“His potential is higher”: Jonathan Rea on Alvaro Bautista’s 2026 WorldSBK struggles

Jonathan Rea says both Alvaro Bautista’s and Ducati’s “potential is higher” amid the Spaniard’s 2026 WorldSBK struggles at the Barni team.

2026 is Bautista’s first season in WorldSBK racing for a non-factory team, having been moved out of the Aruba.it Racing Ducati squad last year in favour of Iker Lecuona.

The two-time WorldSBK champion joined the Barni team as a result, the only Ducati satellite team to have two bikes in WorldSBK, when a seat became available there alongside Yari Montella.

But while Montella, who finished 17th in last year’s standings, has gone on to have a breakout year, finishing 10 times on the podium in the first 24 races of the season, including the last seven races in a row, Bautista has struggled, and hasn’t finished in the top-six since he was fourth in the Superpole Race at Baltaton Park at the beginning of May.

At the most recent round at Donington, Bautista’s difficulties were more evident than at any other point in 2026, finishing only 14th in Race 1 and only just squeezing into the back end of the top-10 in Race 2.

For a rider who has won three world titles – two of which in World Superbike with Ducati – and who has the most victorious season in the championship’s history to his name with 27 wins from 36 races in 2023, the current results are bizarre given the dominance of his current machinery.

Not only has Ducati won all 24 races so far this season, but in Race 1 at Donington it locked out the top-six, while Bautista was down in that 14th position.

For Jonathan Rea, one of the 41-year-old’s great rivals from the past, the reason for Bautista’s difficulties in 2026 is not something for which he can define a cause, but it’s apparent to him that the Bautista-Ducati-Barni package is not being maximised at present.

“He’s not maximising the package, to be fair,” Rea said, speaking after Race 2 at the UK WorldSBK.

“It looks like he’s struggling, from the outside. 

“But, unless you’re in his shoes or in the team, you don’t understand what’s going on. 

“Not really for me to comment. 

“He’s a super-talented guy. His potential is higher, the bike’s potential is higher.

“So, the package isn’t working for some reason. I’m not sure why.”

Bautista's own feeling on the Donington weekend was one of regret, feeling that he is not yet able to ride the 2026 Panigale V4 R as he wants to.

"Today we tried some changes to the set-up of the bike to improve the feeling," said Alvaro Bautista.

"There were positives and others that didn't work as we hoped, but we managed to collect a lot of useful data to continue our work. 

"I'm sorry we still can't ride the bike as I would like and not to be able to express our full potential. We are working hard to find the right sensations and take a further step forward. 

"The positive aspect is that we were able to complete all the races of the weekend, which is an important element at this stage. 

"Now we will have some time to analyze all the data and prepare as best we can for the resumption after the summer break."