Ducati has announced that Enea Bastainini will miss this weekend’s MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas as he continues to recover from the broken shoulder blade he picked up in the Portuguese Sprint.
Enea Bastianini’s absence from the Grand Prix of the Americas scheduled for this weekend was confirmed by Ducati following a test for Bastianini at the Misano circuit on a Ducati Panigale V4 S supersports bike.
A check-up after the test in Forli confirmed that Bastianini “will still need a few more weeks to fully recover from the right shoulder injury sustained in the Portuguese GP,” a Ducati press release reads. With two-and-a-half weeks until the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, Bastianini’s presence in Andalucia also seems uncertain.
In the meantime, Bastianini will be, as expected, replaced by Michele Pirro, Ducati’s MotoGP test rider.
Pirro has not raced a Grand Prix since Misano last year, which is also the last time Stefan Bradl - who is replacing Marc Marquez in the Repsol Honda Team this weekend - raced a MotoGP race.
Bastianini’s confirmed absence from the Grand Prix of the Americas further reinforces what a difficult start to life the #23 has had in the red of the factory Ducati team. The Italian has not finished a race, having been taken out in the Sprint in Portimao by Luca Marini’s unguided Desmosedici GP22, nor has he scored a single point, therefore.
Having come into the 2023 season as one of the title favourites, Bastianini’s route back to the top requires a recovery of at least 50 points compared to current championship leader Marco Bezzecchi, which is, in all likelihood, going to increase this weekend.
