Enea Bastianini has confirmed that he will still have to make do with one-year-old machines at the MotoGP World Championship in 2022, despite another impressive podium at MotoGP Emilia Romagna in Misano.
A month later, after shocking the paddock with an attack on third place from 12th on the grid in the San Marino MotoGP, a result achieved with sheer pace and laps alone that would have allowed him to beat Pecco Bagnaia Challenging victory, Bastianini did it again, but this time from 16.
It continues brilliant form for the rookie who has now finished in the top six from humble grid positions in each of the last four races while doing so on board a two year old Ducati GP19 prepared and eliminated by the privateer Avintia Racing team the series at the end of the season.
Although Bastianini did not provide a trouble-free weekend after three falls on Saturday, the result was all the more remarkable as his last overtaking maneuver on Fabio Quartararo meant Ducati, in which three of his four factory-supported motorcycles crash, have outdone Yamaha in the battle for the title of their manufacturers.
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Bastianini, who joins Gresini Racing next season – the Italian team that is splitting from Aprilia to become a Ducati customer – has again called for a chance to ride a Ducati GP22 in line with Pramac Racing.
Although Ducati previously said it was able to build more on-spec motorcycles, it was referring to the possibility of supplying the better-funded VR46 Racing in place of Gresini, with Bastianini confirming there will still be a GP21 under it will be in 2022.
“Next year I’ll have the Ducati bike from 2021 with the best possible material,” he told GPOne. “During the week I spoke to Ducati and Gigi Dall’Igna who confirmed that it would be impossible to have the GP22. So we have to work hard to be competitive and try to get the best result. “
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The increase in Bastianini’s form in the final laps was a surprising joy this second half of the season, which will be even more impressive when he made it against all odds.
Though Bastianini was a Moto2 World Champion – an accomplishment he made in his second season against stronger rivals – Bastianini spent the first half of the year outperforming, but was won over to the public by his teammate and Valentino Rossi’s brother Luca Marini overshadowed.
It’s also unusual in that it did so without the guidance of Rossi’s powerful VR46 academy, which currently has a huge budget monopoly on promoting Italian talent.
However, apart from a few missteps in qualifying, Bastianini was the superior racer and his confidence in the loyal but now very outdated Ducati GP19 has increased lately.
In fact, he has found an interesting groove on the bike that allows him to spare his tires almost as if by magic, which means that Bastianini often had to beat several rivals out of the way in the final laps.
Misano II was no exception, Bastianini started and ran even further behind Fabio Quartararo but still landed on the podium ahead of the Frenchman. His performance is made even more noticeable by the fact that the race was supposed to be the redemption of Marini – a rider whose first MotoGP season was anonymous at best – when the Italian qualified third in the wet.
Instead, he slipped back to ninth place, the result being further sharpened by Bastianini charging the other direction for a second podium of the year for an Avintia Racing team that would have been awarded to slack off before it leaves the series.
The run of form has meant that Bastianini is just five points behind the top ten in the overall standings, a remarkable achievement for a rookie, let alone for a two-year-old motorcycle with by far the least financed private team in the starting field.
Ironically, he is now ahead of Jorge Martin, who won a works contract with Ducati in the battle for Rookie of the Year, although he ended up behind Bastianini in Moto2. Although Martin certainly impressed with a win in Austria and took a break due to injury, one has to wonder whether Bastianini would have won both Misano races on the same motorcycle …