Alvaro Bautista wryly admits: "I have some reasons to not help" Nicolo Bulega

Alvaro Bautista says he has “reasons to help and some reasons to not help” Nicolo Bulega in his 2025 WorldSBK title fight.

Bulega finished second three times to Toprak Razgatlioglu at the UK Round last weekend, meaning the Aruba.it Racing Ducati rider dropped from first position in the World Superbike standings for the first time since the start of the season in Australia.

The Italian will head to Balaton Park for the inaugural Hungarian Round at the circuit next weekend (25–27 July) with a four-point lead over Razgatlioglu.

The margins are tight between the two, but Bulega’s teammate, two-time WorldSBK Champion Bautista, says he is unsure if he will help Bulega or not.

“I don’t know,” Alvaro Bautista, who doesn’t yet have a contract for 2026, said after Race 2 on Sunday at Donington.

“I have some reasons to help and some reasons to not help.

“Maybe in these two weeks I decide to help him or not, who knows?”

Bautista, who is battling Danilo Petrucci for third place in the championship, added: “I need to finish the race as [far forward] as possible.”

Offering a little more insight, Bautista said, when asked if he had any update on his contract situation for 2026: “No. Maybe help Nico, not help Nico. Next two weeks, we can speak maybe.”

These comments followed Bautista’s statements on Thursday at Donington that “with Ducati the door is not closed,” despite Ducati’s announcement ahead of the Emilia-Romagna Round that they would not be taking its option that exists within the current contract between itself and Bautista to keep the Spanish rider with the team in the 2026 World Superbike season.

Bautista, on Sunday, said that he has confidence that his on-track performance will be enough to secure him a ride for next season, despite the weight rules that he has been particularly outspoken in his opposition to in recent weeks, both on social media and when speaking to the media at Donington.

“I’m quite calm,” he said. “I think I’m doing my best. I think my performance is good, but we are not in the same situation as other riders.

“So, I feel that, even with this penalisation to us, I think we are able to show the people that I can be strong.

“But, to be at the level that they are, you have to at least have the same weapons as the others.

“Right now, it’s unfair to fight with them because I’m not in the same situation.”