With Jack Miller on the second step of the podium behind Bastianini , the Borgo Panigale factory had reason to celebrate during the French Grand Prix. However, on the other side of the box, the emotion of Pecco Bagnaia was conspicuous by its absence. Ducati dominated from Friday to Sunday, looking incredibly strong, but without achieving the desired result with its spearhead.
The Italian crashed on the French track in the last phase of the race, when he was second trying to catch the wheel from Enea Bastianini.
“This is a bittersweet situation,” Paolo Ciabatti began. “Pecco [Bagnaia] was leading, but then he fell. Obviously it’s a disappointment, but if we look at the weekend as a whole, the qualifying, the record, everything is positive, except for the race.”
“Pecco’s zero does not make us happy, but we will have to analyze what happened in that corner. He lost the braking before turn 8, but that’s how racing is. The good thing is that from what we saw on the track, there were three Ducati in front of everyone.”
Pecco Bagnaia has a guaranteed future in the official team for next year, but it remains to be seen who his boxing partner will be. Since the beginning of the season, the battle for the free seat leaves uncertainty in the hands of Jack Miller, Enea Bastianini and Jorge Martín, the latter fighting on the edge of the results.
At the moment, it is the Italian from the Gresini team who has more options than the Spaniard, who crashed in the Le Mans race and was the protagonist of a season “that did not live up to expectations”.
Along these lines, Ciabatti explains how Ducati is managing this situation from a market perspective:
“We always say we want to make sure Jorge [Martin] and Enea [Bastianini] are there. But we also want to see if we can somehow continue with Jack [Miller], because he’s a great driver and we love him.”
“Obviously, I think we can offer him something that he may not consider enough for him and take another direction. On the other hand, [Jorge] Martín is having a difficult season, but he has done fantastic things, and Enea [Bastianini] is fighting for the championship. “.
“[Johann] Zarco is doing constant races, perhaps he lacks spark to get on the podium more times. Fortunately we have more than two bikes on the grid and a good relationship with our independent teams to find a solution to this scenario.”
The market situation, however, has changed with the announcement of the departure of Suzuki , although the leading teams seem to be armored, with the exception of Honda, which is in talks with Joan Mir. At the moment, the only team willing to make market moves is KTM , which seems interested in Alex Rins, but also in Jack Miller.
On the other hand, Enea Bastianini’s manager confirmed this morning that the Italian will have a factory Ducati in 2023 and 2024.
Ciabatti expresses no concern in that regard: “I think that every rider who rides a Ducati nowadays thinks twice before going elsewhere, not only because the bike is very competitive, but because of the whole.”
“I don’t think there are many good opportunities in the market. We’ll see what Honda wants to do, it seems they don’t want to continue with Pol Espargaró, but it’s up to them, I’m not worried. I don’t think Aprilia wants to change riders, Suzuki leaves, maybe only KTM remains as an alternative.
“However, I don’t see the market as active, so I’m pretty sure that riders who can do well on a Ducati will listen to what Ducati has to offer before they go elsewhere,” concluded the Italian factory’s sporting director. .
