**Title:** **Enea Bastianini’s Silverstone Surge: Can He Defend the #1 Plate with Tech3 KTM in 2024?**

Could Enea Bastianini bring the #1 plate to Tech3 KTM next season?

‘We've been pondering the possibility: ‘what if this year's world champion switches from Ducati to a new team?’… Now, with Enea Bastianini in close contention, the chances of that scenario are twice as high.’

Prior to the Silverstone event, Ducati had a strong likelihood of having the current MotoGP champion on their team for the next season.

Reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia regained his lead in the standings, while his future teammate, Marc Marquez, secured third place behind Jorge Martin, who is set to join Aprilia in 2025.

The situation shifted once more at Silverstone when Enea Bastianini, who is soon to leave Bagnaia's team, achieved a flawless double victory. This success propelled Bastianini, the future Tech3 KTM rider, ahead of Marquez. Additionally, Martin regained the championship lead from Pecco.

Crash.net MotoGP editor Pete McLaren remarked that, according to Marc Marquez, Bastianini is invincible when he's at his best. This was certainly one of those times, if not the whole weekend, as evidenced by his Sprint victory.

"The rider nicknamed 'The Beast' has climbed to third place in the championship standings, overtaking Marquez on Saturday. Many competitors at Silverstone believe he is a strong contender for the title."

Podcast host Jordan Moreland remarked, “With Bastianini being just 49 points behind, anything can still happen. Since he’s leaving Ducati for KTM next year, he has less reason to support the team’s strategy.”

McLaren responded, saying, "Ducati brought him on board two years back, recognizing his skill. Sadly, an injury last year prevented us from witnessing Bastianini's true potential on a factory motorcycle. Furthermore, the decisions regarding riders for the upcoming year and beyond were finalized quite early."

There has been a lot of speculation about the possibility of this year’s world champion departing from Ducati to join another team. Initially, this was primarily concerning Jorge Martin potentially moving to Aprilia. However, with Bastianini also nearing a move, the risk appears to have doubled.

"During the Sprint, Bagnaia took a tumble and subsequently, his streak of four consecutive grand prix victories came to an end on Sunday, leaving everything up for grabs."

Moreland commented, “With Jorge Martin reclaiming the top spot in the World Championship standings, it was an ideal comeback following his pre-summer break setback.”

“Exactly. On Thursday, there were numerous inquiries about whether they understood the issues at Sachsenring and if they could guarantee it wouldn't recur. Martin was reluctant to delve deeply into the matter but suggested they might have identified a cause or an explanation.”

"Being at the forefront during Friday's practice likely set the stage for his successful weekend, quickly placing him at the top of the leaderboard. Although he didn't surpass Bastianini, he managed to take points away from Pecco in both races and reclaimed the lead in the championship standings."

"He accomplished what was necessary by quickly rebounding after a significant error."

Discussing errors, Moreland mentioned how Bagnaia crashed during the Sprint but managed to secure third position in the Grand Prix. He considered it a commendable recovery.

“We’ve witnessed this scenario previously, haven’t we? Pecco often slips up in the Sprint but then redeems himself by securing significant points on Sunday. He did something similar this time. Although the weekend wasn’t ideal for him, he managed to get his bike onto the podium during the main race, thereby minimizing the impact on a day when he couldn’t match the speed of Bastianini and Martin.

"It’s important to capitalize on days like these, and even though Marquez nearly caught up to him towards the end, he still secured a podium finish. However, his streak of Sunday victories has ended, and it appears there are several contenders for the championship, including not only Martin but also his teammate in the Ducati garage."

Aleix Espargaro, riding for Aprilia, was the sole competitor not on a Ducati to finish in the top eight positions on Sunday.

Fellow racer Maverick Vinales is the highest-ranked competitor who isn't riding a Ducati in the world championship standings. He is in fifth place, trailing Martin by 111 points.

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