From Summer Reflections to Title Contention: The Enea Bastianini Turnaround Story

A pivotal transformation in Enea Bastianini that propelled him to success

Davide Tardozzi highlights a significant mid-year adjustment by Enea Bastianini

Typically, an unpredictable MotoGP World Championship might cause anxiety among the participating manufacturers, yet the unique situation in the 2024 season sees just one manufacturer with four riders having a shot at clinching the championship title.

In 2023, the competitive spirit among various groups within a single MotoGP factory project remained high, but Ducati Lenovo Team's manager, Davide Tardozzi, expressed immense pride in having four of their riders vying for the championship title.

It's worth noting that the inclusion of four Ducati racers as contenders for the championship title has emerged as a new development. This shift in the competition landscape was significantly influenced by Enea Bastianini's back-to-back wins at Silverstone, which thrust the 2020 Moto2 World Champion into the spotlight as a potential title winner.

"Tardozzi informed TNT Sports, the UK broadcaster, following last Sunday's British GP, that Enea remains in the race for the championship," he said. "Being [49 points away from the top position] indicates that with 370 points available, he significantly stands a chance to clinch the World Champion title."

This positions Bastianini next to his Ducati teammates Francesco Bagnaia, Jorge Martin, and Marc Marquez as contenders in this year's championship race. With the #23 rider now moving up to third in the rankings after surpassing Marquez in the British round.

Prior to the race at Silverstone, Bastianini was viewed as no longer a contender for the championship, even though he was just 11 points behind Marquez following the race at the Sachsenring for the German Grand Prix.

"Tardozzi attributed the change in Bastianini's performance between the races in Germany and Britain, propelling him into championship contention, to a significant shift in his mental outlook," when inquired about what differed after the summer break.

"I believe that over the holiday period, he spent a significant amount of time reflecting. We had numerous conversations with him, especially his race engineer, Marco Rigamonti. I feel that he's returned to his mindset from 2022."

Following his injury from the previous year, 2023 proved to be a challenging year for him. Entering this year, he began with a mindset plagued by doubts, harboring thoughts like 'I stand no chance of remaining here', which led to a lack of focus on his work.

"It's clear to us that he's an incredibly quick racer, and, once more, he'll be in the running for the championship."

This new approach enabled Bastianini to leverage the advantages of his riding technique, which, at Silverstone, helped the Italian maintain better rear tyre grip compared to his competitors.

Tardozzi described the situation, highlighting, "The manner in which he accelerates is quite distinct, and the velocity he maintains while entering a turn on a worn tire sets him apart — he stands as the sole Ducati competitor capable of this feat. Thus, it's a testament to his skill."

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