FIRST LOOK: Alvaro Bautista and Nicolo Bulega unveil 2024 Ducati

Alvaro Bautista and rookie WorldSBK team-mate Nicolo Bulega have taken the covers off their 2024 Ducati machine.

22 Jan 2024

Alvaro Bautista and Nicolo Bulega, Ducati WorldSBK 2024

The two-time WorldSBK champion was alongside Bulega and MotoGP stars Francesco Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini.

Bautista, who won the 2023 title in dominant fashion, is looking to make it three on the bounce in 2024 which would make him the first Ducati rider to ever win three titles in succession, should he achieve that result.

Bautista is in his second stint with Ducati, while Bulega has moved up to WorldSBK after two seasons with the Italian brand in WorldSSP.

The last of those ended with a world championship win, as he too was extremely dominant last season aboard the Panigale V2.

For Bautista, 2024 is expected to be a season where his challengers remain the same, albeit from different bikes.

Toprak Razgatlioglu has been his main championship threat since the 2022 season, but the Turkish rider is now aboard a BMW.

Taking his place at Yamaha is none other than six-time world champion, Jonathan Rea, who will be looking to become a champion for the first time with a manufacturer other than Kawasaki.

Speaking at Ducati’s official launch in Italy, Bautista said: “This season will be a great challenge with so many changes compared to last year; last year we only changed the number! I switched from #19 to #1 but this year will be full of serious changes.

“My teammate this year is very young and strong, and he pushes a lot. When you have a young teammate, you know that person is hungry for victories. He wants to do his best.

“I’m extremely happy because he’s here with me. The regulations have changed compared to last year. Some changes are good for us, they will help us, but some other details are not so good for me.

“Some are about minimum weight, but we are trying to reach the same levels as last year. Every year is different from the previous one, and we will try to be as competitive as possible.

“When changes arrive, you have two ways to face them. You can feel defeated or disadvantaged or you can accept the challenge, take it on and do your best.

“I have picked the second option. I want to do my best. I’m happy about Nicolo’s arrival and this makes me feel more motivated. I will try to do my best and I’ll try to be even better than last season.”