There could be a big milestone to come for Ducati on Sunday at the TT Circuit Assen in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship as they Italian manufacturer stand just two wins away from 400 victories in WorldSBK. Victory in Race 1 for Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) put Ducati on 398 wins so far and two wins from Sunday’s two races will mean Ducati hit the milestone and they would become the first manufacturer to do so with their nearest rivals, Kawasaki, on 177.
Bautista claimed victory on Saturday to cement his place in third-place in the win list on Ducati machinery, with 38 wins to his name. He is behind only Troy Bayliss, on 52, and Carl Fogarty on 55 on that list and he will be aiming to write his name in Ducati’s history books again to claim their 400th victory in WorldSBK. He will start from pole position in the Tissot Superpole Race and his starting position for Race 2 will be determined by the outcome of that race.
Of course, hitting the milestone for Ducati does depend on claiming victory in the Tissot Superpole Race and anything less than that will delay the milestone to the next round at least, coming up in two weeks at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya where Bautista claimed a hat-trick in 2022. Bautista, speaking after his Race 1 victory, discussed the possibility of hitting 400 wins for Ducati.
He said: “This is not my main target but, for sure, it’s always very nice to get some milestones for Ducati. Right now, it’s not our target. We have some details to improve for tomorrow’s race, especially the Superpole Race, to make the bike work better for better initial grip. We will see. It’s not our target but I will try to enjoy the day and, if we get it, it will be fantastic.”
Bautista has been in outstanding form so far in 2023 with six wins out of seven races to his name and Sunday could provide another opportunity to make more history with Ducati following his return to the Bologna-based manufacturer but the other Ducati riders will be aiming to add their name to Ducati’s history books in search of their 400th victory in WorldSBK.
Several other riders on the 2023 grid will be looking to take the milestone for Ducati, with Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven), Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) and Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) also competing on the Panigale V4 R. Rinaldi has already won for Ducati on four occasions including for the factory team and the Independent Team GoEleven squad. Petrucci, Oettl and Bassani will be aiming to become the 32nd rider to win on Ducati machinery in WorldSBK if they can fight their way to the front of field and battle for victory.
Ducati’s wins so far have come from 31 different riders with Fogarty, Bayliss and Bautista leading the way. Chaz Davies, who still works with the team as a rider coach, has 28 victories to his name in fourth place in the list while Doug Polen has 23, Carlos Checha has 22 and Troy Corser, Neil Hodgson and Noriyuki Haga finished their careers with 16 wins for Ducati throughout their time in WorldSBK to make up the top ten list of Ducati winners.
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Source: WorldSBK.com