Alvaro Bautista is the 2023 World Superbike Champion. It has been an extraordinary season for the Spanish rider who, riding the Ducati Panigale V4 of the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team, today took his 25th victory of a memorable championship, winning the world title for the second year in a row.
It was a stunning day for Ducati, Aruba.it Racing and Feel Racing, who only a few weeks ago had celebrated Nicolò Bulega’s Supersport World Championship title with the Ducati Panigale V2, bringing to Borgo Panigale also the Manufacturers’ title in the category.
For Ducati it is the sixteenth WorldSBK Riders’ Title, making the overall record for the category even more solid.
Alvaro Bautista and the Ducati Panigale V4R of the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team, together with team-mate Michael Rinaldi and Danilo Petrucci of the Barni team and Axel Bassani of the Motocorsa team, also contributed to the Manufacturers’ title (the nineteenth in Ducati’s history) obtained at the eleventh round held at the end of September at Portimao (Portugal).
The work, however, is not over yet because tomorrow the world title reserved for the Teams will be awarded. After Race-1 Aruba.it Racing – Ducati is 10 points behind Pata Yamaha team.
Stefano Cecconi (Team Principal Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“This result makes us extremely happy and proud not only because it highlights the extraordinary work carried out by Alvaro and the whole team, but also because it is proof that last year’s victory rested on extremely solid foundations that have allowed us to reconfirm ourselves. From the outside it may have looked like a season in ‘control’, but instead we had to overcome many obstacles, a few mistakes of our own, and opponents who were, as always, incredibly tough. However, Alvaro and the whole team have always reacted with clear ideas, strong determination, and also some masterpieces like the last race at Portimao that I think will remain in the books of Superbike. That between Aruba.it and Ducati is a close collaboration, based on pillars such as technological innovation and performance but always accompanied by maximum reliability and sustainability. Being protagonists of successes that will remain in our history and in the history of Borgo Panigale is for us a source of deep satisfaction. Next season we will celebrate 10 years of this partnership that has seen us united and determined, both in the paddock and in our everyday work regarding IT and Cloud projects. We are now reaping the fruits of long and intense work, with the hope and conviction that we will be able to remain so competitive in the future. I want to take this opportunity to thank our riders, all the team members, all the people of Ducati, and in particular Claudio Domenicali, Luigi Dall’Igna, Paolo Ciabatti, and Marco Zambenedetti, who have provided us with extraordinary bikes that the whole world envies us”.
Claudio Domenicali (Ducati CEO)
“In this historic moment of the Superbike World Championship, Alvaro Bautista and the Ducati Panigale V4 R are the best combination an enthusiast could wish for. The incredible performance offered by the motorcycle and the technical and psychological mastery with which Bautista has managed this season, setting a new record for victories in a single Championship, have created a great spectacle in every race weekend. The Bautista-Panigale V4 R combination has made it possible to achieve a result that fills us with joy and gives value to all the choices made in recent years by Ducati in WorldSBK. The reconfirmation of the World Riders’ Title, in addition to the World Manufacturers’ Title, is not something to be taken for granted: we have entered the 2023 season with the new Panigale V4 R characterized by a series of innovative technical solutions for the engine, and these have proven to be successful, confirming the Panigale to be the best motorcycle on the grid. At Borgo Panigale we work every day to support Ducati’s vocation for experimentation in the world of racing and this philosophy makes natural our participation in the top competition dedicated to production-derived motorcycles and the consequent transfer of the solutions onto the models intended for Ducatisti. I would like to personally thank Alvaro and all the people who contributed to this memorable sporting triumph, which for a Superbike motorcycle sees a close collaboration between those who develop the production bike – in this case the Panigale V4 R 2023 – and those who then improve it further transforming it into a true racing beast. A special mention goes to Stefano Cecconi, owner of Aruba.it and Team Principal of the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Team, who has worked alongside us for nine years and has been fundamental in taking Ducati once again to the top of the world”.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #1)
“It was an unforgettable year also because we managed to win by beating the competition of strong riders like Toprak and Johnny. Defending a title is always very difficult and for this reason I am really proud of what we have done this season. I chose at the beginning of the year to put the number one on the bike to make this challenge even more exciting. I want to thank the whole team for the extraordinary work that has allowed me to have a fantastic feeling with the Panigale V4R. My goal was to have fun and I had a great time. And thanks of course to Aruba.it and Ducati for believing in me. To win here, in front of my family and so many fans was an immense joy. Next season we have an even tougher challenge ahead of us, also because of the new rules regarding weight balance. But now it’s time to celebrate, even if only for a few hours, because tomorrow there are two more races and I want to continue to… have fun”.
Michael Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #21)
“First of all I want to congratulate Alvaro. He had an extraordinary season and it was very nice to share the box with him over the last two years. As for the race, I felt I didn’t have the best feeling but I still tried to push to stay in the second group. Bassani’s crash? I practically didn’t even realise I had touched him and even after reviewing the images it is clear that there was no intention to seek contact. In fact, I was even a little surprised at the long-lap penalty. I’m sorry about his crash and I’m sure I didn’t do anything dangerous or unfair. I will try to clarify with him”.
- WorldSSP
Saturday at Jerez de la Frontera was further enhanced by the victory of Nicolò Bulega. After being crowned Supersport World Champion in the previous round at Portimao (Portugal) the Italian rider, riding the Ducati Panigale V2 of the Aruba.it Racing WSSP team, took his fifteenth win of his extraordinary season at the end of a dominated race.
Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WSSP #11)
“I am very happy because the feeling with my Panigale V2 is really extraordinary. I am also very happy to have given the team another success. Now I want to finish the season in the best possible way tomorrow”.
