disappointing form at Tech3, Bastianini was linked with a move to Pramac, which would have involved terminating his deal early. This has now been ruled out.

Reports claim former Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner is about to buy Tech3, and Bastianini could benefit from the resulting investment.