At Ducati’s Team Launch for the 2024 World Superbike season Alvaro Bautista spoke ahead of his second title defending campaign.

The 2024 World Superbike Championship season is fast approaching and with it team launch season is here. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team became the latest to unveil their 2024 challenger. Alvaro Bautista was on hand to give his thoughts on the upcoming season, and he also provided a fitness update.

Bautista said: “I feel much better from my injury. I spent many weeks trying to recover as much as possible. I feel good now. The last test I have to do is riding my bike and to check that there’s no problem riding the bike. I’m happy with my physical condition right now. Let’s see how it goes in the test”

For the 2024 WorldSBK season there have been significant rule updates including a new weight rule and a reduction of fuel tank size. Where Bautista is one of the smallest riders on the grid he is expecting to feel the impact of the weight regulations more than other riders.

He said: “My biggest problem or the area we have to work on is the extra weight on the bike. With more weight on the bike, you feel it’s more difficult to ride it especially in the fast corners. With more inertia, the bike goes wide and it’s more difficult to close the corner. Also, for stopping under heavy braking, we struggle a lot. We will concentrate on this and try to be penalised as little as possible and try to be at the best possible performance.”

After a few months away, the WorldSBK Championship returns to action later this week with two days of testing at Jerez. Bautista will be on track for the first time since his injury. He revealed that he was ‘excited’ to get back on his Panigale V4 R with the #1 aiming to work on the new regulations.

“The motivation is something I give to myself. I want to keep enjoying the bike and my riding. I remember, I think this year, Ducati said, ‘nobody defended the title with Ducati and the #1’ and this year we did it. It’s not like a target to win three in a row. It’s to have a good feeling with the bike, keep working how we did in the last two years. Only one rider can win. We’ll try to be one of those fighting for that.”

Photo Credits – Ducati Corse