WorldSBK sensation Axel Bassani has completed his first test of 2022 after riding alongside MotoGP star Marc Marquez at Portimao.
After returning to motocross action for the first time in three months last week, Marquez completed his first on-track action since winning MotoGP in Emilia-Romagna in late October.
Marquez, riding an RC213V-S road bike, was joined by his brother Alex Marquez and second-year Superbike rider Axel Bassani.
As with Marc and Alex, it wasn’t an official test for Bassani, who rode a Ducati Panigale V4 R Superbike with street corners.
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It was also the second time Bassani has been on track with Alex after the Italian contested four Moto2 races in 2017, but as the young Italian has so far spent much of his career in the Superbike paddock it was the first time that he shared the same asphalt as the eight-time world champion Marc.
Bassani, who remains with Motorcorsa Ducati for the 2022 season, was a one-time podium finisher during his debut WorldSBK season.
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His podium came at Catalunya when he led most of a wet race and was on course for victory before Scott Redding secured victory with a late overtake.
The remainder of Bassani’s season was one of the best by a rider not named Redding, Toprak Razgatlioglu or Jonathan Rea as he finished 11 of the last 12 races in the top ten.
Unlike the Marquez brothers, Bassani was in action for three days instead of one and had this to say on the final day as he shared the track with the two: “Day 3 with these fast guys… So good to train like that.”
Should Bassani continue his good form at the end of 2021 then a move to a factory team could well be a possibility in 2023, especially as Aruba.it Ducati rider Alvaro Bautista is 37 years old.