Ducati has officially confirmed the continuation of their partnership with Alvaro Bautista for the 2024 World Superbike (WorldSBK) season. The Aruba.it Racing - Ducati team expressed satisfaction over Bautista’s contract extension, highlighting the 38-year-old rider's significant contributions to the team's successes.
Bautista made his return to the Ducati family in 2022, after previously racing in the WorldSBK since his debut in 2019. During the 2022 season, he captured the World Championship title, accumulating an impressive total of 16 wins and 31 podium finishes. Currently, after three rounds of the 2023 season, Bautista has established a commanding lead in the championship standings with 174 points, a full 56 points ahead of his nearest competitor.
Following a noteworthy performance in Assen, where he clinched a hat-trick that marked Ducati's milestone 400th victory in WorldSBK, Bautista expressed his excitement regarding his future. "After 21 years spent in the elite of world motorcycling, in the paddocks of MotoGP and Superbike, I now feel in excellent shape, both physically and mentally. I can say that I am in the best moment of my career," said Bautista. "I have a lot of fun riding the bike and I have the pleasure of working with a team that I consider a second family. On a personal level, my family is getting bigger, and that is why the decision to race in 2024 was a choice I wanted to make together with them. We decided to continue and I'm very happy to stay with the Aruba.it Racing - Ducati team. I am happy that they still want me, even though I am a little old. One more year together, with the hope of keeping the fantastic feeling with the bike, the certainty of an extraordinary working relationship, and, of course, the goal of aiming at great results.”
The extension has been a cause for celebration within the team as well. Stefano Cecconi, Team Principal of Aruba.it Racing - Ducati, shared his enthusiasm over Bautista's contract renewal. "We are extremely happy to have extended our relationship with Alvaro, and it will be a pleasure to continue a collaboration that has always been excellent both on a professional and human level. Alvaro has brought our team the first great success, the one we have been chasing since 2015, when we decided to embark on this fascinating adventure with Ducati. Instead of giving us only satisfaction, this success is spurring us to do even more. The determination and commitment that have allowed us to achieve this target have also ensured excellent results in the current season," he said.
Ducati Corse's General Manager, Luigi Dall'Igna, commented on Bautista's impressive performance and potential for continued success. "The world title win, but also the sensational start to the season that we have witnessed this year, are yet another demonstration of the magical moment that Bautista is going through. Alvaro is a very talented and experienced rider and with our Panigale V4 R, he has found a fantastic balance that currently allows him to make a real difference. We are therefore very happy to be able to continue with him in 2024. Now the goal is to stay focused on the current season and try to maintain this positive trend in the future as well,” Dall'Igna noted.
As Bautista and the Aruba.it Racing - Ducati team look to the future, their sights are set not only on defending their championship status but also on achieving further milestones. With 2024 on the horizon, fans and analysts alike will be eager to see how this partnership continues to evolve and what further successes await them in the WorldSBK arena.
