I would have paid good money for Dorna to have attached a heart-rate monitor to Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali on Sunday. Two weeks ago, interviewed immediately after the Misano race, Domenicali opined that Enea Bastianini’s attempted last-lap attack on championship leader and factory Ducati man Pecco Bagnaia was “too risky”.
On that occasion Bastianini tried to sling his Desmosedici GP21 past Bagnaia’s GP22 but at the last moment thought better of it, his bike kicking this way and that as he fought to maintain control. You can imagine the scenes in the Ducati garage if Bastianini had taken out Bagnaia, especially because the pair will be factory team-mates from next year.
Therefore you might have expected Bastianini to follow Bagnaia at a safe distance yesterday, protecting his countryman’s championship advantages, and giving his bosses a comfortable Sunday afternoon’s entertainment. Especially following the dramatic lap-one exit of championship leader Fabio Quartararo, the second time this year the Frenchman has been taken out by another rider.
