Americas GP: The Ducati Lenovo Team arrives in Austin, Texas, for the third round of the 2024 MotoGP season
The Ducati Lenovo Team flies overseas again to tackle the third round of the 2024 MotoGP season, the Americas GP, scheduled for April 12-14 at the Circuit of The Americas in Texas.
The track, located near the city of Austin, has been on the calendar since 2013 and will host the MotoGP Grand Prix for the eleventh time this year. At COTA, Ducati has scored eight podiums so far, while it has only triumphed on one occasion in 2022 with Enea Bastianini. For the Ducati Lenovo Team rider, who was competing for the Gresini Racing MotoGP team at that time, it was his second success in the premier class. Fresh off a solid weekend in Portugal, which saw him take pole position on Saturday and second place in Sunday’s GP, Bastianini arrives in America to maintain momentum.
On the other side of the garage, it’s redemption time for teammate Francesco Bagnaia. Forced to retire in Portugal following a collision, the Ducati Lenovo Team rider had been one of the main protagonists in last year’s Grand Prix of the Americas, setting the pole position and winning the Sprint race. However, he narrowly missed out on the GP victory, as he crashed out of the lead. Bagnaia arrives in the United States motivated to return fighting for victory.
After the first two rounds of the season, Bastianini is third in the overall standings, with Bagnaia in fourth. Meanwhile, Ducati and the Ducati Lenovo Team lead the constructors’ and teams’ standings, respectively.
Enea Bastianini (#23, Ducati Lenovo Team) – 3rd (39 points):
“I’m thrilled to return to America, where I missed racing last year due to the shoulder injury. COTA is a track I deeply enjoy, and it holds fond memories of 2022, when I clinched my second MotoGP win, my favourite of that year. Following the performance in Portugal, I arrive in Austin feeling motivated and confident. I anticipate a fierce Grand Prix, but we’re well-prepared: we have a solid base setup and a clear understanding of areas for improvement, so we’re determined to contend at the forefront again this weekend.”
Francesco Bagnaia (#1, Ducati Lenovo Team) – 4th (37 points):
“The Grand Prix of the Americas is one of my favourites on the calendar: the track is fantastic, I enjoy Austin a lot, and even the event’s atmosphere is different. I arrive in America motivated and ready to redeem myself: last year, we were competitive all weekend, and if I hadn’t crashed, we would have won the Sunday race too. I expect many fast riders this year, and it definitely will be challenging, but we have a good base from which to start. In the last GP in Portugal, the feeling with the bike was very good, but then, in the race on Sunday, we missed something. So, working to avoid that happening again will be important.”
The Ducati Lenovo Team riders will take to the track on Friday, April 12th, at 10:45am local time (GMT -5.00) for the first free practice session of the Americas GP.
