Bastianini rides Panigale ahead of MotoGP comeback

Enea Bastianini has taken to the Misano circuit on a Ducati sport bike ahead of an expected comeback from injury in this weekend’s Spanish MotoGP round.

Bastianini has been out of competition since he was taken out of the Sprint at the season-opening Portuguese Grand Prix by Luca Marini, suffering a broken right shoulder blade.

The new Ducati Team rider was initially ruled out of the balance of the Portimao event and the Argentine Grand Prix on the following weekend.

He also rode a Panigale before the Grand Prix of the Americas that was held another fortnight later again but, on that occasion, would not enter the Austin event.

A Ducati Corse statement on his latest outing read, “After weeks of doing rehab and working hard to recover from his injury, [Bastianini] took to the track again at Misano today!

“Enea did 10 laps and had positive feelings. He will fly to Jerez and undergo a medical check on Thursday to determine if he is fit to race at the [Spanish Grand Prix].”

The upbeat tone of the Bologna marque’s communication suggests that ‘La Bestia’ will indeed be back in action at Jerez this weekend.

Having not finished a race so far in 2023, he faces an uphill battle to become a title contender, as he was widely regarded before the season began.

Ducati riders occupy the top two positions in the riders’ championship, with Marini’s Mooney VR46 team-mate Marco Bezzecchi on 64 points and Bastianini’s team-mate Francesco Bagnaia on 53.

They won the Argentina and Portuguese Grands Prix respectively, while LCR Honda’s Alex Rins moved into third on the table with his victory at the Circuit of The Americas last time out.