BASTIANINI RECALLS A SHIFT IN DUCATI’S ATTITUDE BEFORE HIS EXIT

Enea Bastianini’s account of his final seasons at Ducati offers a glimpse of how a rider can lose the team’s confidence—and why Francesco Bagnaia’s current position may feel familiar.

Bastianini joined the factory squad from Gresini for 2023, replacing Jack Miller. His first year was badly disrupted: Luca Marini took him out in the opening Sprint in Portugal, leaving him with a fractured collarbone and sidelining him for the first five rounds. After struggling to find his rhythm on the GP23, Bastianini suffered another major injury in Barcelona, where a Turn 1 braking error triggered a five-rider crash and left him with a fractured ankle and a broken bone in his left hand. He missed three more rounds, then returned to win at Sepang.

Despite that recovery, Ducati had told him before the 2024 season that he would not receive a new contract. Bastianini went on to record two victories and nine podiums that year, but Ducati had already begun considering other options, including Marc Marquez and Jorge Martin. He moved to KTM Tech3 for 2025.

Looking back, Bastianini said he believed Ducati had initially backed him. “But after my second injury, something changed in their view of me,” he told Motosprint. “From that moment, when I entered the garage, I no longer felt the same positive feelings as before.” He said the atmosphere persisted into 2024, a season he found interesting but approached knowing he would leave. “I would have liked to have demonstrated my potential in a different way,” he added.

The account has drawn comparisons with Bagnaia’s recent struggles. After winning the riders’ title in 2022 and 2023, the Italian finished fifth in 2025 as Marquez claimed the championship in his first season as a factory Ducati rider. Bagnaia struggled to adapt to the GP25, and his difficulties have continued on the GP26: he is ninth in the 2026 standings, 187 points behind Marquez, who is second.

Ducati is reported to have secured Pedro Acosta for 2027 and 2028, with the KTM rider set to partner Marquez and replace Bagnaia. Bagnaia, meanwhile, is due to join Aprilia from 2027 on a four-year deal. The timing and circumstances have prompted speculation that Ducati may be repeating the pattern Bastianini described, though the team has not publicly said it has withdrawn support from Bagnaia. Team manager Davide Tardozzi has also firmly rejected claims that Ducati designed the GP26 specifically for Marquez.

Bastianini’s story is not identical to Bagnaia’s: injuries shaped his first factory season, while Bagnaia’s recent decline followed years of title contention and has coincided with difficulties on the latest bike. But both cases involve a Ducati rider facing a change in the team’s plans after a downturn in results—and the challenge of proving his worth while his future is already being decided.