Enea Bastianini: 2023 "the worst season on my career"

Enea Bastianini endured a nightmare 2023 MotoGP season, however, his form in 2024 has led him to fourth in the championship behind Francesco Bagnaia, Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez. 

Bastianini's pace has at times been equal to the three riders ahead of him, but it's poor qualifying and struggles earlier on in races that have cost him a potential victory.

What Bastianini has shown in 2024 is an ability to put a difficult period behind him, to come back stronger and be competitive following a nasty injury at the start of 2023.

Discussing his mental strength, something team-mate Bagnaia has in spades, Bastianini told Icon Magazine: "You have to be determined, the mind always leads everything. 

"He [Bagnaia] proved it last year, the worst season of my career. Three fractures over five months. 

"When you suffer several injuries, it's not easy to get back on track. Nothing was clicking; as soon as a small victory came, a blow would follow. 

"It taught me to take it philosophically: from the bottom, you can only rise, and you must never stop believing. 

"I have a routine with precise times on race weekends: being ready by 11 AM for the start of Moto3, or thinking about which glove I wore during the good practice session.”

Bastianini, who is a world champion after beating the likes of Marco Bezzecchi and Luca Marini to the 2020 Moto2 title, always had two dreams as a professional racer, both of which have become a reality.

"My first dream was to become a world champion," began Bastianini. "I achieved that in Moto2, in 2020. 

"It was a difficult period due to the pandemic, but the title will always be in my mind."

The second dream is one that many Italians have, and that's to race against Valentino Rossi.

Bastianini concluded: “I never would have imagined being on the same starting grid as him, but it happened many times, and it was wonderful!”