MotoGP - Surprising split: KTM and Enea Bastianini lose key MotoGP figure

The first few months on the KTM RC16 didn't go as planned for Enea Bastianini . Fourth in the World Championship last year and a two-time GP winner, the former Ducati rider suddenly found it difficult to even finish in the points. It wasn't until the Czech GP before the summer break that a clear upward trend began, culminating in a Grand Prix podium last weekend in Barcelona . The peak for the orange bike, so far, has now been followed by a surprising setback.

As announced ahead of the upcoming MotoGP weekend in Misano (September 12-14), crew chief Alberto Giribuola has resigned from his position at Tech3 alongside Bastianini, effective immediately. Sky Italia first reported this, and on Thursday, Bastianini personally confirmed his crew chief's departure at the official MotoGP press conference. Giribuola will therefore no longer be seen in the Tech3 garage alongside the 27-year-old Italian at the San Marino Grand Prix.

The exact reasons for the sudden split remained unclear on Thursday, and even when asked about it on-site in Misano, Bastianini declined to provide any further details. "He has decided to leave my team and make a personal change," the 'Beast' kept it short and concise, and even when asked again, he didn't provide any real details: "The decision was made in discussions with KTM and may have come from both sides."

The split is certainly surprising, however, as a MotoGP rider doesn't usually change the most important member of his team mid-season, and certainly not after achieving the best individual result of the year just a few days earlier. Moreover, KTM had only brought Giribuola back to MotoGP at the start of the year at Bastianini's request, after the duo had already worked together successfully at Avintia (2021) and Gresini (2022).

So why this sudden split? Well, according to reports from 'Sky Italia' and 'GPOne' there have been several technical disagreements between KTM and Giribuola in recent months, which could have played a role in the split. Furthermore, the relationship between Giribuola and Bastianini is said to have cooled down. And then there could also be the fact that Giribuola already seems to have found a new and exciting job for 2026. He is expected to move to Pramac next year to become Toprak Razgatlioglu 's new crew chief. According to ' GPOne ', contrary to initial considerations, the Turk will not be able to take his long-time crew chief Phil Marron with him to MotoGP, as Yamaha would rather rely on someone else - potentially Giribuola. Instead, Marron will stay with BMW in the Superbike World Championship and will work with Danilo Petrucci there in the future .

Meanwhile, the personnel carousel continues to spin at KTM . After failing to agree on a contract extension with Technical Director Fabiano Sterlacchini in the summer of 2024 and voluntarily parting ways with Team Manager Francesco Guidotti shortly thereafter, just a few weeks ago, former Engine Chief Kurt Trieb also left Mattighofen to work for Honda in the future. Now, the next high-profile loss, whether intentional or unintentional, is here.

The big question now, of course, is: Will the crew chief change in the middle of the season set Bastianini back? "No," says the number 23 driver with certainty. Why? Quite simple: As Bastianini revealed, Giribuola was no longer part of his squad last weekend in Barcelona, ​​and the result was still more than impressive. Bastianini expressed his hope for further success with his new crew chief, Xavi Palacin: "He knows me very well and knows exactly what I need. We're both highly motivated!"

Former teammate Francesco Bagnaia has recently been experiencing quite different emotions than Bastianini. Even his new teammate and rival Marc Marquez is now suffering with the two-time MotoGP World Champion: