MotoGP | Bagnaia: “Bastianini is fighting, I don’t expect any help”

MotoGP has just passed the halfway point of the season and, while from the manufacturers’ point of view, Ducati’s dominance is evident, with its statistics continuously improving, the fight for the title is still wide open among the riders. At the top of the championship there are three riders within less than 50 points, which makes the fight for the title uncertain at this stage, given that in a Grand Prix up to 37 points are at stake.

Enea Bastianini, who has just entered the winners’ circle this season by taking home both the Sprint and the main race at Silverstone, has a chance according to Claudio Domenicali. “These are his first wins of the season, but thanks to solid performances in the previous races, he is now third in the standings, 49 points off the top, which means he is a real contender for this championship!” commented the Ducati CEO. “All the riders under contract with Ducati and who race the same 2024-spec bike will fight for the championship.”

Bastianini, for his part, is still not convinced, certainly lacking a bit of consistency compared to Bagnaia and Martin, but his pit neighbor is under no illusions. “Yes, absolutely,” Bagnaia replied when asked if his teammate was a threat to the title. “He has always been in the fight, but he just needs to be more consistent and I think this result can give him a lot of motivation to always perform at this level. I think he was simply faster on this track.”

Bagnaia is therefore certain that he will have to keep an eye not only on Martin, his main rival for over a year, but also on Bastianini, from whom he does not expect any collaboration. “He will change teams, so I do not expect any help from him. It is normal, we always want to win,” he admits. “It is normal that the championship is played until the last race. He is very fast, he is very good with used tires, so you always have to think about him.”

“I have always believed in Enea’s speed, because the only thing he has always lacked is consistency. And I think this result can give him great motivation to recover the small gap he has created in the championship. This weekend he gained 21 points,” commented the Italian, who still has a 46-point advantage over his teammate.

“We’ll see in the future, but I think the championship will stay like this until the last race,” added the two-time reigning world champion, who had taken the lead in Germany before watching Martin retake it in England. But just three points separate them now.

“It will be like this until the end of the championship,” warns Bagnaia, without worrying about his current position. “I prefer to be the prey, obviously, because being first always makes the difference. But being first or second without even a race between them makes no difference.”

With Vincent Lalanne Sicaud