MotoGP just announced that Ducati Lenovo rider Enea Bastianini will be sitting out of the Grand Prix this wekeend at Circuit of the Americas (COTA). There was speculation that he may have been able to return this weekend in Austin, Texas. However, the team confirmed this was not to be so. This news comes shortly after Honda announced that Marc Marquez will not be competing at COTA. Bastianini suffered from a broken shoulder blade after being involved in a crash caused by Luca Martini.
Today, Bastianini under went fitness testing to determine if he could compete in this weekend’s race at COTA. Unfortunately, it does not sound like those tests moved forward positively. After missing this coming weekend Bastianini will stay at the bottom of the championship standings with zero points. He will have missed 5 races including the Portugal Grand Prix, the Argentina Sprint and Grand Prix and the COTA Sprint and Grand Prix. Bastianini joins Pol Espargaro who will be out for an extended period with a spine injury and Marc Marquez who also has a lingering injury keeping him out of the races this weekend at COTA. It is expected that Bastianini’s return will be much quicker because he did not require surgery for his shoulder injury. Ducati Lenovo has not released a specific timeline for when we can see Bastianini back on grid.
From Ducati Lenovo
“After completing a few laps at Misano with the Panigale V4S, the Ducati Lenovo Team rider underwent a further check-up in Forli at Dr Porcellini’s clinic, who confirmed that Bastianini will need a few more weeks to fully recover from the right shoulder injury sustained in the Portuguese GP. Enea will therefore continue his rehabilitation with the aim of returning to the track in Jerez and will be replaced in Texas by Michele Pirro.”
Enter Michele Pirro
In the meantime, he will be replaced by Michele Pirro Lenovo Ducati test rider. Michele Pirro is no stranger to MotoGP as he has been active in the competition in various capacities since 2012. Ducati Lenovo will look to Pirro to fill Bastianini’s shoes as he recovers from injury. It is not yet determine if this appointment will be permanent until Bastianini can return. However, this may be the opportunity that Pirro has been waiting for to get back on the grid.
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