SEPANG: Enea Bastianini's main race victory at the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia today could not have come at a better time.
Talk of in-form Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) taking over Bastianini's spot in the Ducati Lenovo factory team next season has been heating up recently.
Bastianini, who has missed eight races this season due to injuries, believes his win "sends a small message" to the Ducati bosses.
"It's quite simple (situation), Jorge has had a great season and for me (the opposite). I was placing low all the time," said Bastianini during the post-race presser.
"But now, I have put (sent) a small message to Ducati.
"I am feeling good with Pecco (Bagnaia) and the team now. I think we are in a good situation but I do not know what the decision from Ducati will be."
The Italian rider, whose nickname is The Beast, led from start to finish at the Sepang Circuit yesterday, winning in 39 minutes and 59.137 seconds.
Gresini Racing's Alex Marquez came in second, 1.535s adrift while championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (+3.562s) completed the podium.
Martin settled for fourth (+10.526s) and now trails Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo) by 14 points in the fight for the championship.
Bastianini said it was a meaningful win after the challenges he has faced this season.
"It has be a disastrous season with two different injuries and a lot of pain involved. I was not able to train at the gym for three months," added Bastianini.
"I saw that my pace for the sprint race (yesterday) was okay and believed that I could do something more in the main race.
"It is my first top-three finish of the season. The team worked very well from the start and we tried many different solutions (to issues) this weekend."
Marquez, who won the sprint race, said he could not match Bastianini's pace.
"It was a really tough race. Enea was really fast," Marquez said.
"I made a mistake by waiting too long to attack him and once he had the gap, I couldn't catch him.
"But still I think we had an unbelievable weekend, first we won the sprint race, and today we come in second in the main race."
Marquez is now 11th in the overall premier class standings with 149 points while Bastianini is 15th on 76.
Bagnaia remains in the lead with 412 points.
