SBK, official: Bautista and Ducati Aruba together again in 2023

SBK, official: Bautista and Ducati Aruba together again in 2023

The championship leaders will continue to work together. Alvaro: "I still have a lot to give, this team is like family"

28.06.2022 ( Aggiornata il 28.06.2022 15:17 )

The Superbike market is moving, with the first important piece of the 2023 puzzle now in place. We’re talking about the marriage between Alvaro Bautista and the Ducati Aruba team, which will continue again next season. An almost inevitable move, considering the Spaniard’s results, with the championship leader currently lying 36 points ahead of his closest rival Jonathan Rea. But a move that also confirms just how Ducati has learned from previous mistakes.

In 2019, tension between the parties, plus their inability to come to a contract renewal agreement after a masterful first half of the season, was one of the things that sent Alvaro into crisis, the Spaniard losing his lead in the second half of the season to finish second overall. Bautista and Ducati are now out front once more, but they can look to the future with greater piece of mind.

Bautista: “When things work so well, we can only continue”

“I am very happy to be able to continue at least one more year with the Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Team, which represents a family to me”, comments Bautista. “I have always felt good with this team and since I have returned, the feelings have been even more positive than in the 2019 season. When something works so well, we can only keep working, looking ahead. I feel I am still at the top, I feel I can still give a lot. Physically and mentally I think this is the best time of my career. I am also delighted to continue working with Ducati, a very important factory, tech-oriented, always looking for development: to be part of this project, of this team is something incredible on a personal level."

Gigi Dall’Igna is equally pleased, having been one of Alvaro’s main supporters during both his first and second stints with Ducati Aruba. “As in the 2019 WorldSBK season, this year, Alvaro has been immediately competitive with our bike, starting from the winter tests; he is now leading, not surprisingly,  a wonderful season, fighting intelligently for the world title. He is a precise rider, easy to work with: his fantastic riding style is not only enjoyable to watch on TV, but above all, it is his key to fully exploiting the potential of our Panigale V4 R."

So 2023 will again see Bautista fall under the protective wing of Stefano Cecconi, who has a recently confirmed that the Superbike agreement between Aruba and Ducati will continue until 2024.

“I have always believed in Alvaro from a sporting point of view and we have always had a very good personal relationship even when our paths temporarily parted”, states Cecconi. “When we decided to bet on him again last summer, some people called this move a very risky gamble, but there was a conviction on both sides that we were making the right choice: results so far confirm our decision and make us happy. This is also the reason why we are glad to continue our relationship with Alvaro for at least another year. Today we want to make a small exception to the rule and we toast his renewal; already from tomorrow, we are going back to work to prepare ourselves in the best possible way for the next races. The season is still long and we know very well that we cannot afford to let our guard down.”

Translated by Heather Watson

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