Alvaro Bautista returns to MotoGp after 5 years

Alvaro Bautista in MotoGp

World champion and leader in the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) will race in MotoGP as a wildcard with the Aruba.it Racing Team at the Malaysian GP scheduled for Sepang Nov. 10-12, the third-to-last round of the 2023 MotoGP season, which will be held two weeks after the Round that will close the WorldSBK year.

Bautista is having a dream season defending his world title; 18 wins – a new all-time record in terms of season wins – and 21 podiums in 24 races, as well as three pole positions and a 74-point lead in the standings. Ducati is also achieving excellent success in MotoGP; here, too, Borgo Panigale fields the number 1, Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia, and at the moment during this 2023 the Emilian manufacturer has won seven of the nine races held in addition to seven races in the new Sprint format.

Ducati is present in the top three positions in the standings and with no less than six bikes in the top ten out of a total of eight on the grid.Bautista lands in what is undoubtedly a winning package. The Spaniard will race as a wildcard a week before he turns 39 and has already carried out two tests on the GP23, surprising everyone, although he did not go in search of time. In the second test held, Bautista tried key parts for the 2024 from the Bologna-based manufacturer.

Bautista will thus return to the MotoGP paddock from which he has been missing since 2018, having won races and finished on the podium. The Spaniard said, “I’m really happy to be able to race the MotoGP wildcard in Sepang, a track that I really like and on which I’m happy to return since it is not on the WorldSBK calendar. The tests with the Ducati Desmosedici GP gave positive indications: the feeling was good and I had fun. I want to sincerely thank Ducati and Aruba.it because without them it would have been impossible to realize this opportunity. At the same time, however, I would like to say that this MotoGP race will be a bonus for me and not a priority. So we have to stay focused on the WorldSBK championship, which is the only thing that matters right now. I want to stay focused for this last part of the season, which will be very challenging, with so many races in a short time. The feeling with the Panigale V4R is good and I hope to continue on this path. Then, when the season is over, we will think about going to Malaysia to have fun. Now I’m going to have a little vacation and then we’ll see each other at Magny-Cours.”