Alvaro Bautista feels let down: that’s why, in the end, it’s a love-hate relationship

As the 2006 125cc World Champion, Alvaro Bautista immediately made a lasting impression in the next higher class, the 250cc category, winning two races in his debut year of 2007, finishing on the podium seven times and finishing fourth in the World Championship. The following year, the Spaniard finished as runner-up in the World Championship with four Grand Prix victories and also competed in the 250cc World Championship in 2009, where he once again finished fourth overall.

He then moved up to MotoGP, where Bautista raced for the factory teams of Suzuki and Aprilia from 2010 to 2018, as well as for privateer teams on Honda and Ducati. He never rode the best bike during those nine years, but still managed to secure three podium finishes and finished fifth in the World Championship in 2012 and sixth the following year – both on a Honda.

Bautista did not want to enter the World Superbike Championship

As he couldn’t find a MotoGP team for 2019, Alvaro moved to the World Superbike Championship and joined the Ducati works team. At that time, the Bologna-based manufacturer fielded a four-cylinder machine for the first time: the Panigale V4R. And this bike was tailor-made for Bautista, who is not exactly tall. He won the first ten races against four-time world champion Jonathan Rea on a Kawasaki. Then Alvaro repeatedly pushed too hard and crashed several times whilst leading. Rea managed to turn the thrilling world championship battle around and triumphed for the fifth time at the end of the year.

Bautista subsequently accepted an offer from Honda, rumoured to be worth an annual salary of one million euros, but managed only three podium finishes in his two years with the world’s largest motorbike manufacturer – though still more than anyone else since then. In 2022, Bautista returned to Ducati with a change of heart; over the next four seasons, he finished 1st, 1, 3 and 3; with 63 wins and 126 podium finishes, the rider with start number 19 is the most successful World Championship rider across all classes that Ducati has ever had.

When you’re in MotoGP, you tend to think the World Superbike Championship is a lower level.

Alvaro Bautista

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“In the World Superbike Championship, I was given the chance to realise my potential,” the veteran rider explained during a meeting with SPEEDWEEK.com. “I couldn’t find a place in MotoGP anymore, and initially I didn’t want to go into the World Superbike Championship. At the same time, though, I wanted to keep racing because I felt I could still win. Then I made the switch and discovered a completely different championship, which I love. When you’re in MotoGP, you think the World Superbike Championship is a lower level. But when I arrived, I realised that wasn’t the case. The races and the motorbikes, the riders, the circuits and the tyres are different. The standard isn’t lower; it’s just different. You can’t compare the two. MotoGP isn’t better; it’s different. I enjoyed it right from the start and got the chance to win lots of races and two titles.”

Bautista: “It’s a shame what the regulations take away”

“At the same time, though, I feel a certain amount of resentment towards this championship,” Bautista admitted. “Not because of the people, the fans or the paddock, but because of the rules. They’ve robbed me of the chance to fight for more wins and championships. I have a love-hate relationship with it. It’s a shame that in a championship like this, where we put on good battles and races that people really enjoy, the rules take so much of that away – especially in the last few years. We used to see a lot of battles; that’s no longer the case today.”

It remains to be seen whether Bautista rode his final race in the World Superbike Championship in Jerez in mid-October. He is not on the 2027 starting grid, but there is a possibility that he could join the Chinese manufacturer CF Moto, which aims to be competing by the 2027 finale in Shanghai at the end of October at the latest.

Teams & Riders, 2027 Superbike World Championship: