2023 was supposed to be the year of definitive consecration as a top rider for Enea Bastianini, who could count on his new status as an official Ducati rider, but for the Rimini native things didn’t go exactly as expected. From the first race you had to deal with an injury, fracturing your shoulder blade in an accident with Luca Marini in the Portimao Sprint.
It seemed like a small thing, but this knockout cost him four entire weekends in addition to the long race of the Portuguese Grand Prix. And once he returned he found himself with a Desmosedici GP that wasn’t as simple to interpret as his predecessor, so things weren’t easy for him. To make things worse, a second injury arrived, because in a carambola triggered by himself at the Catalan Grand Prix he fractured his left ankle and hand. A situation that required double surgery and a further three-match stoppage.
Finally, “Beast” is ready to get back in the saddle for the Indonesian Grand Prix weekend. Upon his arrival in Mandalika he has already obtained the “fit”, so now he is eager to start again, even if he knows that he does not have an easy weekend ahead of him.
“I’m very happy to be back here after the injury in Barcelona. Physically I’m not 100%, but I hope to be ready to compete in the race. It will be very difficult, because here in Indonesia it’s also very hot, but we’ll see I’m very happy to enjoy every session with my Ducati, then we’ll see how it goes,” he said during the second press conference on Thursday.
“Tomorrow will be the first time I’ll be back on a motorbike, I haven’t even tried the Panigale or another motorbike before coming here, because I think it won’t be a problem for me to ride again. I’m really enthusiastic, because I remember that the year I was competitive on this track last time. Then we did the race in the wet and I didn’t have the chance to get on the podium, because in these conditions I still have to improve. But, I repeat, let’s see how the weekend goes,” he added.
Enea Bastianini, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Without any kind of ambition in terms of the championship, the rider from Romagna will be able to exploit these last six races to go in search of that confidence and feeling that never blossomed with the GP23, obviously with the hope of still being able to gain some satisfaction and close at best a year that was disappointing to say the least.
“For me it will be very important, because I have never had the opportunity to test the latest innovations that have been introduced on the bike, because I was not able to take part in the Misano tests. I need kilometers to build the right confidence with this GP23, which is more complicated than the GP22, so it is not easy to perform at a good level. Some riders, like Bagnaia and Martin, have an incredible pace in every race, and this means that the potential of the bike is very high. But I have need kilometers and more time to reach that level.”
Inevitably, Enea was also asked about the news of the day: Marc Marquez’s arrival in 2024 on the Gresini Racing Ducati. Not only because he knows the bike very well, but also the Faenza team, which is the one that discovered him when he was a kid and last year led him to win four races and finish third in the World Championship.
“He will be fast and I know this for sure. I remember that last year when I spoke to Nadia (Padovani) about Alex, I told her that he would be fast straight away. And right from the start he was able to fight for the podium. I think Marc has an incredible talent, so he will be a problem for his rivals from the first race.”
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