With Jack Miller moving to KTM, there has been much speculation regarding Pecco Bagnaia’s Factory Ducati teammate for 2023. Ducati has ended that speculation by announcing that Enea Bastianini will join the Factory Ducati Lenovo Team beginning next year on a two-year contract.
It is no secret that Jorge Martin also wanted the factory spot, but Bastianini’s three wins this year seemed to make the difference. Martin will return as a Pramac rider alongside Johann Zarco next year.
Here is the press release from Ducati:
| Ducati Corse is pleased to announce that Enea Bastianini will defend the colours of the Ducati Lenovo Team starting from the next MotoGP World Championship season, alongside the already confirmed Pecco Bagnaia. The 24-year-old rider from Rimini, who has already won three GPs this year in Qatar, Texas and France, has a two-year contract with the Borgo Panigale manufacturer and will wear the colours of the official team after two seasons in the premier class with the Desmosedici GP of the Esponsorama Racing (2021) and Gresini Racing (2022) teams. Enea Bastianini: “I am thrilled to be able to wear the colours of the official Ducati team starting next year. It was my dream, and now it has come true. In these two years in MotoGP, I have learned and grown a lot, and I believe that I can only improve with the engineers and men of the Ducati Lenovo Team! I want to thank Claudio, Gigi, Paolo and Davide for trusting me and giving me this incredible opportunity. Still, I also want to thank Nadia and the whole Gresini team for the great support I have received from them during this wonderful season together. I will try to close out this 2022 in the best possible way before tackling my new adventure as a factory Ducati rider with total commitment and the right team spirit.” Luigi Dall’Igna (General Manager of Ducati Corse): “We are delighted to have Bastianini in the factory team. Enea is a very talented rider who has matured a lot in these two years with Ducati. He has been able to grow quickly, scoring two podiums in his debut year in MotoGP and then taking three stunning victories this year with Gresini Racing in Qatar, the USA and France. We are convinced that next year, as an official Ducati Lenovo Team rider, he will be able to take another step forward and be among the protagonists in every race. It was not an easy choice. Enea and Jorge Martin are two very fast and young riders, which is precisely why we still wanted to ensure the same material and technical support for both. We are sure they will be able to show all their great talent on track”. |
Don’t think many seen this going any other way.
Ducati should have locked Martin up for 2 years to prevent him from snapping up Franco’s ride next year.
I imagine Martin has a one year deal because he refused a two year deal.
I was hoping that Jorge would get the factory ride but Ducati boss see it differently and the beast gets the seat ,going to be interesting next year as I think Jorge is a very determined individual and will definitely want to prove to the bosses they made the wrong decision .
I wonder if Ducati decided on Enea quite a while ago and just waited this long to announce the decision so that Martin wouldn’t have any other options to move on.
Poor Jorge couldn’t stay upright enough to impress the Ducati brass. His time will hopefully come soon. If pain=success he would already be champion.