Let's talk MotoGP: Enea Bastianini's failure at Ducati

Next year, Enea Bastianini will ride with KTM Tech3 in MotoGP, if, of course, financial difficulties do not prevent the Austrian firm from committing fully and sustainably. Today, we are not going to talk about this period of turmoil, but rather, the two years of "Bestia" in red. Finally, what can we remember from these seasons as a Ducati factory rider, i.e. the best place available on the grid? Analysis.

 

Great expectations

 

I have the impression that many people don't remember who Enea Bastianini was. In 2022, he dazzled us with his talent, thanks to his ability to kill races by prowling close to the leader a few laps from the end., his racing intelligence, but also his fresh and slightly arrogant personality. He was competing for victory with Pecco Bagnaia, and actually beat him on the wire in Aragon that year. Quite logically, He was selected to replace Jack Miller on the factory team, a golden opportunity..

 

 

At the time, and I have not forgotten it, many people wanted and saw Bastianini make short work of Bagnaia. The reality was quite different. In the first race of the 2023 season in Portugal, "Bestia" was knocked down by Luca Marini's bike, who himself had fallen. He only returned for the Italian Grand Prix, and was relatively discreet until Catalonia. At the start, he made a huge mistake, a real strike, which cost him his second half of the season. “Bestia” made his second big comeback in Indonesia, four races later, and there again, he struggled with his equipment.

Ultimately, he missed more or less half of his first season with Ducati. He won a Grand Prix in Malaysia, to everyone's surprise, but of course, it had played no role. Let's say he didn't confirm his excellent 2022 season, but that he had ample extenuating circumstances in view of his absences, which were, in part, caused by his own mistake in Barcelona. The problem was that between Indonesia and Malaysia, he was not able to do it, while he certified that he was at 100% of his physical potential. He was not able to make the Desmosedici GP23 work, but again, that was understandable because he had missed the start of the year, where a direction is given to follow. To judge it honestly, we had to wait until 2024.

A good year, but nothing more

 

And it is this past exercise that makes me say that it is a failure. This time, he had the factory Ducati, also developed by him, probably the same as Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin. The cards were in his hand. Before the opening in Qatar, he had declared that he was aiming for victories and the world champion crown. After all, he could not be wrong in view of his 2022 season, which placed him, with the difference in equipment, quite close to a Bagnaia in the hierarchy.

But still, in 2024, he was never in a position to even get into the title race. I won't go over his season in detail, because that will be the subject of another article. Here, I want to zoom out, look further, and come back to his time with the Ducati factory team. And after losing third place overall to Marc Marquez on a much better bike, How can we not describe this two-year period as a failure?

 

 

The most striking thing is not the results, because his are actually correct when you look at the statistics alone. No, what is shocking is the gap with Pecco Bagnaia in terms of driving. Sometimes "Bestia" was superior to him, as at Silverstone. But overall, the two were not playing in the same league. With eleven wins against two, the record is quite clear. I'm not even talking about the difference in speed in qualifying, an area where Bastianini managed to correct the shot, but late, and not as significantly as desired.

 

Conclusion

 

For me, This is the story that determines Bastianini's failure at Ducati. He arrived as a potential rival to Bagnaia with the ambition of winning the world title, he leaves beaten by the latter, in addition to Martin and Marquez with a bike a year older. Above all, he is going to KTM Tech3, a satellite team with mixed results in recent years. This means that Ducati preferred another, but he couldn't find a better handlebar, especially not a factory handlebar.

That doesn't mean he'll never perform again, or that he's not a good driver anymore. I really like Bastianini, to tell the truth, but it is clear that this missed opportunity will leave a mark on his career.. He leaves Ducati with a much lower rating than when he arrived, hence the term used in the title. These two years could have made him move into the caste of the very greats, and instead, he leaves with three victories in thirty-one Grands Prix… less than in his 2022 season with Gresini Racing alone.

I'm curious to know what you think about it. In your opinion, was it a failure, a success, or neither? Tell me in the comments!

As a reminder, this article only reflects the thoughts of its author, and not of the entire editorial team.

 

 

Cover photo: Michelin Motorsport