Giving it his all one last time: Álvaro Bautista (Ducati) ahead of his Superbike farewell

Álvaro Bautista faces a tough challenge at the season finale at the Circuito de Jerez. So far, the Spaniard has not commented on his future. However, his career will not continue as an active rider in the Superbike World Championship. The only seat still available is alongside Lorenzo Baldassarri at the Ducati Go Eleven team, though Alessandro Delbianco is considered the favourite for the role – or Danilo Petrucci.

And even if the Go Eleven team had not yet shortlisted any riders, why would team owner Gianni Ramello choose Bautista of all people, whose form has deteriorated year on year since his second Superbike World Championship title in 2023? This year, the soon-to-be 42-year-old has crashed out of seven races (and missed the races at Most due to a crash in FP2), yet managed just one podium finish and only one top-five result in the second half of the season.

The fact that the diminutive Bautista still possesses outstanding speed was demonstrated most recently at Estoril, when he crashed whilst lying in third place in the second race. The Spaniard, who hails from Talavera de la Reina, does not want to disappoint his compatriots in Jerez.

“Fortunately, the next race weekend is already upon us, this time at my home race. Jerez is a circuit I really like,” said Bautista, referring to his five wins and nine podium finishes. “After Estoril, where the feeling was very positive, we’re arriving with a slightly bitter aftertaste. I don’t think the results reflect what we deserved. In Race 2, we put in a very solid performance and were battling for the podium. It was a shame that I crashed towards the end. Nevertheless, I hope to build on that good feeling at Jerez. It’s a pity that this is the final round of the season. But we’ll give it our all to finish with the best possible result.”

Since moving from MotoGP to the World Superbike Championship in 2019, Bautista has been one of the defining figures in the series. With 63 wins and 126 podium finishes from 209 starts, he is Ducati’s most successful Superbike rider. Bautista also secured a further three podium finishes in 61 races with Honda. He has won two Superbike titles in 2022 and 2023, finished as runner-up in 2019, and came third in the World Championship in 2024 and 2025.

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