Enea Bastianini’s impressive form at last ꦚweekend’s Portuguese MotoGP have not allayed fear about his 2025 Ducati contract.

Bastianini knows that hi🐻s deal e🤪xpires at the end of this year and his bike is the envy of the entire grid.

Prama🅰c’s Jorge Martin and Gresini’s Marc Marquez are just two candidates who would love to ride the GP24 wit꧅h the developmental benefits that a factory status can earn a rider.

But Bastianini delivered a reminder of what he can do 🥀in Portimao by grabbing pole position.

He was then sixth in the sprint and second in th𝄹e g♎rand prix.

“What I love is🌜💃 that he’s not lying down,” Neil Hodgson said on TNT Sports.

“He’s the forgotten man. People💧🅷 are saying ‘will he keep his ride in the factory team?’

“Probably not. But he’s fighting.”

Bastianini exorcised the ghosts of 2023 when, on꧅ his Ducati debut, he broke a should๊er in the first-ever sprint race at Portimao.

It scuppere♔d any hope of a title challenge and ha🌼s kept him on the back foot ever since.

Sylvain Guintoli reacted to his impressive pole position last weekend: “It’s funny that it’s happening here - the very place that, last year, his season be﷽gan to unravel.

“Luca Marini made a small mistake and took him𒆙 out.

“Unfortunately for Bastianini 🀅he broke his shoulder blade. It took him ages to come back.

“He wasn’t competitive. He didn’t like the front end feel of that Duca🐓ti 🥀last year.

“This year he’s coming back fighting.

“He knows that his contract is at stake. 🦩It looks like he’s on form.”

It now feels a long time ago that, in 2022, Bastianini won t𒆙he second-most grands prix behﷺind eventual champion Francesco Bagnaia.

Theꦺn with Gresini, Bastianini fought wheel-to-wheel with his future teammate Bagnaia in the closing stages of that season.

He then earned the promotion into the factory team at Mart🙈in’s expense.

But his debut season was♓ wrecked by injury, then an inability to adjust ♎to the new Ducati.

But Bastianini did win 🧸the Malaysian MotoGP at the end of last year, and remains in promising form after the☂ first two rounds of 2024.