In a repeat of their last-lap battles in Misano and Aragon, Bastianini fought to the very end against Francesco Bagnaia at Sepang, ultimately coming out second best.
In doing so Bastianini even decided not to change his approach during the race which was to attack Bagnaia for the win, despite it possibly costing the Italian the chance of wrapping up the title.
Bagnaia, who is 23 points clear of Fabio Quartararo in the MotoGP standings, is unlikely to need help from other Ducati riders in order to win the title, which is why Valencia should provide Bastianini with the chance to fight for the win without the worry of team orders being deployed.
Set for his final race with Gresini, Bastianini said: “This will be my last race with team Gresini and I will try to celebrate it the best way possible. It will surely be a complex race, with many competitive riders…
“We’re on a roll and we know our potential, so we’ll try to do well and finish in the world championship top-three.”
‘Challenging season’ coming to an end for MotoGP rookie Fabio Di Giannantonio
A pole sitter at his home race in Mugello, Di Giannantonio has shown enough flashes to suggest he could be challenging for consistent top tens results in 2023.
The former Moto3 runner-up to Jorge Martin has struggled in recent rounds however, only managing one points scoring finish in the last seven races (Austria).
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Heading into the season-finale at a circuit he claimed a Moto2 podium at in 2021, Di Giannantonio added: “A challenging season is about to end, but we’re not giving up at all. We’ll try to have a good weekend before diving into testing with the new bike.
“Our head is already focused on 2023, but we also want to be back in the points on a track that I like and where I’ve always done well.”