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

Bastianini knows that his deal expires at the end of this year and his bike i🅰s the envy of the entire grid.

Pramac’s Jorge Martin and Gresini’s Marc Marquez are just tw🥃o candidates who would love to ride the GP24 with the developmental benefits that a factory status can earn a rider.

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

He was th🌸en sixth in the sprint and second in the grand prix.

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

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

“Probably not. But he’s fighting.”

Bastianini exorcised the gh♏osts of 2023 when, on his Ducati debut, he broke a shoulder in the first-ever sprint race at Portimao.

It scuppered any hope of a title𓆉 challenge and has kept him on the back foot ever since.

Sylvain Guintoli reacted to his impressive pol📖e posi🅺tion last weekend: “It’s funny that it’s happening here - the very place that, last year, his season began to unravel.

“Luca Marini ma😼de a small mistake aඣnd took him out.

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

“He wasn’t competitive. He did൩n’t like the front end feel of that Ducati last year.

“This year he’s coming back fighting.

“He knows that his contracꦛt is at stake. Itജ looks like he’s on form.”

It now feels a long time ago that, in 2022, Bastianini w🎃on the second-most grands prix behind eventual champion Francesco Bagnaia.

Then with Gresini, Bastianini fought wheel-to-wheel with h𒅌is futur🎉e teammate Bagnaia in the closing stages of that season.

He then earned the promotion ওinto the factory team at Martin’s expense.

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

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