Alvaro Bautista on the future: His manager has been given precise instructions

One thing is certain: of the 22 regular riders we will see at the start of the 2027 SBK season in Australia at the end of February, Alvaro Bautista will not be one of them. Since the introduction of the minimum weight for the rider-bike combination ahead of the 2024 season – effectively an ‘anti-Bautista’ rule, as it has no significant impact on any other rider – things have gone downhill for the man with start number 19. In 2024 and 2025, after winning two previous world titles, he finished third with the Ducati works team; ahead of this weekend’s season finale in Jerez, Bautista is currently only tenth in the overall standings. At almost 42, he is by far the oldest rider in the field, but on a good day he is still among the fastest, as he demonstrated at Estoril when he crashed whilst lying third in the second race.

Bautista’s downward trend has meant that he is currently without a ride for 2027. He must hand over his place in the Barni Spark Ducati team to Xavi Vierge, and there is no place for him in any of this year’s other teams. The last glimmer of hope for the evergreen rider lies with the Chinese manufacturer CF Moto, which is set to enter the World Superbike Championship after the 2027 summer break. There, he could bring his V4 experience from nine years in MotoGP and eight in the World Superbike Championship to bear. As Bautista emphasises that he is only interested in continuing his career if he can race, this role only makes sense if CF Moto, following the development phase and initial races in autumn 2027, also selects him as a regular rider for 2028.

Bautista: “I don’t know if I’ll have to say goodbye”

“The quickest and cheapest way for a manufacturer to catch up with the competition is with the right rider who brings knowledge to the table,” a senior manager told SPEEDWEEK.com.

“I don’t know yet whether I’ll have to say goodbye,” Bautista said in Jerez. “After these races, I’ll take a look at what options I have. My manager, Simone Battistella, is working on it; at the moment, I don’t even want to know what possibilities I have. Right now, I’m focusing on the races; then I’ll sit down with Simone and see what we’ve got. Then I’ll do whatever takes my fancy.”

Is the Spaniard sure he’ll have options? “I don’t know,” said Alvaro. “That’s why I don’t want to know anything. Maybe he’ll tell me there’s nothing. That would be bad, so I’d rather not know. I know as much about the new manufacturer as everyone else. According to my information, not everything has been finalised regarding this project yet, but it could lead to there being additional places on the starting grid.”

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