Enea Bastianini says that adjustments to his Ducati’s engine brake setting, and the location of his brake lever, are behind his return to form in the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The Italian was expected to challenge factory Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia for the title this season following a break-out 2022 campaign with Gresini on a year-old Desmosedici, which saw him collect a total of four wins en route to third in the rider’s standings.

He has struggled to make inroads on his points-leading team-mate this season though, even after recovering from the broken shoulder he suffered in the season-opening Portuguese GP weekend. He previously described feeling like the GP23 as feeling “like a chopper”, though he and his team made key changes to the engine braking and brake lever locations on his machine ahead of the weekend.

The changes made an immediate impact as he qualified just 0.099s behind Bagnaia in third, before finishing second in the sprint race and securing an assured victory in the Malaysian GP. He revealed that he can now match Bagnaia in the braking zones having previously struggled to, and conceded that it felt “fantastic to be back here after a s*** season.”   

“It’s fantastic to be back here after a s*** season for me,” began Bastianini.

“We started the weekend with a different mindset because we understood what the solution was (to lack of pace).

“My crew chief called me one week ago and told me they knew what I wanted, they’d checked the tyre data and felt they knew what I needed.  

“The setup of the bike has remained the same, but we have changed the engine brake a lot in terms of its progression, and I have switched the brake lever to the first finger which has given me more confidence for the hard braking.  

I’ve been really close to Pecco (Bagnaia) this weekend, because if you look at the data from the past races I also lost too much time in this area to him and this weekend I’ve been much better.”

Bastianini added that he “pushed like a b****** the whole race” as he tried to fend off Sepang sprint winner Alex Marquez, explaining that the emotion of finally making a competitive breakthrough with this year’s Ducati is “too big” after a season of trying so many things with little improvement.

“From that has arrived this great result, and I knew from yesterday (this was possible) because I saw my pace yesterday and realised I could win today,” continued Bastianini.

“I was fast this morning (in warm-up), and my target was to be first in the opening corner and then stay there. I pushed like a b****** for the whole race.  

“The emotion is too big when you try so many different things with yourself and the bike and nothing works, it’s always a bad situation. To come back from this is not easy, but my family has supported me all the time and now I’m back.”  

Enea Bastianini put in an assured performance at the Sepang International Circuit to secure his first MotoGP win of 2023, while Francesco Bagnaia extended his points advantage over Jorge Martin.

Bastianini made another good start from third on the grid to challenge the leaders into Turn 1, his job made easier as Martin tried to dive through on pole-man Bagnaia on entry to the bend.  

The Spaniard ran both wide though, which allowed Bastianini and Saturday sprint winner Alex Marquez to slide through, with Bagnaia and Martin slotting into third and fifth respectively.

From then on Bastianini controlled proceedings in a commanding fashion out in front, the factory Ducati rider sustaining a strong pace while also preserving his Michelin rubber.

His lead flip-flopped between one to two seconds over Marquez throughout the encounter, Bastianini ultimately taking the chequered flag 1.5 seconds clear of the Gresini ace to secure his first victory of the season.

While unable to challenge Bastianini for the leadership, Marquez was at least able to hold off any attack from Bagnaia to complete a strong weekend in second.

Bagnaia’s run to third ensured his points lead extended out to 14 with two events remaining, the reigning premier class world champion leaving Malaysia a further point clear of Martin than he arrived as Martin could only manage fourth.

Martin meanwhile had to settle a decent way behind the podium battle after struggling for grip across the second half of the race. He tried to pass Bagnaia on a few occasions early on, but eventually began to fall away.

Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo enjoyed a much stronger Sunday than he had in Saturday’s sprint as he completed the top five, the Frenchman looking after the rubber on his M1 to recover several positions in the latter stages.

VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi claimed sixth ahead of the other Yamaha of Franco Morbidelli, the Italian passing KTM’s Jack Miller at the death to secure seventh.

This left the Aussie eighth ahead of the second Gresini entry of Fabio Di Gianantonio, while Luca Marini rounded off the top ten on the sister VR46 Ducati.

Maverick Vinales completed a tough weekend for Aprilia in 11^th ahead of Pramac’s Johann Zarco, while Marc Marquez was the best-placed Honda in a distant 13^th.

Alvaro Bautista continued to struggle for form on the extra factory Ducati entered this weekend, the reigning World Superbike champion coming home as the last man who failed to crash in 17^th, with only Takaaki Nakagami behind in 18^th after the LCR man went down at Turn 9 late on.

Brad Binder failed to mount a charge for the rostrum due to a bad start that left him down in tenth early on, before later crashing from ninth at Turn 11. Aprilia’s tricky Malaysian event was illustrated by Aleix Espargaro crashing out from 13^th just before mid-distance, while both RNF Aprilia’s also failed to make the chequered flag.

Joan Mir meanwhile also ended his day early, after the factory Honda pilot crashed out in the opening stanza of the contest.

Enea Bastianini will miss at least the next three MotoGP events after undergoing surgery to help recover from a fractured ankle he suffered in the Catalan Grand Prix.

The factory Ducati rider instigated a crash at the opening corner at the start of Sunday’s Catalan GP, Bastianini attempting to dive down the inside at Turn 1 to gain positions – though got pinched and thus caused a domino effect that took down no less than five riders.

Fortunately injuries were minimal other than Bastianini, who was forced to miss the re-started race after it was red flagged for team-mate Francesco Bagnaia suffering a monstrous high-side that ultimately resulted in the circuit becoming covered with engine oil from his destroyed Desmosedici.

Bastianini subsequently was transferred to the local Catalan for further medical checks alongside Bagnaia, though while Bagnaia escaped with only minor contusions Bastianini was diagnosed with fractures of his left ankle as well as the metacarpal in his left hand.

Having undergone surgery on Monday in Modena order to speed up his recovery process, Ducati announced on Monday evening that he will have to skip this weekend’s San Marino GP as well as the Indian and Japanese encounters later this month, with a return hoped for October’s Indonesian GP.

Bastianini’s forced time on the side-lines is a further setback to his tumultuous 2023 campaign that saw him miss the opening five weekends of the year after sustaining a shoulder injury in the season-opening Portuguese GP after coming together with VR46’s Luca Marini, the four-time premier class race winner having since struggled to gel with Ducati’s 2023 premier class challenger.

With Danilo Petrucci – who replaced Bastianini at Le Mans earlier this year – busy at Magny Cours on World Superbike duties this weekend, Ducati test rider Michele Pirro is the most logical pilot to stand-in for his countryman due to already being on site for his second wild-card of the term – though whether he would remain in Aruba.it colours or factory ones remains to be seen.  

Enea Bastianini has blamed his current struggles to find speed so far this term on his 2023-specification Ducati feeling “like riding a chopper”, which is affecting his agility when turning.  

The factory Ducati ace has struggled so far to make an impression in his first year as part of Ducati’s factory operation – his job made all the harder after having to miss the opening five events of the season after sustaining a broken shoulder as a result of a clash with Luca Marini in the season opening Portuguese Grand Prix’s sprint race.

Having returned for his home race at Mugello in June, Bastianini has only managed to notch up a best result of eighth in the subsequent four encounters – the Italian confirming that he is fine from a physical standpoint but that he is struggling to get a handle on the “nervous” 2023-spec Desmosedici.

Explaining how the bike “is like riding a chopper” due to his current compromised position on the machine, Bastianini conceded that sorting out the issues “will not be a simple fix” and that continual changes would need to made across the rest of the season in order to re-discover the blistering 2022 form that earned him a seat at the factory table in the first place.

“I’m not happy about the weekend in general, we have changed a lot on the bike to be prepared for the race to achieve something more but nothing has changed and the race was really difficult,” shared Bastianini following the British Grand Prix.

“Only in the hard braking was I strong and everywhere else no.

“The main problem is that I feel like my position on the bike is like riding a chopper (low down), and for turning this is not good and we are trying to modify the rear suspension to improve things but we need to do something more.

“Pecco (Bagnaia) has changed the set-up a lot from last year’s bike so I need some time to understand it, it was important to complete the laps so I have more data to give to my team.

“It will not be simple to fix, and I don’t know if it will be able to be fixed in a short time.

“Last year’s bike felt normal but the new one is completely different, the engine is different and my sensation is that it’s harder and aggressive for me, so I don’t think it’s a good choice.

“Physically I’m OK but the bike is so nervous and means I don’t feel relaxed on the seat.” 

Bastianini recorded his second-successive DNF at Silverstone as a result of sustaining damage after Marc Marquez’s ran into the back of him through the rapid Turn 11 with only a few tours left to run, the four-time premier class race winner describing how it was “impossible” to stop his Ducati following the impact.  

“I think something happened after the contact with Marc (Marquez) on the bike, I think the tyre was broken after he hit me,” added Bastianini.

“He (Marquez) touched me at Turn 11 on entry and then at 15 I tried to stop and it was impossible so it felt like something was wrong with the bike and I went straight.”

Danilo Petrucci will make a one-off return to the factory Ducati MotoGP outfit for next weekend’s French Grand Prix as Enea Bastianini continues to recover from an injured shoulder.

Bastianini has been absent from premier class competition since sustaining a fracture in his right shoulder following a clash in the season-opening Portuguese GP sprint race with VR46 Ducati’s Luca Marini, though he elected to make his return in last weekend’s Spanish GP having missed the Argentina and North America weekends.

Having completed Friday practice at Jerez off the pace, Bastianini decided to miss the remainder of the event as he continued to suffer discomfort with the shoulder, the Italian now electing to skip the French outing as well with view of a return to full-fitness for his home race at Mugello in three weeks time.

Petrucci admitted that while he is “thrilled” to be returning to the squad with which he both of his MotoGP victories – his last coming at a sodden Le Mans in 2020 – he is “very sorry” that it had to come at the behest of the injured Bastianini.

“I am thrilled to be back racing in MotoGP, although I am sorry that Enea has to miss another race,” said Petrucci.

“In Le Mans with the Desmosedici GP, I won my last race in MotoGP.

“It will be an honour to be able to try the World Champion bike and wear the suit that I won with in the past.

“It is an indescribable emotion, and I can’t wait to get back on track with the Ducati Lenovo Team.

“Thanks to Barni (Ducati World Superbike Team) for letting me take this opportunity and to Ducati for thinking of me!”

Petrucci’s last appearance in the premier class was last year as a stand-in rider at Suzuki for the injured Joan Mir at the Thailand GP, the Italian’s last full season coming in ’21 with the Tech 3 KTM outfit.

His Tech 3 stay come off the back of a pair of campaigns with the factory Ducati team, Petrucci losing his berth at the Bolgona-based marque after it decided to replace him with now-KTM rider Jack Miller following an overall sub-par ’20 campaign.

He currently resides in the World Superbike Championship with the factory-supported Barni Ducati organisation, his best result being fifth in the opening race of the Indonesian round at the Mandalika International Circuit.

Enea Bastianini will miss the remainder of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend at Jerez as problems with his injured shoulder persisted throughout practice.

The Italian suffered a broken shoulder blade injury in a crash with Luca Marini a month ago in the season opening Portuguese GP sprint race, forcing him to miss the subsequent Argentina and Americas outings before electing to make a return to competition in Spain.

Bastianini struggled for pace across Friday practice at Jerez as he ended up classified 21^st overall, nearly 1.3 seconds down on pace-setter Aleix Espargaro’s Aprilia, though decided to continue riding in Saturday morning’s FP3 test to see if there was any improvement.

After completing a handful of laps though he elected to pull and in skip the rest of the weekend, the Italian focussing on a return to competitiveness for the French GP at Le Mans in two weeks time.

The news of his withdrawal was confirmed by Ducati Corse Team Manager Davide Tardozzi on the official MotoGP broadcast during FP3, Tardozzi revealing that Bastianini told him it was “too hard” to wrestle his Desmosedici with the ongoing ailment.

“He said it is too painful after a couple of laps, it is too hard to ride” said Tardozzi.

“We don’t want to take too many risks, so he decided to stop.”

Francesco Bagnaia will therefore fly the factory Ducati operations flag solo, the reigning MotoGP world champion looking to try and snatch the points lead back away from VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi having conceded it off the back of two consecutive crashes in the last couple of grands prix.

Ducati has confirmed Enea Bastianini will miss the upcoming Americas GP due to the shoulder injury he suffered in Portugal.

The Italian sustained the injury in the first sprint race of the year from Portimao and was subsequently ruled out of the remainder of the round, as well as the following event in Argentina.

Bastianini was battling Luca Marini before the collision put them both out of the race.

Ducati put the 25-year-old through a test at Misano with the Panigale V4S but a following check-up determined that he needed more time to recover.

The team says that it hopes to get Bastianini back on his bike for the fourth round from Jerez at the end of the month.

Bastianini will be replaced at the Circuit of the Americas this weekend by Michele Pirro.

A full statement from the team reads: “After completing a few laps at Misano with the Panigale V4S, the Ducati Lenovo Team rider underwent a further check-up in Forlì at Dr Porcellini’s clinic, who confirmed that Bastianini will still need a few more weeks to fully recover from the right shoulder injury sustained in the Portuguese GP.  

“Enea will therefore continue his rehabilitation with the aim of returning to the track in Jerez and will be replaced in Texas by Michele Pirro.”

Pirro competed at three rounds last year with Ducati.

Bastianini is not the only driver that has been ruled out of the upcoming race weekend.

Marc Marquez announced on social media that he would not be taking part in the event from Texas this weekend as he is still recovering from injury.

Enea Bastianini has been diagnosed with a fractured right shoulder following his sprint race clash with VR46 rider Luca Marini, likely forcing him to miss Sunday’s Portuguese Grand Prix.

The factory Ducati ace battled towards the front of the field in the opening laps of the maiden MotoGP sprint race at the Algarve International Circuit, with a fast start initially seeing him moving forward from fifth on the grid to second.

Team-mate Francesco Bagnaia and Pramac Ducati man Jorge Martin soon relegated him back to fourth though, where he then came under attack from Marini at Turn 5 on the second tour.

Marini carried a little too much momentum into the bend though and lost the front of his Desmosedici, collecting Bastianini in the process and causing him to impact the tarmac heavily on his right shoulder.

Having swiftly been transferred to the circuit medical centre he was diagnosed with a fracture in his right shoulder, an injury that will more than likely force him to skip the Portuguese GP as well as possibly next weekend’s Argentinean GP, though he has since travelled to the local Portimao hospital for further checks according to a statement put out by Ducati following the conclusion of the sprint contest.

Francesco Bagnaia – who ended securing victory in premier classes first sprint encounter – will compete solo for the factory squad in Sunday’s main event, while Bastianini’s place in Argentina would most likely be taken by Ducati test rider Michele Pirro should he be ruled unfit once again.  

Ducati formally introduced the colour scheme it will run on its factory-run Desmosedici machines, with reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia electing to run the number one on his prototype.

Streaming the event live from the Madonna di Campiglio ski resort in northern Italy, Bagnaia was on hand with new team-mate Enea Bastianini to unleash Ducati’s updated livery – one that once again features its familiar ‘Ducati red’ as the base twinned with black flashes as the background for sponsor decals.

The pair of GP23’s also showed off Ducati’s new partnership with energy drink giant Monster Energy, the American’s company’s distinctive logo being featured on the riders leathers as well as along the base of the machine alongside continuing title partner Lenovo and fellow newcomer motorcycle clothing company Givi, which features its logos on the flanks of the bike.

Bagnaia’s decision to run the number one plate – a choice that was leaked after studio shots meant for the brands website were released early – was also made official, with Bastianini to continue with the 23 he has campaigned since joining MotoGP at the start of 2021.    

Bagnaia therefore becomes the first MotoGP rider to run the number one plate since Casey Stoner in 2012, with every world champion since electing to stick with their chosen racing number instead.

Enea Bastianini has outlined his ambition to take the MotoGP riders championship away from 2023 team-mate Francesco Bagnaia in what will be his maiden year in Ducati’s factory operation.  

The Italian enjoyed a successful second premier class campaign in 2022 with the Gresini Ducati squad, Bastianini racking up a total of four race wins alongside a further pair of runner-up finishes, which helped him to seal third overall in the rider’s standings – a position he took at the final round after Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro hit bike trouble while a point ahead.

Bastianini’s stand-out year saw him leapfrog both incumbent Ducati man Jack Miller as well as Pramac Ducati’s young charger Jorge Martin to secure the second seat within the Bologna-based marque’s factory line-up for next year alongside newly-crowned world champion Bagnaia.

Having also added an independent riders crown to his bow by a commanding 53 points over Pramac’s Johann Zarco in ’22, Bastianini insisted that “next year it will be time to try for” the overall title.

“The season has been very strong right from the start, I won the first race and then another three times afterwards as well as another two podiums,” explained Bastianini.

“I’m really happy about this as well as the fact we won the independent rider’s title, it was an amazing day for me.

 “Next year I’ll be with the Ducati factory and it’ll be a great chance for me to win the title, today Pecco (Bagnaia) won the championship to bring it back to Italy which is really cool but for me next year it will be time to try for it (championship.)”

The 2020 Moto2 world champion added that he was “happy” about his performance in the Valencia Grand Prix having been forced to start down in 13^th after crashing ahead of his crucial final run in the opening segment of qualifying, Bastianini climbing up to eighth by the time he took the chequered flag.

“I’m happy about my race because yesterday was a disaster as I crashed twice, firstly during the morning and then again during qualifying,” continued Bastianini.

“The warm-up was not bad but I was confident for the race, and to arrive home in eighth position is great because it gave me the chance to finish third in the championship.”