Alvaro Bautista has come to Misano with the riders&rsquo; title in mind, and things have gone well at least as far as Friday&rsquo;s concerned. The Spaniard finished on top, despite a less than stellar start to the day: &ldquo;This morning I struggled a bit - explains Alvaro &ndash; as the conditions weren&rsquo;t the best and I didn&rsquo;t immediately find the same good sensations I had during the test. We&rsquo;ve changed a few things since then, but ahead of FP2 we decided to recreate that test bike, and the improvement was clear to see&rdquo;.  What had you changed on the bike between the test and now?  &ldquo;During the Barcelona test (which followed the Misano test), we tried some different front fork stiffnesses which worked well at the time, and so we kept them for all the races we&rsquo;ve run since. But here we&rsquo;ve gone back to the stiffnesses we had at the Misano test, and things are immediately good again&rdquo;.  Have you tested the two new SCX specs?  &ldquo;Yes, and I didn&rsquo;t see any big differences with respect to the base SCX. There are advantages, like the stability profile, but the performance and grip are very similar.&rdquo;  Bautista: &ldquo;Being small doesn&rsquo;t bring the advantages everyone thinks&rdquo;   Rea has explained that he&rsquo;s not overly happy to have so many different tyres, as there&rsquo;s not enough time. Do you agree? &nbsp;  &ldquo;Yes I agree, as there&rsquo;s not enough time or a sufficient number of tyres to try a specification in the right way. In these conditions, you have to take a gamble, going with the one you think is best&rdquo;.  How is your pace?  &ldquo;In the afternoon, I completed a lot of laps in the low 1&rsquo;34s, but I didn&rsquo;t work specifically on pace, focusing more on tyre performance to understand which spec to use tomorrow. I&rsquo;m not worried anyway, as I feel good on the bike.&rdquo;  Rea has said it won&rsquo;t be easy to pass you and the other Ducatis here at Misano. What do you think?  &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t agree, as we all have very similar pace. Razgatlioglu and Rinaldi are very fast too, but perhaps Michael has a little less. I don&rsquo;t think Johnny will struggle any more than usual to pass&rdquo;.  Dall&rsquo;Igna has said that your secret aboard the Panigale is to ride like Pedrosa with the two-strokes. What do you think?  &ldquo;They&rsquo;re different worlds. With my physique, I have to focus on lifting the bike up early in order to hide the disadvantages&hellip; On corner exit for example, I struggle to turn the front in the right direction, as I have difficulty loading the front. Overall, it&rsquo;s easy to say that smaller riders are at an advantage but that&rsquo;s not the case. I have a lot of a disadvantages that bigger riders won&rsquo;t understand.&rdquo;  Translated by Heather Watson  WorldSBK, the return of the official videogame - the release date is set 

On top at the end of day 1: &quot;I tested the new tyres, but time is short and we&rsquo;ll need to gamble&rdquo;

WorldSBK Misano, Bautista: &ldquo;Going back to the test bike has been my salvation&rdquo;

In a little over two weeks the Superbike show will get underway at Arag&oacute;n, and Ducati has high hopes of achieving its main goal: the title. Alvaro Bautista returns to the Borgo Panigale garage and will flank the re-confirmed Michael Rinaldi, as they take on the Yamahas and Kawasakis.  The determination of Dall&#39;Igna   Ducati Corse general manager, Luigi Dall&rsquo;Igna, is ready for this new challenge: &ldquo;The level of WorldSBK is growing every year, as well as the competition. Obviously, this doesn&#39;t scare us, and on the contrary, it pushes us to give more and more, work more carefully and focus on every single detail&rdquo;. Memories of last season are positive: &ldquo;In the 2021 World Championship, our team was the only one to have won at least one race with both riders, and this confirms the potential of the Panigale V4R&rdquo;.  Ducati heads out on track with the intention of securing the title of course: &ldquo;To achieve our most important goal, we rely on Alvaro Bautista&#39;s return - who needs no introduction - and Michael Rinaldi&#39;s desire to impress&rdquo;. But 2022 also bring another exciting new adventure: &ldquo;We will also be competing in the World Supersport Championship with the Panigale V2. It&#39;s a fascinating challenge that underlines Ducati&#39;s deep commitment to the world of production-based racing.&quot;  Great confidence in Michael Rinaldi   Supporting Ducati once again this year is Aruba.it, and CEO/team principal Stefano Cecconi comments: &ldquo;We look at the 2022 WorldSBK season with high ambition and strong determination. The goal of our team is to always take a step forward, year after year, in terms of performance and results. This is the reason why we are proud to represent Ducati in the World Superbike Championship, feeling the presence and passion of the Ducatista people on every circuit&rdquo;. As for Alvaro&rsquo;s return, Stefano comments: &quot;We bet on Alvaro Bautista&rsquo;s return and we want to fight with him a more exciting season than the 2019, which gave us great satisfactions after all&rdquo;.  And they have confidence in the Italian too: &ldquo;We firmly believe in Michael Rinaldi and we reckon he is ready to take that significant step forward after the steady growth he has shown so far. Moreover, as Aruba.it Racing, we will be protagonists of a new adventure with Nicol&ograve; Bulega and the Ducati Panigale V2 in the SuperSport World Championship. Another fascinating challenge that underlines our growing commitment&rdquo;.  The Aruba.it Racing &ndash; Ducati team has everything it needs   Adding to what Dall&rsquo;Igna and Cecconi have to say is Ducati Motor Holding CEO, Claudio Domenicali: &ldquo;We share values, skills, goals, targets with Aruba.it. Plus, and we both believe in the importance of innovation and technology. Aruba.it is a strategic partner, on and off the track, and we are happy to start another season together in the WorldSBK Championship, the most important production-based racing Championship&quot;.  The fans can have fun watching the racing on TV but that&rsquo;s not all: &ldquo;The bikes our fans can buy are as close as possible to the bikes that race on track like the Panigale V4 and, from this year,&nbsp; the Panigale V2 that will make its debut in the World Supersport Championship. This is our philosophy of putting racing technology at the service of our passionate and sporty customers.&quot;  The championship countdown has begun: &ldquo;The Aruba.it Racing - Ducati team is a perfect mix of experience and enthusiasm thanks to the return of Alvaro Bautista and the confirmation of Michael Ruben Rinaldi. I wish them and the whole team the best of luck for the 2022 season.&quot;  Translated by Heather Watson  SBK, BMW loses parts: Van Der Mark to miss Misano tests due to injury 

A new season is about to begin and Ducati management is more confident than ever in terms of its rider line-up, both in the reigning class and SuperSport

WorldSBK, Dall&rsquo;Igna: &ldquo;The title? We rely on Alvaro Bautista&rsquo;s return&rdquo;

        Chaz Davies has only recently hung up his helmet as far as the racing is concerned, but the Welshman will continue to attend WorldSBK rounds. The soon to be 35-year old will remain in the paddock, undertaking a role for Ducati after representing the manufacturer as a rider for a total of eight seasons. The tall, blond Brit will act as coach for the Aruba Racing team, which will field Alvaro Bautista, Michael Ruben Rinaldi and Niccol&ograve; Bulega across the Superbike and Supersport classes in 2022. So the Spaniard and the two Italians will be able to count on the support of a man who has a huge amount of experience. Davies stays with Aruba: "My experience will contribute to Ducati&rsquo;s success  Chaz is pleased that he&rsquo;ll remain &lsquo;part of the family&rsquo;, as he confirms in the official press release: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m absolutely thrilled to remain part of the racing world and especially with the Aruba.it - Ducati family, with whom I enjoyed the best years of my racing career. It will be an interesting perspective to see the action from &lsquo;the other side of the fence&rsquo;! I believe that with my seven years of experience as an official Ducati rider and knowledge of both the Ducati V2 and V4 bikes I am well equipped to contribute to the future success of the team. We have excellent riders for the 2022 WorldSBK and WorldSSP campaigns and I will give everything I can to maximise their potential. I want to thank Stefano Cecconi, Feel Racing and Ducati for this opportunity and can&rsquo;t wait to get started!&rdquo; Translated by Heather Watson SSP: Davide Giugliano returns to the championship with Ducati... As team manager       

The Welshman retired from racing at the end of 2021, but he&rsquo;ll be back in the WorldSBK paddock this season, supporting riders Alvaro Bautista, Michael Ruben Rinaldi and Niccol&ograve; Bulega

SBK, Chaz Davies to stay with Ducati, as coach for the Aruba team

        With the 2021 season now over, Ducati is already looking to the 2022 Superbike World Championship, which will see the return of Alvaro Bautista after two difficult years with the HRC Honda. The Aruba.it Racing team has been out on track at Jerez for a two-day test, to allow the Spaniard to regain those automatisms aboard the Panigale, the rider immediately setting some very positive lap times in the process. Hard at work  Alvaro didn&rsquo;t hold back, completing 96 laps and setting a best time of 1&rsquo;39.119. A reference that saw the number 19 rider finish just half a second from Michele Pirro, who set a 1&rsquo;38.560 (the best time of the session) aboard the GP22 that the Bolognese team will field in MotoGP next year. Third on the list was Sylvain Guintoli, Suzuki MotoGP test rider, just 0.050 of a second from Bautista, followed by Nicol&ograve; Bulega, who set a 1&rsquo;42.952 with the Panigale V2. The former Moto2 rider completed 61 laps with the bike that he will race in WorldSSP, the track time having helped him to build confidence with the team he&rsquo;ll compete for next season. Translated by Heather Watson WorldSBK: the provisional 2022 calendar       

The Spaniard has good impressions of the Panigale at the end of the two-day test in Andalusia. Positive V2 feedback from Nicol&ograve; Bulega

WorldSBK: Bautista half a second from the MotoGP bike at Jerez

With the first of three back-to-back events already in the bag, the SBK stars now prepare for Jerez, a track that the production-derived bikes often visit for pre-season development testing. In 2020, the first round back after lockdown was held here, and it proved to be a good one.  It was August and sweltering hot. Not that next weekend will be cold, but it won&rsquo;t be like last summer. We hope. In any case, it is Scott Redding who&rsquo;s the favourite. Why? It&rsquo;s clear from his mental state, his speed, and the fact he&rsquo;ll be looking to repeat last year&rsquo;s performance.  It was a double win for #45 as he slid into the corners. The V4 R was strong and he exploited this fact, the British Bulldog even finishing second to Rea in the sprint race, the only race he didn&rsquo;t win. Spurred on by a recent win and podium at Barcelona, he is the man to beat this weekend.  Look out for Rino, strong at Montmel&oacute; and headed into Jerez   Separated by just one point right now, Toprak are Johnny are well aware that, as well as looking out for Redding on the red bike, they also need to keep an eye on the other Ducati, that of Michael Ruben Rinaldi.  Appearing energised at Barcelona, &ldquo;Rino&rdquo; did the best over the three days, scoring a win and a third place in the races. Similar to his team-mate, although the latter is currently more convincing. And this is why the Italo-Venezuelan is another good bet this weekend.  And then comes the rest of the field, all keen to score strong results. Andrea Locatelli, confirmed by Yamaha. Alex Lowes, ready to defend his team-mate, the Cannibal, Montmel&oacute; wrist injury permitting. Axel Bassani, the revelation of 2021. Garrett Gerloff, called upon to perk up the season. Alvaro Bautista, a Jerez expert.  Translated by Heather Watson  WorldSSP: Bulega and Ducati Aruba ready to debut in the category in 2022 

Toprak and Johnny might be fighting for the title but it&rsquo;s Scott on the Ducati who&rsquo;s the one to watch out for over the Andalusian weekend.

WorldSBK, Razgatlioglu and Rea? The favourite at Jerez is Redding

The news had been in the air for a while, particularly after Danilo Petrucci&rsquo;s comments about his (off-roading) future, but now we have confirmation. Michael Ruben Rinaldi will stay with the Ducati Aruba team in 2022, flanking a returning Alvaro Bautista, who will take the place of Scott Redding.  A renewal that was already rumoured then, for a Rinaldi who is not exactly enjoying the best moment of his career right now. After a standout weekend at Misano, the Italian has only reached the podium in the Superpole Race at Assen. Might this renewal provide the right fuel with which to tackle the second part of the season?  Last spots to fill   Now that it has its factory team sorted, Ducati now needs to consider its satellite teams, where nothing is confirmed as yet. At Go Eleven it is unclear as to whether Chaz Davies will stay or in fact leave, charmed by the Honda sirens, while team Barni has to decide whether to continue on with Tito Rabat, short on results right now, or turn its attentions to another rider.  The Ducati market intersects with that of other manufacturers of course, not least Honda which, as we&rsquo;ve said, needs to find a replacement for Bautista (Sykes a possible alternative to Davies), while also evaluating what can be done with Leon Haslam, as the Brit moves ever closer to 40.  Translated by Heather Watson  World SSP600: Andy Verdoia returns to the championship with GMT94 

The factory Ducati team completes its line-up for next season, the Italian set to flank a returning Bautista. The market focus now moves on to others, starting with Honda

WorldSBK, official: Rinaldi and Aruba Ducati together again in 2022

        As we can see in the photo, Scott Redding brakes hard. His boot touching the ground, the nose of his V4 R almost touching the mudguard, for a Ducati front section that couldn&rsquo;t be more compressed. Even the Pirelli front tyre is compressed, such is the force and weight impressed on the braking system and &Ouml;hlins fork. And now the Swedish firm&rsquo;s suspension system offers the factory Ducati team another new feature. A foot, or rather the lower &lsquo;swallow tail&rsquo; section, which makes for a sort of upside down, split V. And what is this for? Well, the modification has been made so that the team can use a special new (and expensive) front stand when carrying out a rapid tyre change. The rapid tyre change becomes key during the Flag to Flag procedure, which differs between SBK and MotoGP. In the reigning class, if the weather changes, every rider can come into the garage and go back out on a second bike. In the production-derived series, where they have a "rolling chassis", riders get their mechanics to change the tyres to suit the conditions. WorldSBK different from Endurance  While in endurance racing it&rsquo;s best to change over as soon as possible, this is not the case in SBK. In the sense that teams and riders must respect a minimum time calculated and set by Race Direction. This variable depends on the length of the pitlane at any given circuit. There is also a fixed quota, the total representing the minimum quota below which riders cannot drop without receiving a penalty or sanction. While in EWC every rider does as they like. Or rather, the quicker you change the wheels and refuel, the sooner you can reach the finish line. Despite the fact that races can last as long as 24 hours. Translated by Heather Watson Whatever happened to: Troy Bayliss       

At Arag&oacute;n, Scott Redding&rsquo;s Panigale V4 R mounts a fork with special two-pointed foot, designed for a special stand to be used during a rapid tyre change &nbsp;

WorldSBK Test: the Aruba Ducati team also considers the Flag to Flag

Although the season may have already began a few weeks ago for the Ducati Aruba team, we all know the year only really gets going after the traditional presentation, which, for the Borgo Panigale squad, took place today. The unveiling took place virtually due to the ongoing pandemic.  First to take to the stage was Stefano Cecconi, Team Principal. &ldquo;Since 2015, we have officially represented Ducati in the Superbike World Championship, and our results have grown steadily to the second and third place obtained last season. Our goal is to take that final step forward to reach the target we have set ourselves&rdquo;.  Cecconi also welcomes back Michael Rinaldi, the main new addition to this year&rsquo;s Ducati team. &ldquo;Rinaldi has had a long journey, including winning the Superstock 1000 title. It is a great satisfaction for us to see him in the factory team, and in light of his extremely convincing season with a private team in 2020, we hope he can do even better this year&rdquo;.&nbsp;&nbsp;  In the words of the riders   Italian rider Michael Rinaldi is aware that he now has the greatest opportunity of his career so far: &ldquo;2020 will always be a beautiful memory. However, the goals are higher now, and I will work hard to achieve great results. Returning to the team is like coming home to my family, it&rsquo;s a honour and means that the path we have taken has been positive. I&#39;ll do everything I can to make sure the fans have fun during the 2021 season&rdquo;.&nbsp;  Then how can we forget Scott Redding who, having impressed us all during his debut season, now has clear goals ahead of the new season: &ldquo;The great support I received from Ducati was very important last year, and means I&rsquo;ll give my best to make that step that we missed in 2020. Last season I had the opportunity to gain a lot of experience with the bike and the championship. This will allow me to start on an equal footing with my competitors in 2021. I think my strength lies in my mentality, and I&rsquo;ll be chasing the title all the way.&rdquo;  High-level encouragement   Ducati Corse management was also on hand to offer their encouragement, starting with CEO Claudio Domenicali. &ldquo;The Panigale V4 R is absolutely one of the closest road bikes to a real racing bike. There is a strong union with Aruba.it, our long-standing partner, and a very important technological collaboration. As for our riders, they are true ambassadors of our brand and we look forward to the start of the 2021 season with optimism.&quot;  A sentiment echoed by Gigi Dall&rsquo;Igna, the man behind all the Ducatis that take to the world&rsquo;s racetracks. &ldquo;The 2020 season has been exciting, and to see both of our riders fighting for top positions is a source of great satisfaction and pride for all of Ducati Corse. This year, with Scott and Michael, I&#39;m sure we&#39;ll be very competitive and that we&#39;ll be able to take another step forward and further improve our bikes&#39; performance&rdquo;.  Translated by Heather Watson  SBK, Go Eleven throws down the gauntlet: &ldquo;This blue bike needs to beat the red Ducatis&rdquo; 

Rinaldi and Redding unveil the new Panigale livery. Michael: &quot;I&rsquo;m returning to the family, my goals are higher now&rdquo;. Scott: &ldquo;My mentality is my strength, I&rsquo;m on a level playing field with my rivals now&quot;

8 risultati per 'EN ducati SBK'

WorldSBK Misano, Bautista: “Going back to the test bike has been my salvation”

WorldSBK, Dall’Igna: “The title? We rely on Alvaro Bautista’s return”

SBK, Chaz Davies to stay with Ducati, as coach for the Aruba team

WorldSBK: Bautista half a second from the MotoGP bike at Jerez

WorldSBK, Razgatlioglu and Rea? The favourite at Jerez is Redding

WorldSBK, official: Rinaldi and Aruba Ducati together again in 2022

WorldSBK Test: the Aruba Ducati team also considers the Flag to Flag

WorldSBK, Ducati Aruba presentation: a two-pronged title attempt