Enea Bastianini is reportedly set to leave Ducati at the end of 2024, and move to KTM for the 2025 MotoGP season.
Bastianini has been with Ducati since the beginning of his MotoGP career in 2021, much like Jorge Martin who yesterday was revealed as an Aprilia rider from 2025. The Italian moved from the Gresini team to the factory team in 2023 after winning three races in 2022, but he has never really found the same form in the Ducati Lenovo setup.
Bastianini currently has one win to his name since his factory switch, which came at the 2023 Malaysian Grand Prix. The Italian also has three Grand Prix podiums to his name this year, at the Portuguese Grand Prix, Grand Prix of the Americas, and last weekend's Italian Grand Prix.
Despite the silverware Bastianini has collected so far this year, he is expected to be repalced by Marc Marquez in the factory team for 2025, after the #93 - who famously joined Gresini Ducati this year after 11 seasons with Honda - reportedly made it clear to Ducati management that he would not accept a deal which placed him in the satellite Pramac team next year, and that only a seat in the factory team would satisfy him.
Ducati's decision to choose Marquez to partner Francesco Bagnaia - who signed a new agreement with Ducati through the end of 2026 earlier this year - in the factory team means Bastianini must look elsewhere.
Aprilia was reportedly an option for Bastianini, but, after the announcement of Martin, Bastianini's manager, Carlo Pernat, appeared on the Italian radio station RAI Radio 1 and revealed that Bastianini will ride "an official KTM" in 2025.
Bastianini is now expected to sign for the GasGas Tech3 team for 2025, replacing Pedro Acosta who announced at the weekend that he will join the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team next year. Pernat's use of the word "official" indicates that Bastianini will have essentially the same treatment as Acosta has had this year, with updates to his bike in line with what the factory riders receive. In fact, Crash.net reports that KTM could run four factory-spec RC16s next year, much like Ducati does with its factory team and Pramac.
