Enea Bastianini isn't convinced he's a title favorite for the 2024 MotoGP season, despite a perfect weekend at the British Grand Prix. The Ducati factory rider was in top form at Silverstone, taking home wins in both the sprint and the main race while leaving Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin in his wake.
Despite sealing a double victory at the British Grand Prix last weekend, Enea Bastianni does not consider himself a tough contender for the 2024 MotoGP title. The factory Ducati rider produced his greatest performance of the year, winning both the sprint and the main race at Silverstone, handily outpacing teammate Francesco Bagnaia and Pramac opponent Jorge Martin.
Thanks to this result, he has climbed to third in the standings, overtaking Marc Marquez. He is currently 49 points behind Jorge Martin, and with 370 points still available, the math is in his favor. However, Bastianini remains skeptical about his championship hopes, citing a lack of the consistent performance needed to challenge for the top spot.
The Italian rider explained that, for now, he doesn't see himself as a primary contender because Jorge and Pecco have maintained a higher, more stable speed throughout the season. He feels they are currently in a league of their own, noting that he sometimes struggles to match their level on track. According to the six-time GP winner, his primary goal now is to improve that consistency if he ever wants to be a real title threat.
While the win at Silverstone is a fantastic boost, Bastianini hopes to maintain this momentum for the rest of the year. He mentioned that if he can keep this up, he'll see where he stands by the end of the season. He conceded that in the first half of the year, both Bagnaia and Martin were much more frequent fixtures at the front of the pack.
The numbers back this up: looking only at the Grand Prix races, Martin has hit the podium in every single event except for the Americas GP in April. Bagnaia has had a similar run, finishing fifth in Austin but podiuming everywhere else he finished. In contrast, Bastianini had managed only four podiums in nine starts leading up to his breakthrough victory at Silverstone.
Conversely, Francesco Bagnaia believes the title race could actually become a three-way battle. He sees the British GP win as a catalyst that could drive Bastianini's performance over the final ten rounds. The double champion remarked that Enea has always been competitive and simply needs more stability; this win provides the confidence to stay at that elite level. Bagnaia added that because of his raw speed, Bastianini will likely be a factor in the championship fight right until the final races.