Ducati gives update on Bastianini injury

Ducati Corse Sporting Director Paolo Ciabatti hopes injury-hit Enea Bastianini will be fit to return to the Circuit of The Americas for Round 3 of the MotoGP World Championship.

The Italian rider suffered a fractured right collarbone in the Sprint race at the opening round of the 2023 season at Portimao in Portugal after he was hit by VR46 Ducati’s Luca Marini.

Bastianini was a race winner at the Grand Prix of the Americas in 2022 and Ciabatti is optimistic he will be on the grid alongside team-mate Francesco Bagnaia in Austin.

“We hope he can make it to Austin because obviously it’s a track he likes a lot, last year he won and did a fantastic race,” said Ciabatti.

“It is a target, the doctors are quite optimistic, so let’s see how things go in the next week or so and then hopefully he can be back in Texas.”

Although there was dismay in the Ducati ranks after Bastianini’s misfortune in Portugal, reigning champion Bagnaia lifted the team’s spirits with a brilliant double to begin his title defence on the perfect note.

Ciabatti said: “It was a perfect start in the championship, winning both the Sprint [race] and the GP on Sunday.

“It was great obviously for Pecco, for us, but a shame for Enea. But very happy with the overall result of Ducati and mainly what Pecco could do.

“There was no better way to start the championship.”

Ducati have never won a MotoGP race in Argentina – a statistic Ciabatti would love to see put right this weekend at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit.

On Friday, Bagnaia improved from 10th in Practice 1 to sixth in the afternoon, but the factory Aprilia pairing of Aleix Espargaro – last year’s winner in Argentina – and Maverick Viñales have made an ominous start to the weekend.

“We never won a race here so obviously we [would] like to break this situation, it is not easy – the weather is a little bit strange,” said Ciabatti.

“We had some rain, now it looks like it’s dry, but the whole weekend is to be like this.

“Let’s see, obviously we will try to bring home as many points as possible but I admit that it would be great to be able to win a race in Argentina, and put Argentina on the winner’s list for Ducati.”