The Borgo Panigale marque kicked off pre-season testing on the front foot, with two-time champion Francesco Bagnaia leading a top four lockout for the Desmosedici.
Ducati’s attack in 2024 has been strengthened by the arrival of Marc Marquez from Honda, and the Spaniard has already been showing promising pace on the year-old GP23.
With the new GP24 a step forward to the already-rapid 2023 bike, and Marquez potentially threatening for the title despite having older machinery, there have been renewed concerns about Ducati having too strong a foothold in MotoGP.
Ducati won 17 of the 20 grands prix last year, with its riders also monopolising the top three spots in the championship.
But factory rider Bastianini feels it is too soon to draw any conclusions about the 2024 form guide yet, even as he feels the Italian marque has a more competitive bike at its disposal.
"At one lap in the dry we seem to have been very effective, but in race pace even the GP23s are close,” he said.
“However, we know that the Ducati always makes the difference when it comes to time attack, so we will also have to see how the others perform.
“It's still too early to say it will be a Ducati-only championship, but we've certainly taken a small step with the new bike, and in Qatar we'll still have something to prove, even if the new aerodynamics are approved.”
Bastianini finished third fastest across three days of testing at Sepang, with his performances prompting Ducati’s team manager Davide Tardozzi to claim the Italian has rediscovered his 2022 form.
Source: Autosport