With Thursday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in full swing for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s first of two visits to Spain this year, all eyes are on Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) after his future was confirmed with a contract to cover the 2024 season with Ducati in WorldSBK. Bautista has been speaking for the first time since his future was confirmed on Thursday and he revealed his thoughts on having everything in place.

IMMEDIATE THOUGHTS: family time, taking the decision…

Bautista has enjoyed a very strong start to the 2023 season with eight wins from nine races and he holds a 56-point lead over Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) in second place. However, at Assen, Bautista was asked about his future and, on Thursday in the Netherlands, said his future was unclear. On Friday, he elaborated further by explaining that he had two choices for 2024 which were that he would like to stay with Ducati, or he spends more time with his family.

Discussing his new contract, and his family’s role in deciding to sign for 2024, Bautista said: “I’m so happy to keep racing with Ducati for 2024. It wasn’t an easy decision because I feel like I’m in one of my best moments in my whole career. I’m enjoying riding the bike a lot and also with the team and the results are really nice. But, in my personal life, with my two daughters getting older, the family is more and more important each day. It was not easy but, together we came to a decision to continue racing for at least one more year and try to keep this feeling and fun with the bike.”

TESTING AND WILDCARDING: a potential, but brief, MotoGP™ return on the cards?

The reigning Champion competed in MotoGP™ between 2010 and 2018 before making the switch to Ducati. He rode for four different manufacturers in that team, but his last two seasons were spent with Ducati in 2017 and 2018 with a best finish of fourth place in those two seasons. In his whole MotoGP™ career, Bautista scored three podiums and he took a best Championship finish of fifth place in 2012. Bautista will get a chance to return to a MotoGP™ bike soon as part of a prize for winning the WorldSBK title last year.

Bautista addressed a potential MotoGP™ test and wildcard, saying: “I asked Ducati to have a MotoGP™ test, but like a prize after winning the Championship last year. For sure, we will do it. I don’t know exactly when, but it will be very soon, before the summer break. There is no intention in our mind, just to do the test and enjoy the bike. What I see on TV, many riders can go fast with that bike so I’m curious to ride the bike. It’s five years since I rode a MotoGP™ bike and to remember the feeling of riding the MotoGP™ bike.”

THE FUTURE BEYOND 2024: what is Bautista thinking right now?

After talking about his family more when discussing his future and revealing that he spoke to them when making the decision to continue with them in 2024, Bautista was asked whether 2024 could be his last contract. He said: “I don’t know. In 2022, I signed for one year for 2023 and now one year for 2024. I just go year by year. In the moment I decide to stop, we will decide, but I don’t have any intention to know how many years I can be here. It’s just in the moment. What I want is to keep racing.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

The FIM and Dorna WSBK Organization (DWO) have announced updated rev limits in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship category, starting from this weekend’s event at the Prosecco DOC Catalunya Round.

After receiving the analysis of the relative performance of the machines over the first three rounds of the 2023 season, the maximum rev limit for Ducati will be decreased by 250 rpm – as per article 2.4.2.2-3* of the regulations. Also starting from this weekend, Kawasaki has elected to use 5 concession points to benefit from a 250 rpm rev limit increase as per article 2.4.3.3 of the regulations.

*The rev limit may be updated (according to Art. 2.4.2.3) at the end of every 3rd event provided at least 3 events remain in the season.

Read more here

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Source: WorldSBK.com

The 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is well up and running as round four from the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya comes into view with the Prosecco DOC Catalunya Round. Get instant thoughts at the reigning World Champion makes a major decision on his future, a sort-after seat is hotly contested and upgrades arrive for bring an ex-World Champion further into contention.

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “I’m so happy to keep racing… I asked Ducati for a MotoGP™ test, for sure we’ll do it”

“I’m so happy to keep racing with Aruba.it Racing – Ducati for 2024. It wasn’t an easy decision, as I feel I am in one of my best moments of my career. However, in my personal life with my two daughters becoming older, the family is more and more important. However, at the end, we took the decision to keep racing for at least one more season and try to keep this feeling and fun with the bike. In 2022, I signed one more year for 2023 and then one more for 2024, so I just go year by year. I don’t have any intention to know how many years I can be here, it’s just in the moment. I don’t have a preference for my teammate, it’s not an easy decision for Ducati as many riders want to ride this bike, but it’s not my problem! I asked to Ducati to have a MotoGP™ test but like a prize for winning the WorldSBK title. For sure, we will do it but it will be very soon, before the summer break.”

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK): “We have some new parts… kudos to all the crew and Kawasaki”

“When the temperatures rise, this is a circuit that consumes the front quite a lot and it’s an area we can’t hide behind and it’s a weak spot of the bike. We had a great test a few weeks ago where we learnt a lot and we found that at Assen, the bike was working quite well too. We have some new parts that have arrived; chassis items that we hope to be able to help in this area. It’s a new item that we haven’t had the option to test; it’s a chassis component which gives us more parameters to move the bike in. Kudos to all the crew and for Kawasaki reacting. We just need to understand on Friday morning that if this compromise allows us to be fast. Everyone’s been working so hard to try and improve the bike. Let’s see what the weekend brings, I’m not pessimistic to start.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK): “Kenan’s looking and working for next year; everybody asks why I don’t go to MotoGP™…”

“It wasn’t an easy round for us where we tried to fight for the wins, but it wasn’t possible. Alvaro was very strong. We come to the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit; I’ll just try and do my best again this weekend. This is not my job; I am just looking at my job and trying to ride my bike very well. Kenan’s looking and working for next year. Now, I am focused on my job this weekend and this year. We will see, we have options, but everybody asks why I don’t go to MotoGP™. It’s not easy. We need to understand. It’s not possible to say now yes or no. This year is important for me because it’s possible we’re fighting for the Championship and the gap is not far.”

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “I’m not worried about Axel, Danilo or Nicolo… if I do my job, I won’t lose my seat”

“Barcelona is one of my favourite tracks; we tested here before and it was successful as we were able to try many different items that can bring us to the front this weekend. Assen was difficult so first of all, I want to get back to my feeling with Panigale V4 R and then we’ll see. For me, it’s too early to talk about 2024, as we’ve only done three rounds. In the factory team, you need results, but everyone is like me and in the same situation. I’m not worried; I know we can be at the front all the time. Assen has been one round that we need to understand what happened, but it’s one race apart. This year, I’m stronger than last year, so I’m not worried, will try to do my best, with more podiums and try to win a race. I think all the grid want my bike so I’m not worried about Axel, Danilo or Nicolo! Nicolo is doing a great in WorldSSP and I wish him all the best to win the Championship as he’s a good guy and he deserves it. If I do my job, I won’t lose my seat; it’s all on my shoulders and not the results of others.”

Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing): “I hope the factory team starts to watch me and after, calls me! I want a factory Ducati; it’s my first goal.”

“I’m really happy to be back in Barcelona. I like the track, the last three years we had really good races, so I feel good. We arrive from Assen and we did a really good two races, twice in the top five. We are really close to the podium and I hope to continue on this path and defend my fourth place in the Championship. I hope I can get the podium, but there are really strong riders. From my side, I try to push 100% to get a factory bike. To try and battle for a Championship, you need a factory bike. I hope the factory team starts to watch me and after, calls me! I want a factory Ducati. It’s my first goal. If it’s not possible to go to the factory Ducati, I’m happy to go to another factory.”

Iker Lecuona (Team HRC): “I think we can fight for a podium”

“It was unbelievable to go back to the MotoGP™ paddock again, meeting with old friends and old rivals and jump again on a MotoGP™ bike. The feeling was really good and I’m really happy. I don’t want to talk a lot because last time, I said Assen would be good because last year I was on the podium and this year we struggled a lot but it’s true, in the test, we went very fast and were very competitive. I think it’s one of the best tracks for us. It’s a good track for us, for Honda, so I hope we can do well. I think we can fight for a podium if everything goes in the way we hope.”

Xavi Vierge (Team HRC): “We have quite high expectations with the feet on the ground”

“I think Iker did a really good job, of course it’s an amazing opportunity but, at the same time, it’s not an easy one. This is a track that our bike fits well and we are strong here. We had a two-day test here and that went really well. We have quite high expectations with the feet on the ground, but we know we have some potential and we will give our best from the beginning to fight in the top positions. I’m completely focused on now; I’m so happy with Honda. We have a job to do to fight for wins, but I think we are on the right path. We’ve seen some potential this year, we achieved the podium and the goal is to be on the box again as soon as possible.”

Marc Bongers (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director): “Without Mickey being here, it’s a further deficit… fighting for the podium will be too optimistic”

“Michael is starting to recover, and he feels well with the rest. It’s still too early to give an indication of when he will be back, but we wish Michael all the best. With such a big injury, we have to wait and see when he can return. From our side, there are no expectations on Ivo. He should be given the chance; we’ve been in contact with him previously during Michael’s injury. Low grip tracks for us are, in general, more difficult. Without Mickey being here, it’s a further deficit. The test was quite positive for us, but we’ll have to see where we’re at. I think fighting for the podium will be too optimistic.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship returns to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this weekend for the 2023 Prosecco DOC Catalunya Round with contract news dominating the talk on Thursday, following the announcement that Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) would remain with the team in 2024. With Bautista’s future confirmed, attention now turns to who will join him in the factory Ducati squad next season.

THE INCUMBENT: will Rinaldi remain with Ducati?

Michael Ruben Rinaldi joined the factory Ducati team in 2021 after a race-winning campaign with the Independent Ducati Team GoEleven squad in 2020. Three wins in 2021 made for a solid if unspectacular season when he finished fifth in the standings, but he went winless throughout 2022 and only scored four podiums compared to seven the year before. In 2023, Rinaldi has shown strong pace, with two podiums in the dry races in Australia and fourth in Indonesia Race 2 after leading for most of it. However, he had a difficult weekend at Assen with a best result of tenth and in the wet in Australia he finished 14^th. There was also a non-score in Race 1 at Mandalika when he collided with Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) at Turn 1 on Lap 1.

Discussing his future, Rinaldi said: “For me, it’s too early to talk about 2024 because we have only had three rounds. When you are in a factory team, you need results. Everybody’s like this. I’m not worried, I know that we can be at the front as always. I think the whole grid wants my bike! I’m not worried about Bassani, Danilo or Nicolo. I’m happy Nicolo is doing great in WorldSSP and I wish him all the best to win the Championship because he’s a good guy and he deserves it. If I do my job, I will not lose my seat. It’s all on my shoulders, not on everybody else’s results.”

THE CONTENDERS: who could join Bautista if it isn’t Rinaldi?

One rider who has made a name for himself in his short WorldSBK career so far is Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing), who has made no secret his desire for a factory seat. Speaking ahead of the Catalunya Round, Bassani spoke on his future and said: “I want to know my future but, at the moment, I don’t know what will happen. From my side, I try to push 100% to get a factory bike. To try and battle for a Championship, you need a factory bike. I hope the factory team starts to watch me after calls me! I want a factory Ducati. It’s my first goal. If it’s not possible to go to a factory Ducati, I’m happy to go to another factory. The plan is trying to win a Championship is good, I want to be on a factory bike. I don’t want to go to a factory team to be a second rider. I want to win.”

Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) has enjoyed an impressive start to his rookie WorldSBK campaign as he fights consistently in the top ten on the Independent Panigale V4 R despite not being “100% comfortable” on the bike. In a feature interview, the two-time MotoGP™ winner for Ducati expressed his desire to be join a factory team so he could fight for the title. He said: “I’m here for this reason in WorldSBK, to at least try to win a race. I would like to join a factory team to see if I am able to win the Championship. I can’t quit my career without trying!”

From WorldSSP, Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) recently tested a Panigale V4 R at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto and, when he spoke about the test, he revealed his ambitions for the future. He said: “I think, if I continue to be first in WorldSSP, my target is trying to get to WorldSBK because I think this is normal. If you win the first category, then, I think, you have to go to the second one. At the moment, no, but I would like to stay with Aruba because I think they are a very good team, and also Ducati. They took me from Moto2™ at a bad moment in my career because I didn’t finish my career there in a good way, but they believed in me; they gave me a very good team and a very good bike. I would like to stay with them and try to make my first year in WorldSBK.”

DUCATI’S THOUGHTS: Foti, Bautista share their feelings

Aruba.it Racing – Ducati’s Team Manager, Serafino Foti, said when asked about Bautista’s teammate in 2024: “Our priority was to understand Alvaro’s decision. We don’t have a favourite rider, but the favourite rider is Rinaldi because he is our current rider. We aren’t in a rush. We have time to decide, to understand the performance of our riders and also understand what the best for our future is. Also, even Bulega is doing a really good job in WorldSSP. Let’s see. I think we will decide not now but in the middle of the season, in August/September. Every rider who wins the title in WorldSSP, their goal is to jump into WorldSBK.”

Bautista was also asked about who he would like as a teammate in 2024 and he said: “I don’t have a preference for my teammate next year. I have a really good relationship with Rinaldi, he’s a nice guy and also very strong on track. This year, it seems like he made a step forward. I always focus on myself and my team. It’s not an easy decision for Ducati because there are a lot of riders who want to ride this bike. Let’s see, it’s not my problem!”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship field descends on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya Round for the 2023 Prosecco DOC Catalunya Round and one of the key figures in the silly season has had their future confirmed. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) had been discussing his future in recent weeks but it has now been confirmed that he will remain with the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati squad for the 2024 campaign.

Bautista had become a key player in the silly season for the 2024 grid after he dropped hints at Assen that his future was unclear and that he had two choices for next year. However, Bautista and Ducati have opted to renew their partnership for next season after his strong start to his title defence. Bautista has won eight out of nine races so far in 2023 heading into the Catalunya Round, where he took a hat-trick last year, as he looks to become a double WorldSBK Champion after his title success last year.

Bautista made his WorldSBK debut with the team in 2019 and took the Championship by storm by winning the first 11 races of the season as he looked to stop Jonathan Rea’s (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) run of titles. However, a series of crashes throughout the second half of the season meant he finished second behind Rea and he left Ducati at the end of the 2019 season to join Team HRC, where he remained for two seasons.

During his time at Honda on the CBR1000RR-R, Bautista took three podiums across two campaigns and took a best finish of ninth in the Championship standings. After two seasons, Bautista made a return to Ducati for 2022 and he returned to winning ways instantly as the season got underway at Aragon. He claimed victory at all but two tracks on the 2022 calendar as he racked up 16 wins and 31 podiums from 36 races to become Ducati’s first WorldSBK Champion since Carlos Checa in 2011. His title defence, on the new model Panigale V4 R, has started strongly with eight wins in nine races and he sits 56 points clear of nearest rival Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK).

Discussing his contract for 2024, Bautista said: “After 21 years spent in the elite of world motorcycling, in the paddocks of MotoGP and WorldSBK, I now feel in excellent shape, both physically and mentally. I can say that I am in the best moment of my career: I have a lot of fun riding the bike and I have the pleasure of working with a team that I consider a second family. By the way, on a personal level, my family is getting bigger, and the babies are growing up and that is why the decision to race in 2024 was a choice I wanted to make together with them. We decided to continue and I’m very happy to stay with the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team with whom I’ve always had a wonderful relationship. I am happy that they still want me, even though I am a little old. One more year together, with the hope of keeping the fantastic feeling with the bike, the certainty of an extraordinary working relationship, and, of course, the goal of aiming at great results.”

Stefano Cecconi, Team Principal at Aruba.it Racing – Ducati, added: “We are extremely happy to have extended our relationship with Alvaro and it will be a pleasure to continue a collaboration that has always been excellent both on a professional and human level. Alvaro has brought our team the first great success, the one we have been chasing since 2015, when we decided to embark on this fascinating adventure with Ducati; but instead of giving us only satisfaction, this success is spurring us to do even more. The determination and commitment that have allowed us to achieve this target have also ensured excellent results in the first three rounds of the current season: our common goal is, therefore, to continue in this direction in order to achieve other important successes together in the future.”

Luigi Dall’Igna, General Manager at Ducati Corse, said: “The world title win, but also the sensational start to the season that we have witnessed this year, are yet another demonstration of the magical moment that Bautista is going through. Alvaro is a very talented and experienced rider and with our Panigale V4 R, he has found a fantastic balance that currently allows him to make a real difference. We are therefore very happy to be able to continue with him in 2024. Now the goal is to stay focused on the current season and try to maintain this positive trend in the future as well.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship has landed in Barcelona for the Prosecco DOC Catalunya Round at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, but some riders took a detour on Thursday to visit the Barceloneta promenade in Barcelona. Six-time Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was joined by 2021 Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK), Xavi Vierge (Team HRC), Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) and Eric Granado (PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Team) for the event on Barcelona’s stunning beachfront. Check out the best images from Barcelona in the gallery at the top of this article!

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Source: WorldSBK.com

The second round of the hotly contested 2023 Yamaha R3 bLU cRU European Championship will get underway this weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, alongside the fourth round of the MOTUL FIM World Superbike Championship.

The series’ opening races last month at the ‘Cathedral of Speed’ in Assen provided extremely close racing and unpredictable results as the 19 young contenders showcased their talent on board their R3 machines. Italy’s Emiliano Ercolani came out on top in Race 1, with Spain’s Marc Vich and Brazil’s Kevin Fontainha completing the podium.

In Race 2, with several penalties imposed for track limits infringements, the eventual winner was Gustavo Manso – the young Brazilian completing a great comeback after missing Race 1 with an ankle injury. His two compatriots, Eduardo Burr and Fontainha finished second and third. Ercolani took a solid fourth in Race 2, which gives him a six-point title lead heading into Barcelona.

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya track hasn’t been featured on the R3 calendar since 2021, meaning that for the majority of the field it will be a new experience. In fact, of the 20 riders due to compete this weekend, only Vich and Burr have prior R3 racing experience at the complex Catalan track.

With fair weather expected throughout the event, and the usual fervent Spanish crowd cheering on the stars of the future, it’s sure to be another unmissable weekend of action in the championship.  

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Source: WorldSBK.com