A new challenge begins for Enea Bastianini: after the four victories in 2022, the driver will race with more pressure.
Enea Bastianini has an important opportunity in his hands. A Ducati Desmosedici official to try to assault the world title, it would be the second in his career after the one in Moto2 in 2020. He can take advantage of the golden moment of the Borgo Panigale manufacturer, which is going through a propitious moment in the face of the difficulties of the European manufacturers . After two years in the satellite team, the Romagna rider wears factory red, fresh from a 2022 season in which he collected 4 victories and 2 podiums, a pole and a 3rd place in the drivers’ standings.
In the last four years the MotoGP class has counted four different winners, Aeneas Bastianini would like to be the fifth. The undertaking is not easy, considering that in the other corner of the box is the new champion Pecco Bagnaia, with whom he has already had many personal duels on the track. There will be no discounts in 2023 either, but maximum collaboration will be needed inside the garage to contribute to the development of the bike.
Bastianini and the challenge with Bagnaia
In the list of direct competitors Enea Bastianini does not forget to include the name of the multiple Honda champion. “Marc is Marc, he won eight titles and he will be at 100%, because I think he improved in the latter part of last season [fisicamente]. He was fast and I think it will be very difficult to fight him“, admitted the driver of the Ducati. “We have a fast bike and the potential to fight. But it’s not just Marc, also Pecco, Quartararo, Martin and Mir… It’s like being at school and the teacher says ‘Bagnaia?’, “Presente’, ‘Marquez’? ‘Here I’m…“.
A lot may also depend on the ability of individual pilots to adapt to the novelty of the Sprint Race. In theory they don’t seem to play in Bastianini’s favor, if you consider that he always made the difference in the second part of the match. Very good at preserving the tyres, he knows how to pull out an extra gear in the closing laps. In the last qualifying sessions he has shown that he has taken a step forward, but a change of mentality will also be needed to get the maximum amount of points.
coexistence with Francis Bagnaia it doesn’t worry him, but exploiting his telemetry (and vice versa) won’t be so easy, because the two Italian riders have different driving styles. “Pecco is very strong under braking, that was his strong point since his Moto3 days. I think it will always be like this“, concluded the ‘Beast’. “Instead I am strong in corner entry“. Beyond any theory, it will be a thrilling challenge to say the least.
