Enea Bastianini and Luca Marini in Ducati in motogp 2021

Born in Rimini in 1997, Enea Bastianini participated in his first season in Moto3 in 2014 after winning two Rookies Cup victories in 2013. In her debut year in the world championship, Enea took three podiums, only to get her first victory of the year with five other podium finishes and finished her second season in third place in the overall standings. Vice Moto3 champion in 2016 with six more active places including a victory, rider from Romagna played two more seasons in this class collecting eight podes and a victory. In 2019 Enea made the jump to Moto2 obtaining her first podium in Brno, Czech Republic. In the current season, in his second year in the middle class, Bastianini has so far scored three wins and seven places and is fighting for the rainbow title: in fact, he occupies the second position in the general classification just 7 points from the leader of the championship.

Luca Marini, born in Urbino in 1997, arrived in Moto2 in 2016 after having distinguished himself in Moto3 in the Italian and Spanish Championships. After two seasons of apprenticeship, Luca joined Sky Racing Team VR46 in 2018 and won his first victory, along with four more podes and two pole positions. The rider continued with the same team in Moto2 the following year, adding two more wins and four podes to his palmares. This year Marini has so far achieved three successes and five overall places and, with 155 points, occupies the third position in the championship just 23 points from the top of the ranking.

Luigi Dall’Igna, Ducati Corse General Manager:
“We are very pleased to have reached this agreement thanks to which two young Italian talents will be able to debut in MotoGP next year riding
our Desmosedici GP
entrusted to the Esponsorama Racing team. This year Raul Romero’s team has shown that they have achieved an excellent level of professionalism and, thanks to the renewed technical support that we will provide to the Andorran team also in 2021, we are sure that it will support Enea and Luca in the best way for their first rookie season. Both Bastianini and Marini have shown this year that they are highly competitive in Moto2 and we are convinced that the time has come for both of us to switch to MotoGP: for our part we will make available everything necessary to accompany them on their route in the highest category. With this decision Ducati intends to continue its strategy aimed at enhancing young talents, which has already led Pecco Bagnaia to debut in MotoGP with Pramac Racing in 2019 and to reach an important goal for 2021: that of dressing the colors of the official Ducati team”.

Enea Bastianini:
“Racing in MotoGP is a dream come true for me and I am glad to be able to do it with Ducati, of which I have been a big fan since the days when my idol Casey Stoner ran. It will certainly be an important step that will push me to grow a lot and I wish I could make this jump as Moto2 World Champion, although of course it will not be easy. I would like to thank my family for all the support they have given me since I was a child and my manager Carlo Pernat. I also thank Ducati and the Esponsorama Racing team for the trust they have placed in me: I will try not to disappoint them!

Luca Marini:
“Having this great opportunity to race in MotoGP in 2021 is a dream come true for me, it is the desire that rider has had since he was a child. In recent years with the Sky Racing Team VR46 I have accumulated a lot of experience, and thanks to them I have grown and achieved my first important results. We are now in a crucial phase of the Moto2 season and will continue to work hard to achieve the maximum goal, before facing this exciting new adventure together with Ducati and the Esponsorama Racing team”.