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It’s no secret that Ducati’s top two satellite MotoGP riders are in competition specifically against one another for the prize of the factory seat vacated by Jack Miller for 2023.
And while Jorge Martin has seemingly been favourite for the spot, his comments after crashing out of Sunday’s race at the Red Bull Ring should firmly tip the balance back in favour of Enea Bastianini.
Martin was in podium contention for a second year in a row at the Austrian track, after winning his first – and so far only – MotoGP race there 12 months ago as a rookie. He found himself engaged in battle with Miller for third in the final laps and, with Bastianini already out of the race due to damage from a kerb, it looked like Martin would put his defeat by the Italian at Silverstone a fortnight earlier behind him with a good result.
That wasn’t to be, though, as Martin launched a do-or-die move that ended with him in the gravel and Miller lucky to not get collected in the process – something that would surely have instantly made up Ducati’s mind.
Regardless of that, Martin’s post-race comments shouldn’t fill Ducati bosses with too much confidence. He eventually remounted to cross the line in 10th, and was quick to insist afterwards that even though he crashed out of the podium hunt, he made the right call at the time.
“I was overtaking and I tried to go to my normal line, and I pushed Jack a little bit because I needed to,” he explained. “I was on the limit but I had to try for the podium. I couldn’t be there for another lap then stay fourth. I prefer a crash than a fourth again, and I’m happy with the performance.”
And therein lies the problem: Ducati is faced with two very different prospects for its second seat alongside Pecco Bagnaia for 2023 – and it may well come down to which candidate it believes fits better alongside the 2021 championship runner-up. Right now, it’s probably not the one prepared to push aside a fellow Ducati rider for personal glory…
That’s not, of course, to say that there should be anything like team orders at Ducati, especially at this point of the season and especially not to protect Miller, who is already out of championship contention. But when you’re auditioning for the role of loyal wingman – which seems to be what Bagnaia wants on the other side of the garage – then leaning on a counterpart at high speed isn’t exactly the smartest strategy.
But the crash was also very much a sign of the style with which Martin operates. He’s incredibly fast over a single flying lap and has always been someone who makes his advantage in the early stages of a race – but still experiences some of the elements of Miller’s late-race tyre woes too.
By contrast, Bastianini has traditionally been a slow starter and not a fantastic qualifier, something that adds extra significance to his well-timed maiden MotoGP pole position on Sunday. He’s incredible at preserving tyres, though, and comes on strong in the latter stages of races – which is arguably a much better skill when it comes to being a regular contender at the front.
And while Bastianini didn’t finish the race on Sunday, that might not exactly count against him when it comes to Ducati stacking the two up against each other. He suffered a freak problem with his bike when he struck a kerb with his front wheel with enough force to dent the rim and cause a slow puncture; it wasn’t as if he had simply crashed out of the race.
We’re not yet sure when Ducati will announce which of the pair will gain promotion for 2023 but, with a post-Austrian Grand Prix deadline first floated by the team some months ago, it could well be that we’re lining up for news ahead of its home race at Misano next weekend. Right now, you absolutely have to think that the ball is in Enea Bastianini’s court.
