The biggest talking point of MotoGP™’s annual silly season finally came to its conclusion, carving chaos in its wake. It wasn’t an easy choice, but eventually, Ducati made their choice as the Italian marque plumped for Enea Bastianini to partner Francesco Bagnaia in their factory outfit from 2023.
It was one of the key stories to the current campaign, with it being a three-way shootout for the coveted seat from the beginning of the season, with incumbent Jack Miller and Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) direct competition to ‘The Beast’ for the place.
For large parts of the season, it was anybody’s guess as to who the head honchos within the Bologna bullets would go with, with various twists and turns happening at nearly every Grand Prix seeing the advantage change hands on a regular basis. By the time the summer break rolled around, we knew that Aussie Miller was out of the running after he signed a deal to ride with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing from next season, meaning it was between Bastianini and Martin for the spot.
In the end, four race wins helped sway the choice in the favour of Bastianini, and the current Gresini rider will be promoted at the end of the current campaign, while Martin will remain with Pramac Racing.
It was a fascinating story, and one that we have tracked extensively throughout 2022. Get a first-hand account from the key players, including exclusive interviews with Bastianini, Martin and Ducati Sporting Director Paolo Ciabatti. Utilising unseen footage, the miniseries illustrates how whilst the battle for the seat has been won, and how the battle to be the nation’s favourite has only just begun.
Having already released Part I, the conclusion to the Ducati stories is coming on Friday, September 30th at 13:00 (CET).