Bagnaia and Bastianini back on track this weekend for the German GP at the Sachsenring
After a perfect weekend at Mugello that saw Pecco Bagnaia taking victory, pole position, setting the fastest race lap and winning Saturday’s Sprint, the Ducati Lenovo Team is now ready to take to the track again for the German GP. Hosting the seventh round of the 2023 MotoGP season will be the Sachsenring circuit, located in the north of the country a few kilometres from the town of Chemnitz.
Bagnaia, who last year reached his biggest deficit in the Championship at the Sachsenring following a crash (-91 points), arrives this year at the German GP as Championship leader with a 21-point lead over second-placed Marco Bezzecchi (VR46 Racing Team). The reigning World Champion will also try to maintain his momentum in Germany.
On the other side of the garage, teammate Bastianini is 20th in the Championship after he took part in his first race this year in the last Italian GP. The rider from Rimini, who is still not 100% fit, managed to close both the Sprint and the Sunday GP in the top ten, a result which was above expectations considering the long absence he took from racing after the injury in Portimão in mid-March. On the Sachsenring track, which is physically less demanding than Mugello, Bastianini aims to be more competitive.
Francesco Bagnaia (#1, Ducati Lenovo Team) – 1st (131 points)
“The weekend at Mugello was really perfect and gave me the right energy to face this race weekend in Germany as well. I know the Tuscan track very well; I’ve lapped there a lot, and that helped me, but the feeling with my Desmosedici allowed me to make a difference. I hope to be able to find these feelings again right away at Sachsenring: the goal will always be the same. To work well from the first sessions and arrive as ready as possible for the Sprint and Sunday’s race.”
Enea Bastianiani (#23, Ducati Lenovo Team) – 20th (8 points)
“I’m glad to be able to get right back on track. The weekend at Mugello turned out to be positive, and even though I struggled a lot in the race, I managed to get a result that I never expected at first. It still takes time to be 100 per cent, but Sachsenring will be less physically demanding than the circuit we raced on last weekend, so I hope to do even better in the German GP.”
Ducati Lenovo Team riders will take to the track for Practice 1 at the Sachsenring track on Friday, 16th June, at 10:45am local time. The Sprint will run over a 15-lap distance on Saturday at 3:00pm, while the German GP will kick off on Sunday at 2:00pm over a distance of 30 laps.
