Although last season he was not among the possible candidates for the title, Enea Bastianini was able to exploit the Desmosedici GP21, a bike that offered immediate performance since it was already developed, to win two of the first four rounds of the calendar (Qatar and Austin), results which they catapulted him to the points lead until the Texan round.
His consistency, the slowness of Fabio Quartararo’s Yamaha and Ducati’s delay in finding a basis for its 2022 prototype offered the Gresini Racing rider a unique opportunity to emerge as one of the unexpected protagonists.
The “Beast”‘s four victories, six podiums in total and his speed gave him the role of “judge” in an exciting World Championship finale that ultimately went to Pecco Bagnaia and the 15-year-old Borgo Panigale marque after the first, that of Casey Stoner, in 2007. The #23, meanwhile, was in contention for the crown until the penultimate race in Malaysia and finished third in the standings.
Bagnaia’s triumph was preceded by a certain stir, due to the attitude shown by Bastianini in some races (Aragon and Malaysia, above all), in which he battled with his theoretical leader, episodes in which the Romagna rider never gave up.
Enea Bastianini, Ducati Team
Photo by: MotoGP
This caused theatrical scenes in the team factory garage, like those seen during the Malaysian Grand Prix, with a back and forth towards the wall that projected a sense of bewilderment. Ducati has always defended the common sense of its riders, who were simply asked not to commit stupid things that could jeopardize Bagnaia’s goal.
Bastianini’s arrival in the Le Rosse garage and his firm stance against Bagnaia in 2022 herald a very busy year in the Ducati Lenovo garage. However, anyone who has to manage this group dynamic and ensure that collective interests always prevail over individual ones is completely calm. So much so that the Italian manufacturer has not sat down to talk about the attitude to take with its two spearheads in view of 2023.
Neither with the defending champion from Turin, nor with the Rimini rider, who is believed to have understood perfectly that his role is no longer the same as when he wore the colors of an independent team.
“What needed to be clarified had already been done last year. Enea wanted to demonstrate that he deserved the factory bike. Now that he has it, his mentality has changed and he understands that he has to work together with Pecco,” he said. Ducati sporting director Paolo Ciabatti told Motorsport.com.
“We see both of them with equal chances to fight for everything. Last year Enea had a different motivation than this year. I hope I’m not wrong, but I think we will be quite relaxed because Enea knows he has more responsibility.”
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Paolo Ciabatti, Ducati Corse Sporting Director
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
