Alvaro Bautista announces new World Superbike deal
The 38-year-old, who currently holds a commanding 56-point title lead with only one defeat (a crash) in the nine races so far, had been openly contemplating retirement.
"I’m really happy with my performance right now in my professional life, but also the personal [life] is becoming more special and more important,” Bautista said after the recent Dutch round. "Now we have one and half weeks at home with my family and I will ask them their opinion."
On Thursday in Barcelona, on the eve of his home round, Bautista duly announced that he has agreed a one-year contract extension with the Aruba.it Ducati team.
"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," Bautista said. "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.”
Bautista's deal will come as a relief to Ducati, whose next-best rider in the world championship is currently Axel Bassani, in fourth and almost 100 points behind Bautista. Team-mate Michael Rinaldi is sixth, with two podiums.
"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," said Ducati Corse general manager Gigi Dall’Igna.
"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.”
A world champion in the 125GP class and runner-up in 250GP, Bautista spent nine years in MotoGP riding for the factory Suzuki, Gresini Honda, factory Aprilia and then Aspar Ducati teams. Bautista’s best MotoGP season was 2012, when he finished fifth in the standings, with two podiums.
Left without a premier-class seat for 2019, Bautista made a stunning World Superbike debut for Ducati, winning the opening ten races in a row.
But Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea still caught and passed the Spaniard, who then made an ill-fated switch to Honda for 2020-2021, claiming just three podiums.
Returning to Ducati last season, Bautista handed the factory its first World Superbike crown since countryman Carlos Checa in 2011.
The fierce battles between Bautista and fellow champions Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) have helped elevate WorldSBK in recent years, although the straight-line speed advantage of the Panigale has been questioned by its rivals.
Bautista said that he has no influence over the choice of team-mate for next season - "It’s not an easy decision for Ducati as many riders want to ride this bike, but it’s not my problem!" - and is unsure whether 2024 will be his last WorldSBK campaign:
"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. What I want [now] is to keep racing.”
