SBK: Bautista and V4R in the eye of the storm, too fast?

The race 2 win at Portimao, the twelfth of the season for Bautista, has reignited the debate surrounding the red duo as they continue to make strides towards a long-awaited rider’s title, something Ducati has gone without for eleven years. Debate that is fuelled by the Spaniard's main rival, Toprak Razgatlioglu, second across the line, who believes the rpm of the VR4 should be reduced next year to balance the playing field.

Arrival in SBK and penalty

Ever since Bautista and V4R came to Superbike in 2019, people have had a lot to say about the duo as they attempt to usurp Rea from the production-derived throne: “it’s a MotoGP”, “the regulations are written to suit Ducati”, “Bautista has an advantage” and so on.

The complaints came after the very first round in 2019 and, as per the regulation, round four saw Bautista and the Ducati lining up with 250 less revs than their rivals. Despite this, they continued to amass race wins, a sign that even with slightly less engine speed, the bike was able to compensate.

2022: new year and new complaints

After two years of “let up” with Redding aboard the V4R, Bautista’s return to Ducati in place of the Englishman has seen many pulling out the same old mantras regarding the engine, the regulation and the Spaniard’s weight. But there were no serious complaints until the Portimao round, when Bautista showed what the VR4 is really made of along the straight, the Kawasaki and Yamaha literally stripped already at the start of the straight as the red bike exploited the slipstream of its two rivals.

The fact that the Spaniard is shorter and lighter than Rea and Razgatlioglu works in his favour, making for extra speed, added to which is an ability to exit the final corner fast. Furthermore, with the V4, the Ducati has different delivery compared to the other bikes (Kawasaki and Yamaha, the rivals this season) which, at some tracks, allows for slightly longer gear ratios without overly affecting acceleration. Another thing that works in the Spaniard’s favour with respect to his team-mates/precedessors in Ducati (Davies and Redding) and rivals (Razgatlioglu and Rea) is his unique riding style. The Spaniard likes to let the bike roll and he brakes very early so as to carry a lot of speed into and through the turns.

One man who is not happy with the situation is Razgatlioglu, who had this to say during the post-race interviews: “Next year they should balance out performance, the Ducati is too fast. For the good of Superbike, they should reduce the bike’s performance”. The Turk is right to complain but "omits" that his R1 outperforms the Spaniard’s V4R through the mixed sections, clear to see through the tight corners.

Despite having won two of three races last weekend, Razgatlioglu's words will be passed on to FIM and Dorna - a request to reduce the revs of the V4R just enough so that Bautista has a little more difficult making a pass along the straight.

The players might change but the complaint and the subject of the complaint, the Panigale V4R, remain the same. The fundamental question is: is it right to “castrate” what is the fastest bike right now so as to balance the championship? Wouldn’t it be more correct to reset everyone to 2019 levels, with bikes and engine revs in line with the original homologation documents? Also considering that, prior to the arrival of the V4R, Rea’s Kawasaki was castrated, before losing another 500 revs at the start of 2021 after the engine was passed as new when in fact it was not.

Traslated by Heather Watson

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