Bastianini has often been one of the fastest riders in race conditions since making a full return from♍ injury, however, poor starting positions have limited him.

And that was the casಞe again in the sprint at Valencia, as he wa🐭s first caught up behind Jack Miller before running into mechanical issues for the opening lap.

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Speaking to , Bastianini said: “During the raceꦅ I had a problem at the start. Something happened to Miller so I had to close the throttle and this prevented me from going fast in turn one and deactivating the front dev🌠ice. 

“I did the whol𝓡e first lap with a blocked fork and in order to try and unblo🙈ck it I had to stay on it. 

“Too bad because we could have had a decent race, even if we weren’t up 🐷front🐬.”

It is widely being reported that Ducati could relegate 💙Bastinaini to the Pramac team if Jorge Martin wins the title today.

Bastianini’s performance a🍎t Sepang was a reminder that🤡 he is good enough to be aboard that factory bike, but running the #1 plate is also important to the Italian brand.

So promoting Martin could be the sensible choice but Bas﷽tianini is hoping Francesco Bagnaia retains🉐 his crown.  

🔯“I’m not seeing much of him these days,” said Bastianini when speaking about the f꧂orm of Bagnaia.

“He improved today even if he couldn’t achieve more in the sprint. I t🌱hink he’ll be competitive in the main race and I hope so.”