Alvaro Bautista Archives

Gallery: Ducati Celebrates Victorious 2023 With Road Legal Race Replicas

Ducati is celebrating its exceptional performance in 2023 by launching a series of five collector’s limited edition Panigales. These motorcycles pay homage to the triumphs of riders Bagnaia, Bautista, Bulega, Martin, and Bezecchi in MotoGP, WorldSBK, and WorldSSP.

The lineup comprises four Panigale V4 models and one Panigale V2, all produced in a limited and numbered series, with each rider’s authentic signature adorning the tank, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. In addition to the customary features of collector-worthy limited editions, Ducati is including the technical equipment for each model, along with a wooden shipping crate.

These exclusive bikes were unveiled at the “Campioni in Festa” event, where Ducati celebrated its remarkable season and introduced the limited-edition motorcycles. Each model boasts the rider’s original autograph on the tank, protected by a layer of transparent varnish.

Among the Panigale V4s, three have been transformed into tributes honoring the Desmosedici GP bikes of Francesco Bagnaia (63), Jorge Martin (89), and Marco Bezzecchi (72) in MotoGP. These models commemorate Ducati’s consecutive victories at MotoGP in 2022 and 2023. Another Panigale V4R is dedicated to Alvaro Bautista’s (19) WSBK triumphs, marking Ducati’s two consecutive years at the top of WSBK. Lastly, a Panigale V2 pays homage to Nicolò Bulega’s (11) WorldSSP race bike, celebrating the team’s world title win in 2023.

The Panigale V4s receive notable upgrades, featuring a nine-disc STM-EVO SBK dry clutch, an Akrapovič homologated silencer (2kg lighter than the standard), new Brembo braking system, Rizoma billet aluminum adjustable footpegs, and race-grade plexiglass.

The special edition Bulega Panigale V2 is equipped with Öhlins suspension, Akrapovič racing silencers (reducing the bike’s weight by 5kg), adjustable Rizoma billet aluminum footpegs, and various carbon fiber components, including front and rear mudguards, chain guard, clutch cover guard, swingarm guard, and shock absorber guard. Additionally, the Panigale V2 dedicated to Bulega offers further customization with a number plate and mirror removal kit, along with a billet aluminum racing tank cap.

For those interested in acquiring these limited editions, the pricing is as follows:

– Panigale V2 Bulega 2023 World Championship Replica: $43,000 USD or RM210,000 (Limited to 111 units)
– Panigale V4 Bezzecchi 2023 Racing Replica: $63,000 USD – RM295,000 (Limited to 72 units)
– Panigale V4 Martin 2023 Racing Replica: $68,000 USD – RM318,000 (Limited to 189 units)
– Panigale Bautista 2023 World Champion Replica: $68,000 USD – RM318,000 (Limited to 219 units)
– Panigale V4 Bagnaia 2023 World Champion Replica: $73,000 USD – RM342,000 (Limited to 263 units)

Delivery of these 2023 Panigale Race Replicas is scheduled to commence in July 2024.

WorldSBK: Alvaro Bautista Pens New Ducati Deal

Alvaro Bautista will continue to ride the Ducati Panigale V4 R for the 2023 WorldSBK Championship.

Bautista has signed a one year contract extension with Ducati.
the 37-year old will continue to ride the Ducati Panigale V4 R for the 2023 season.

Ducati has announced that the Spanish rider will remain with the team next season after signing a new contract extension.

“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.

“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,” said the 37-years-old.

During his debut season at the 2019 WorldSBK, Bautista finished second in the championship with 220 points after taking Ducati to 16 victories and 24 podiums in total.

HRC unveils 2020 Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP WorldSBK team

WorldSBK is about to get more interesting this year as HRC unveils the 2020 Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP for their factory squad. Enveloped in HRC’s iconic tri-colour scheme, the race bikes were presented in Japan together with their star riders, Alvaro Bautista and Leon Haslam.

(more…)

Jonathan Rea and Kawasaki Crowned WorldSBK Champion Five Times in a Row

Jonathan Rea and Kawasaki has won the 2019 WorldSBK title – their fifth in a row.
Rea won Race Two at Magny-Cours while Alvaro Bautista crashed out again.
Rea is now the rider who has won the most WorldSBK titles.

Jonathan Rea and Kawasaki has won the 2019 WorldSBK title – their fifth in a row.

Rea won Race Two at Magny-Cours, France, enabling him to pull clear of closest challenger Alvaro Bautista on the Ducati V4 R. Rea had entered Race Two with a 100-point lead over Bautista and needed a victory and a hope that the latter does not score to put the title chase beyond contention.

Somehow and true enough, Bautista crashed after tangling with Toprak Razgatlioglu. Toprak had overtaken Bautista but the rear tyre of his bike lost traction and slowed, causing the Spaniard to ram his bike. Both riders went down and out of the race.

But it wasn’t an easy win for Rea as he had to battle Michael van der Mark for the win. Rea fought hard and his determination netted him the win that he needed.

It was his 12th win of the 2019 season. But winning the title fives times in a row set the record as the first rider to do so, besides being the first rider to win the title five times. Carl Fogarty held the previous record of four titles, albeit separated by a seasons in between.

The victory will also become one of the most famous comebacks in racing history. Bautista had destroyed the entire field with 11 consecutive wins when the season began and held a 64-point lead.

But Rea kept up with a metronome-like consistency, finishing second in ten of those races and another in third behind Bautista. Then Rea fought back to post wins in Imola and Jerez. Bautista crashed in Race 2 at Jerez and that was when everything started to unravel.

The Spanish would eventually crash six times in total, first blaming the bike but went quiet about what was actually the problem. Then he inked a deal with Honda, and is now embroiled in a war of words with Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali.

Rea kept up the pressure by winning races and finishing on the podium when he couldn’t, and look at where he is now.

Makes for a great movie, don’t you think?

Alvaro Bautista Back to MotoGP with KTM?

Alvaro Bautista is rumored to return to MotoGP to ride with KTM.
The rumors came to light despite another rumor linking him to Honda in WorldSBK in 2020.
Which way will he go?

Spanish rider Alvaro Bautista is rumored to return to MotoGP to ride with KTM.

Bautista was earlier rumoured to be moving to the Honda’s HRC factory team and remain in WorldSBK 2020. It was also heavily speculated that he will be riding a new Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade. Honda is expected to unveil the all-new bike at the Tokyo Motor Show this October, and the team will be based in Barcelona.

He had migrated to the WorldSBK for the 2019 season, riding the new Ducati Panigale V4 R for Ducati Corse. However, his form fell by the wayside despite having dominated the field earlier in the season by winning 12 races in a row.

His relationship with the Italian team soured since then. Alvaro then revealed that he would be leaving the team at the end of the season but did not mention where he was going to. His boss, the Ducati Corse Sporting Director, Paolo Ciabatti confirmed that the rider has signed a two-year deal with a “rival manufacturer.”

But now as KTM is searching for a rider to fill the vacancy left by Johann Zarco in the factory Red Bull KTM Racing Team, Bautista’s name came to the fore.

The question was brought up during the Tank Slappers podcast. Motorsport.com Global MotoGP Editor Oriol Puigdemont and Autosport’s Motorcycle Racing Correspondent Lewis Duncan discussed the compelling possibilities.

Please click on the link below to listen to the podcast.

Listen to “Shock MotoGP return for World Superbike sensation?: Episode #3” on Spreaker.

2019 WorldSBK: It May Not Be Enough for Alvaro Bautista

Alvaro Bautista is now 81 points behind closest rival Jonathan Rea.
There are four rounds left, with eight main races and four Superpole races.
With a maximum of 248 points on offer, it may not be enough for Bautista.

In one – if not the most – remarkable turnaround in WorldSBK history, Alvaro Bautista suddenly finds himself at a disadvantage against his main rival Jonathan Rea.

Bautista had given the Ducati factory and fans to cheer about when he won 11 races in a row on the Ducati Panigale V4 R. It was without a doubt the return of Ducati to dominate the series like it once had in through the 90s and early 2000s. Heck, pundits were starting to say that Bautista could very well win every single race of the season.

Oh, but how the mighty have fallen.

Rea put in stunning rides in Imola and Jerez, by winning both races in those two rounds. Bautista’s streak started to unravel, and he crashed in the second race in Jerez.

He crashed again in Race 2 at the next round in Misano (although he finished 3^rdin Race 1 and 1^stin Superpole). He remounted to finish 14^thfor 2 points.

Moving on to the British round at Donington Park, Bautista crashed in Race 1. He finished 4^thin Superpole and 3^rdin Race 2.

The next round in Laguna Seca was the worst. He crashed in Race 1 and was classified as 17^th. The crash hurt his hand and he opted to stay out of Superpole. Then he fell again in Race 2.

That’s 5 non-scoring races in 10 races. Rea on the other hand, picked up seven wins, one 5^thplace, and two 2^ndplaces.

Jonathan Rea – Photo credit WorldSBK.com

As a result, Jonathan Rea on the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR now leads Bautista leads by a massive 81 points.

There are four rounds left with 12 races to go, including Superpole. Each win gets 25 points, while a Superpole win is awarded 12 points. As for finishing second, the rider is awarded 20 points in the Race and 9 points in Superpole.

So, Bautista will obtain 248 points if he won them all. Adding to his current points haul of 352, will result in a total of 600 points. If Rea finished second all the way to the end, he will earn 196 points. Add that to his current accumulation of 433 points and you will have the 2019 and Five-Time WorldSBK Champion.

Bautista could only hope that Rea somehow finish lower than second place in a few races.

Ducati’s lead in the manufacturers’ championship is under threat, too. They are now just one point ahead of the Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK.

Yes, the adage, “To win, you must first finish” is still very applicable.

Fizikal Saya Merana Kerana Berperang Mengendalikan Ducati V4 – Bautista

lvaro Bautista di atas motosikal Ducati Panigale V4 R – Sumber imej: WorldSBK.com

Ducati melalui minggu yang malang di litar perlumbaan hujung minggu lalu apabila Dovizioso dan Petrucci gagal mengekang kemaraan Marc Marquez di Sachsenring sementara Alvaro Bautista tidak lagi memegang takhta pendahulu di SBK.

Bautista kehilangan takhta sebagai pendahulu kejuaraan apabila dipintas Johnny Rea yang kini mendahului dengan 24 mata selepas mendominasi Donington Park, baru-baru ini.

Pelumba Sepanyol itu mengakui bergelut untuk mengawal jentera Ducati V4 di sepanjang perlumbaan.

“Jentera saya tidak stabil dan saya terpaksa melawan dengan jentera sendiri hanya untuk memastikaan ia bergerak lurus. Pada masa sama, saya tidak memiliki kestabilan yang baik ketika keluar daripada selekoh.

“Saya cuba lakukan yang terbaik tetapi fizikal saya merana kerana terpaksa bertarung dengan jentera tersebut,” ujar Bautista.

Menyedari dia dan pasukan perlu bangkit dengan aksi yang lebih baik seperti di Misano dan Jerez, Bautista bagaimanapun mengakui ia tidak semudah itu.

“Ini bukan MotoGP dimana pasukan boleh menggunakan komponen berbeza bagi mempertingkatkan kemantapan jentera. Inilah pakej jentera yang kami ada, kami tidak bernasib baik tetapan dilakukan di Donington tidak menjadi,”tambahnya.

SBK bakal ke Laguna Seca selepas ini dan Bautista mengakui litar tersebut bukanlah medan terbaik buat jentera Ducati V4.

(SUMBER: GPONE.com)

WorldSBK 2019: Jonathan Rea and Kawasaki Ends Bautista and Ducati’s Streak

Jonathan Rea and Kawasaki finally ended Alvaro Bautista and Ducati’s WorldSBK 2019 winning streak.
Rea won in Race 1 at the Imola circuit in Italy.
Bautista finished second after winning the first ten races of the year.

Four-time and reigning WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea and his Kawasaki team ended Alvaro Bautista and Ducati’s winning streak in Race 1 at Imola, Italy.

Bautista and Ducati have scored a perfect ten out of ten races in five rounds prior. However, Rea proved the spoiler when Bautista tried to adapt to the tricky Imola circuit. It was the latter’s first race there. Rea had been strong throughout the practice sessions only to be pipped by Bautista’s teammate Chaz Davies in Superpole for pole position.

Come race day, Rea took the lead as soon as the lights went out, but passed by Davies soon after. It looked like the pair was going to resume their hard battles and rivalry through the last few seasons. Unfortunately, Davies’s bike encountered a problem and forced the Welshman to retire. In so doing, he handed second place to Bautista.

A battle soon erupted behind them.

Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) sat in third, while Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) fought up to 4^thfrom 8^thon the grid. Van der Mark’s teammate Alex Lowes followed in 5^th, ahead of Rea’s teammate Leon Haslam. Independent rider Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Purcetti Racing) moved in 7^th.

At the front, Bautista had no answer to Rea’s pace. The Kawasaki man began to pull away at 0.7s per lap.

On a day of seeing front runners suffering bike problems, Tom Sykes’s BMW started to slow and eventually retired. At the same time, Lowes started to slip backwards.

With the final position suddenly available, van der Mark and Razgatlioglu battled tooth and nail. The pair swapped paint and traded blows on the penultimate lap to the stage of colliding twice. But it was the Turkish rider Razgatlioglu who presevered to cross the line in 3^rd.

There was no problem for Rea, conversely. It was his eighth win at the track and 72^ndin WorldSBK. It was Kawsaki’s 128^thwin in the series.

Race 2 continues today at 8pm Malaysian local time.

Final results after Race 1:

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing)
Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team)
Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK)

WorldSBK 2019: Ducati Panigale V4 R Bakal Dikurangkan 250 RPM

Jentera Ducati Panigale V4 R akan dikurangkan sebanyak 250 RPM dalam kejohanan WorldSBK 2019.
Honda CBR1000RR pula akan mendapat tambahan 500 RPM.
Ducati dan Kawasaki juga tidak dibenarkan untuk melakukan penambahbaikan enjin pada jentera mereka.

(more…)

WorldSBK 2019: Ducati Panigle V4R to Lose 250 RPM

The Ducati Panigale V4 R will lose 250 RPM in WorldSBK 2019.
While the Honda CBR1000RR will gain 500 RPM.
Ducati and Kawasaki are also not allowed to bring engine upgrades to their bikes.

It’s bound to happen as per Dorna and FIM’s rules. The Ducati Panigale V4 R is set to lose 250 RPM off its peak from the next round in Assen.

The decision was made after Alvaro Bautista won the first six races and three Superpoles of the season on the Panigale V4 R. Besides docking its peak RPM (to reduce peak horsepower), Ducati will also lose their concession to bring further engine upgrades for the rest of the year. Consequently, Bautista and teammate Chaz Davies, as well as Eugene Laverty will have to compete on a bike with the same specs as it started the season.

A reduction of 250 RPM will not make a difference to Bautista. In fact, his Aruba.it Ducati team had tested a bike with 250 RPM less in Aragon earlier.

On the other hand, the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR will not have its revs cut but they are also not allowed the concession to upgrade their engine, since the gap between Ducati and Kawasaki are only 7 points (below the 9-point threshold).

Other manufacturers are allowed concessions, including BMW and Yamaha (who are racing), as well as Aprilia, Suzuki and MV Agusta (who are not racing).

As for Honda, the CBR1000RR will receive a 500 RPM upgrade. The increase will take effect over two rounds i.e. 250 RPM at Assen and another 250 RPM at Imola, Italy.

Such “revisions” is not new. Kawasaki had their ZX-10RR’s rev limit cut last year after Jonathan Rea’s dominance. The idea is to keep the field competitive for close-in racing.

You can view the FIM ruling here.

The rev limits for different manufacturers are in the table below (Credit: WorldSBK/FIM).

WorldSBK 2019: Alvaro Bautista and Ducati Wins Race 1 at Aragon

Alvaro Bautista and Ducati maintained their 100% win record by destroying the field in Race 1 at Aragon.
Bautista finished the race 15 seconds ahead of Jonathan Rea on the Kawasaki.
His teammate Chaz Davies finished in 3^rd.

Alvaro Bautista and Ducati maintained their 100% win record by destroying the field in Race 1 at Aragon. The Aragon track in Spain hosts Round 3 of the WorldSBK 2019 championship.

Not wanting to be bogged down in a bruising battle like in Race 1 at Buriram, Thailand, Bautista blasted into the lead as soon as the lights went out. He never looked back and was almost a second faster per lap. He would eventually cross the line 15 seconds clear of the second-placed man.

As with the previous MotoGP race in Argentina, Bautista left the rest to battle for second and third places in his wake.

Reigning WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea on the Kawasaki fought his way up from 10^thon the grid, only to find himself fighting hard against another two Ducatis for the runner-up position.

Chaz Davies – Photo credite WorldSBK.com

Bautista’s teammate Chaz Davies appeared to have finally come to grips with the new Panigale V4 R. He had been battling with Eugene Laverty on the satellite Team Go Eleven Ducati Panigale V4 R during the earlier part of the race, when Rea joined the party.

The trio swapped positions on and on until the final lap, when Laverty ran into the back of Davies. The come-together sent Laverty off the track and caused Davies to lose touch to Rea. Rea escaped to take 2^ndplace while Davies brought his bike home in 3^rd.

Behind them, Alex Lowes took his Pata Yamaha to 4^thwhile Tom Sykes took the new BMW S 1000 RR to 5^th.

ANALYSIS

It’s understandable that some are charging that Ducati brought a MotoGP bike to WorldSBK and voiced concerns over Bautista’s domination. But look at where the other Ducatis are. Bautista’s teammate Davies was in 3^rdand Laverty almost took 4^th. It’s more of how Bautista is able to interpret and unlock the bike’s full potential compared to everyone else. Plus, he’s probably so used to riding those beasts in MotoGP, so the Panigale V4 R is comparatively easy. We’re not saying that the Panigale V4 R isn’t fast, but every bike needs the rider to unlock its capabilities.

There’s talk of Dorna looking at curtailing the Panigale V4 R’s maximum revs in order to lower its maximum power. The WorldSBK rules provide for this, in order to keep the field close and exciting for fans. However, doing so would handicap not Bautista but the other Ducatis, too.

Tom Sykes did very well on the BMW S 1000 RR. The bike has a stock engine compared to the rest of the field’s. The exhaust, cams, ECU and suspension are standard like a SuperStock bike’s. It ought to go much faster with the race kit.

Race 2 for WorldSBK starts at 8.00pm tonight.

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Alvaro Bautista

Alvaro Bautista will continue to ride the Ducati Panigale V4 R for the 2023 WorldSBK Championship.

Jonathan Rea and Kawasaki has won the 2019 WorldSBK title – their fifth in a row.

Rea won Race Two at Magny-Cours while Alvaro Bautista crashed out again.

Rea is now the rider who has won the most WorldSBK titles.

Alvaro Bautista is rumored to return to MotoGP to ride with KTM.

The rumors came to light despite another rumor linking him to Honda in WorldSBK in 2020.

Which way will he go?

Alvaro Bautista is now 81 points behind closest rival Jonathan Rea.

There are four rounds left, with eight main races and four Superpole races.

With a maximum of 248 points on offer, it may not be enough for Bautista.

Jonathan Rea and Kawasaki finally ended Alvaro Bautista and Ducati’s WorldSBK 2019 winning streak.

Rea won in Race 1 at the Imola circuit in Italy.

Bautista finished second after winning the first ten races of the year.

Final results after Race 1:

The Ducati Panigale V4 R will lose 250 RPM in WorldSBK 2019.

While the Honda CBR1000RR will gain 500 RPM.

Ducati and Kawasaki are also not allowed to bring engine upgrades to their bikes.

Alvaro Bautista and Ducati maintained their 100% win record by destroying the field in Race 1 at Aragon.

Bautista finished the race 15 seconds ahead of Jonathan Rea on the Kawasaki.

His teammate Chaz Davies finished in 3rd.

ANALYSIS

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His teammate Chaz Davies finished in 3^rd.