Alvaro Bautista pens new Ducati contract for 2023 WorldSBK season

Alvaro Bautista will remain with the Aruba.it Ducati team for the 2023 WorldSBK Championship season, it has been confirmed. 

The Spaniard, who made his WorldSBK debut after exiting MotoGP with Ducati in 2019, returned to the Italian manufacturer this season and immediately returned to winning ways.

After two win-less seasons with Honda in 2020 and 2021, Bautista has already secured six victories in the opening four rounds of the series, which coupled to his 100 per cent record of standing on the podium has allowed him to open out a comfortable lead in the standings.

Now 36 points clear of Jonathan Rea with eight rounds remaining, Bautista is delighted to have been rewarded with an extended deal beyond this season.

“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.”

Bautista first competed with Ducati in 2019 after bringing his 16 year grand prix career to a close having won 2006 125GP World Championship and stood on the MotoGP podium on three occasions.

He made headlines on arrival by taking the then-brand new Ducati Panigale V4 R to a record-breaking 11 consecutive wins from his debut, before his title bid collapsed in a second-half of the season riddled with errors.