The wrong Ducate has come up with a challenge for the championship in the early stage of 2022. Finishing after Fabio Qurtarao in 2021, MotoGP fans were expecting Francesco Bagnaia to lead the Italian marque’s charge for the championship this season. On the other hand, Pramac’s Jorge Martin was going to back up his sturdy rookie campaign to secure his position in a factory team fait accompli. According to the rumors, Jack Miller was supposed to be preparing for a straight swap with the Spaniard or for life after Ducati.
However, we witnessed a completely different story.
Martin was demoted to the 15th position with four DNFs and five non-scores from seven races. On the contrary, Bagnaia is taking some time to come to terms with the MotoGP 2022. Moreover, after his crash in France, he was also 46 points behind Quartarao and seventh on the title tab.
Miller is moving ahead of both in the championship standings, despite facing a technical problem that wiped him out of the first race. All this has become a headache for Ducati. Suddenly, the things that seem to be uncertain a few months ago do not have any guarantee.
Bagnaia Entering The Unravel
Bagnaia is the only rider that management does not worry about placing, thereby renewing his contract after an impressive 2021. Despite his lackluster start to the campaign, his place seems to be undisputed in the team. Hence, it has become relatively interesting to see him enter into the debate regarding the identity of the 2023 teammate.
“I Can Be A Problem For Him:” Enea Bastianini
If the factory is taking a “one step backward and two steps forward” approach, it is not unusual for a year-old bike to have its day against the newer model. However, people witnessed the record established by Ebea Bastianini on the GP21.
Now, it is anticipated that GP22 is going to be arduous to squeeze performance. And his domination over Miller and Bagnaia in France is quite unexpected.
To say that it's all about the bike is a big misfortune for Bastianini, who is taking his win well. They endured excellent race management that had the advantage of a comfortable Grand Prix pace at the end of the race when he led his potential rivals to victory.
But self-confidence was probably the most sturdy weapon in his arsenal, and he wasn't afraid to show it after raising the flag at Le Mans. Although he went on to say that he was confident he could win championships and titles with a team of factory-equipped satellites, he seems to play down the idea of being on the team. Bagnaia wasted no time defending his praise of Miller in response to his budding rival.
Inconsistently Consistent
Bagnaia's little memory of Bastianini's contradiction only holds the key to the whole equation. In a championship that competes very closely and looks random, consistency means everything when arriving at Valencia in November.
Bastianini has won three races and is vying for the title, but if he doesn't make the highest step, he will be buried on points with an average finishing position of 9.6. The previous two races Bagnaia mentioned were the Portuguese clash and Spain's eighth.
If title leader Quartararo does not win, his average position to finish is 5.3. He hasn't made it out of the top 10 yet.
Miller, on the other hand, has always been his consistency weakness but has only finished in the top 10 once this season, scoring every time he saw the flag.
His accident with Joan Mir in Portugal seemed so in line with his inconsistent career record that he fought vehemently against it, but at least that was also the case on the podium. But the Australian clearly feels that his improved record in reliability will not be strong enough in his favor.
Speculation means Miller management will remain in talks with LCR and more recently KTM if he is not able to accommodate them at Ducati.
So, Who Will Ducati Choose?
Jorge Martin, who started climbing the Ducati in 2021, has only driven three out of seven races this year and is holding the equation despite only two goals.
There are even reports that he is still popular despite his performance. There are at least some mitigating circumstances for his lack of results, with Martin revealing that his crash in France was caused by recurrent neurological problems from last year.
His two poles and two other front lows will clarify his pace earlier this season, but, in conclusion, the Pramac driver has not converted his one-lap pace into race results. Other working drivers are outdated. And, as they say, you are just as good as your last race. Satisfies the devilishly difficult triangular equations of Ducati.
Will he take on the uncomfortable Enea Bastianini, who has won? Fast and crazy, George Martin? Or is it a known number of team players that are Jack Miller?
Or would you like to crush the rider pool entirely and speak to the unsigned world champions Joan Meir or Alex Rins to add more variables to the mix? It's a tough question, and it's up to the wrong Ducati rider to win.