Italian stressed that he doesn't know if Francesco Bagnaia has a vote in Ducati's choice, but stressed that he believes he can also be fast with Gresini in 2023 if he has factory support
Enea Bastianini has ironized Francesco Bagnaia's support for Jack Miller in the race for a place in the Ducati factory team for the 2023 MotoGP season. In the view of the Gresini rider, Pecco is worried about having a problem within the team, as he knows the potential not only of himself but also of Jorge Martín, the other contender for the vacancy.
The Bologna-based company has promised to define next month Pecco's companion in the factory team in 2023. The race is between Miller, the current owner of the vacancy; Bastianini, who will race with Gresini; and Martin, who is with Pramac. On Saturday of the French GP, however, Bagnaia expressed his preference to continue riding with Jack and even said he didn't know how the relationship would be with another partner.
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Asked about Bagnaia's statements, Enea felt that his countryman may be worried about the strength of his opponents.
"I'm not the Ducati boss, but I think my situation is better than the other Ducati riders," commented Bastianini, who has three wins on the year. "Pecco said yesterday that he would rather stay with Jack. I think his decision, I don't know if Ducati listens to him. But also in the case of staying with Gresini or another [team], I think I can be fast with factory package," he followed.
"I think he prefers Miller, because he is the leader of Ducati and he knows my potential, and I think Martin's too. It could be a problem for him," he suggested.
On Sunday himself, Francesco reiterated that he prefers to continue alongside Jack, whose teammate he has been since 2019, still in the Pramac days, but assumed that Bastianini has earned his place in the official team.
MotoGP returns to the track next May 29 for the Italian GP at Mugello, the eighth round of the 2022 season.GRANDE PRÊMIO is following all the activities of the 2022MotoGP World Championship.