Written by Toby Wilding…
Sadly for Enea Bastianini, now more than ever, the opening race of the MotoGP season is unlikely to be decisive in the ultimate destiny of this season’s World Championship.
With 20 more races to go – more than in any other MotoGP season in history – there is still plenty of time for the many pre-season title favorites to respond after below-par starts to the campaign under the lights in Qatar on Sunday, as Bastianini stormed to a stunning first MotoGP race win, in just his 19th outing in the class.
So with a tantalizing 500 points still to race for, the 25 that Bastianini earned in such impressive style aboard his Gresini Racing satellite Ducati in Lusail will be far from enough to make a major impact on how things play out across the rest of this year.
What they could do however, is have a huge say on how things have the potential to pan out in 2023.
At this stage of the season, the vast majority of those currently competing in MotoGP, are out of contract at the end of the year, meaning there is plenty to be decided in terms of who is riding what and where, come 2023.
DOHA, QATAR – MARCH 06: Enea Bastianini of Italy and Gresini Racing MotoGP prepares to start on the grid during the MotoGP race during the MotoGP of Qatar at Losail Circuit on March 06, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images,)
While Ducati have already moved quickly and smartly to lock down this year’s pre-season favorite Pecco Bagnaia to a new contract until the end of the 2024 season, the seat alongside him, currently occupied by Jack Miller, is yet to be allocated for next year and beyond.
However, when combined with the fortunes of other Ducati riders over the course of the weekend, it is hard not to feel as though Bastianini has done himself a huge favor in terms of making his case for making the step up to the Italian factory’s marquee team for next season.
Over recent years, the theme of teams agreeing contracts with riders for the next year at an early stage of the current season, has become increasingly more common, as they look to put plans in place for the next season as quickly as possible.
As a result, it is results at this early stage of 2022 that will go a long way to deciding who is riding which bike in which team for next year, and right now, that is certainly promising for Bastianini.
While the 24-year-old flourished in Qatar, he was the lone Ducati rider to keep the factory’s flag flying high in the desert.
Despite qualifying on pole, a dismal start of the line meant that Pramac Ducati man Jorge Martin – a standout candidate for that factory ride given his excellent form of the factory’s second team – dropped down the order, before being taken out in a collision at turn 1 with 11 laps to go, by the aforementioned Bagnaia of all people.
The current occupier of that seat meanwhile, Jack Miller, claimed a solid fourth in qualifying, but was forced to retire after a significant technical issue with his bike saw him too drop down the standings having failed to get going.
Elsewhere, Martin’s Pramac teammate Johann Zarco could only manage an eighth position, which was somewhat helped by the misfortunes of those ahead of him, meaning he is now without a podium in his last 12 races.
Admittedly, Martin and Miller could do very little about the issues that ultimately cost them the chance to score points on Sunday.
The fact of the matter is though, that when looking back at these results, the circumstances of their DNFs are not going to stand out, certainly not in comparison to the win next to Bastianini’s name.
DOHA, QATAR – MARCH 06: Enea Bastianini of Italy and Gresini Racing MotoGP celebrates the victory with team under the podium during the MotoGP race during the MotoGP of Qatar at Losail Circuit on March 06, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images,)
Combine that with the two excellent third-places finishes he took on an arguably even more unfancied Avintia Ducati towards the end of last season, and there can be no denying the fact that Bastianini is making a strong case for a promotion to the top Ducati spot for the years ahead.
Indeed, that prospect of having a second Italian alongside Bagnaia on their main Championship contender is something that will surely capture the hearts and minds of those calling the shots back at Ducati’s Bologna headquarters.
Of course, there is still time for things to change, for Ducati to assess their options outside their current crop of riders.
But it is hard not to feel that Bastianini now has to be considered a genuine contender to be given the best seat Ducati can offer him, and when you consider what he is doing already, you can only wonder what an opportunity such as that might allow him to do from 2023, and beyond.
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