Only a few hours have passed since the amazing weekend at Phillip Island (Australia) and the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team is already at work in Indonesia setting up for the second round of the 2023 WorldSBK season.
The Indonesian Round will kick off tomorrow at 09.00 (02.00 CET) with the WorldSSP first free practice session followed by WorldSBK’s FP1 scheduled at 10.00 (03.00 CET).
After the extraordinary hat-trick scored in Australia, Alvaro Bautista will return to the Mandalika circuit (Lombok Island), where he won the WorldSBK World Championship title last November. The Spanish rider arrives in Indonesia as leader of the standings with 62 points, 28 more than Locatelli (Yamaha) and 31 more than Rea (Kawasaki) and Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati).
The one at Phillip Island was a Sunday to remember for Michael Rinaldi, second behind his team-mate both at the end of Superpole Race and Race-2. The Italian rider’s goal is to score the first podium of his career at the Indonesian circuit after his best result (P4) in last season’s Race-1.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #1)
“It’s clear that this round will set more difficult challenges than the ones we faced in Australia. Last year in Indonesia we weren’t as competitive as we were at Phillip Island but I have to admit that during the winter tests – and on Saturday at Phillip Island – I felt good even with track conditions not exactly ideal. As always I’ll try to have fun session after session, then at the end we’ll see our results”.
Michael Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #21)
“In Australia, we showed that we can be very fast, especially in dry conditions. For this reason in Indonesia, it will be important to be ready if the weather, as it often happens at the Mandalika circuit, should change suddenly. The start of the season has been positive but the most important thing is to be able to confirm ourselves immediately at the level of last Sunday”.
- WorldSSP
There are also high expectations for Nicolò Bulega and the Ducati Panigale V2 of the Aruba.it Racing WSSP team. The Italian rider arrives at the Lombok circuit after two victories in the Australian round and, above all, with a year of experience more than his first weekend in Indonesia in 2022.
Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WSSP)
“Despite the fact that last year we didn’t manage to get on the podium, the sensations I had at the Mandalika circuit were still very positive. I arrive in Indonesia with a lot of confidence: I feel very good athletically and the feeling with the bike has improved a lot this winter. I think we can also be very fast this weekend”.
