With a three-weekend gap between rounds in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) is using his time to test the Desmosedici GP machine at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”. The test has been considered a prize for Bautista’s incredible 2022 title success but key figures from Ducati, including Bautista, have been speaking about the possibility of a wildcard.

The Aruba.it Racing squad have wildcarded in MotoGP™ in 2022 and 2023 when they’ve raced with Michele Pirro, Ducati’s test rider. His most recent wildcard outing was at Mugello where he finished in 15^th place in the Sprint and 16^th in the Grand Prix. While the second half of the WorldSBK season ends in Argentina in mid-October, there are still five MotoGP™ rounds after that where there could be a potential race for Bautista.

Speaking during the test, there was no confirmation about a wildcard happening for Bautista but there was also no denial. Both Gigi Dall’Igna, Ducati Corse General Manager, and Marco Zambenedetti, Ducati Corse Technical Coordinator, spoke about the possibility and both reiterated that WorldSBK was the main focus for the reigning Champion.

Zambenedetti, when asked about a wildcard, said: “First of all, everything depends on the feeling that Bautista has. The main goal is for him is WorldSBK to keep the number 1 on the fairing. Nobody knows. At the end of the Championship, if there is the time, we will see.”

Dall’Igna added: “It’s honestly too early to know. The season is really long, and we will probably arrive at the end really exhausted. We will see. This is not our target at the moment. For sure, I think that he could do quite well with the bike but honestly, I don’t want to think too much about that. I would like to see him smiling when he jumps off the bike and that’s it.”

Bautista was also asked about the possibility and, while he also did not confirm whether he would get a second MotoGP™ test or a wildcard outing, he did reveal his preference for where it took place if he had to make a choice. Like Dall’Igna and Zambenedetti, Bautista was focusing on his WorldSBK title defence but did explain his preference and why he would like to race there.

Bautista said: “At the moment, doing a wildcard is not in my plans. I did a test. Now we have to be focused on the next three rounds because they are very close, and we need to be concentrating on them. We’ll see. I don’t know if maybe Ducati will ask me to do another test or not but, at the moment, there aren’t any plans for the future. After our Championship finishes, there are a lot of races for MotoGP™. At this moment, I’m not thinking about a wildcard. If you tell me you have to do one wildcard, which track would you like to race… maybe Sepang is a good track. I like it and there are long straights.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

Five manufacturers are battling it out for glory in the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship including Kawasaki. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and teammate Alex Lowes have taken the Japanese manufacturer’s ZX-10RR machine to five podiums in the first five rounds of the season, with Kawasaki sitting third in the Manufacturers’ Championship. The bike features some intricate details and you can check these out in the gallery at the top of this article!

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Source: WorldSBK.com

After two classic races to start the week, featuring Neil Hodgon’s wonderful wildcard victory and a last-corner showdown, this time it’s time to travel to 2014. With the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship heading to Donington Park next time out, we’re taking a look at some incredible classic races from the iconic circuit. Race 1 in 2014 turned into a battle of teammates for victory – will there be more in 2023 when WorldSBK visits for Round 6?

2014 was shaping up to be a thrilling season and as the Championship headed to Donington Park, reigning Champion Tom Sykes had work to do as he trailed Ten Kate Honda’s Jonathan Rea by four points in the Championship after the Ulsterman’s double win at Imola. However, Sykes was a circuit specialist, having done the double the year before on his way to the crown. Uncharacteristically, Sykes was down field in 2014, with the Kawasaki rider only managing seventh place on the grid on Saturday, making for a mountain to climb during Sunday’s races.

As lights went out for Race 1, it was a hectic start to the race as the Aprilia’s of Sylvain Guintoli and Marco Melandri swapped paint continuously through to the Old Hairpin, whilst Suzuki’s Alex Lowes hit the front for the first time in his rookie WorldSBK season. Further down field, Tom Sykes went backwards off the line and was way down in 11^th place whilst Championship leader Rea was in and around the top six. As Sykes’ teammate Loris Baz challenged for the lead, Sykes himself set the fastest lap of the race on Lap 2 and was inside the top ten, clearing Toni Elias.

On Lap 5, Sykes was now ninth whilst Loris Baz took the lead. Sykes then made short work of those ahead of him, going from ninth to sixth in just one lap on Lap 8, before passing Rea for fifth place on Lap 12. He then got ahead of Marco Melandri for fourth place on Lap 13, before inheriting a top three placing when Davide Giugliano, the pole-sitter, crashed out at the Foggy Esses on Lap 16, chasing an elusive first win. Sykes caught up to Lowes and got ahead on the backstraight on Lap 17. He now had his eyes on Baz and with just over three laps to go, Sykes hit the front. Baz came back through at the Old Hairpin and covered his teammate off, with the battle now fierce, as the Brit came back through on his teammate at the Melbourne hairpin. Baz had another go on the penultimate lap at the Old Hairpin but ran wide, leaving Sykes to come through and then pull away for victory, to return to the top of the Championship tree. Baz made it a Kawasaki 1-2 whilst Alex Lowes got a maiden podium in third.

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Source: WorldSBK.com

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) returned to MotoGP™ machinery during a two-day test at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” with the Ducati Desmosedici GP machine. Sharing the bike with Ducati’s test rider, Michele Pirro, Bautista was on track during the first half of Day 1 for his first MotoGP™ action since 2018 as he tested the machine that currently leads the Manufacturers’, Teams’ and Riders’ Championships in the MotoGP™ paddock.

Bautista’s first time on track lasted from 09:00 Local Time until 13:00 as he got four hours on the Desmosedici GP during the first part of the day to get re-accustomed to the MotoGP™ machine after four seasons away from the Grand Prix paddock. During this time, the reigning WorldSBK Champion completed numerous stints.

Bautista completed around 60 laps across Day 1 as sunny weather greeted the reigning World Superbike Champion. Bautista revealed his goals for the test ahead of action beginning as he declared that his feeling on the bike and having fun would be the most important thing while on the Desmosedici GP machine, but he completed around 60 laps, or more than two full-race distances in MotoGP™ during his first half-day on the MotoGP™ machine.

His first three stints were nine laps, not including his in and out laps, as he searched for a good feeling on the bike. His fourth stint was a bit shorter than the first three, lasting only 13 minutes, but he was back out on track 15 minutes after returning to the box. The next stint was a 12-lap run for Bautista which concluded just before 12:00 Local Time (GMT+2).

Reflecting on Day 1, Bautista said: “I don’t have in my mind anything because, in the end, in my whole career, this is my first time having a real test with a factory MotoGP™ bike and team. This is something amazing. I’ve never had this chance in my life. I raced at Phillip Island five years ago, but it was like ‘you race this weekend’, so I didn’t prepare for that. I’m so happy to ride this bike again. The feeling from the first lap was really good. I understood the bike very well. I’m having a lot of fun.

“The adaptation is going really well, maybe better than I expected. My last time was in 2018 and now the bikes are very, very different. I didn’t really have a fresh memory from that time but, even if I had, the bike now is completely different especially on the aerodynamic side. After many years in WorldSBK, it felt even more different because the bike is stiffer, the tyres are stiffer, and everything is different. I expected a worse adaptation but, from the first few laps, I started to feel good on the bike and understood how to ride this bike.”

Speaking after Bautista’s morning concluded, Ducati Corse Technical Director Marco Zambenedetti said: “His feelings are different, of course, especially the engine is different and the tyres. I’ve seen a very fast adaptation to the different tyres and the bike. His lap times have been positive after just a couple of runs. He’s really fast. Honestly, I’m curious to see where he wants to go in these two days!”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

Spanish rider Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) will compete in his second MotoGP™ race of 2023 at the TT Circuit Assen in place of the still-recovering Joan Mir. The 23-year-old, who replaced Marc Marquez at Jerez earlier this season, will be back on board the RC213V at the iconic Dutch circuit – the same venue he took his maiden MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship podium in 2021 as he returns to the Repsol Honda Team in the Netherlands.

Lecuona was declared unfit during the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round after a crash with Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) with a left hip injury and left ankle contusion. However, he revealed last week that he would be back on a bike to resume his training as he aimed for a return to action at Donington Park. His racing return will now take place a week earlier with a second MotoGP™ outing of the season during the Motul TT Assen. The Valencian rider will take the place of 2020 World Champion Joan Mir as he continues to recover from a finger injury sustained at Mugello, with Lecuona racing alongside Marquez if the eight-time World Champion is declared fit after withdrawing from the German Grand Prix.

2023 has been mixed so far for Lecuona. After a strong start to the campaign in Australia, Indonesia proved to be a challenge and he took a best of ninth while teammate Xavi Vierge claimed his first podium. As WorldSBK returned to Europe, the Spaniard had two retirements from crashes at the TT Circuit Assen before finding form again in Barcelona with fourth in the Tissot Superpole Race. He was running in the top nine at Misano before the collision with Petrucci in the Superpole Race, which ruled him out of Race 2.

Discussing his return to MotoGP™, Lecuona said: “First of all, I want to wish Joan all the best in his recovery. I am excited to join the team again, it’s a true honour. Assen is a circuit I like; I got my first WorldSBK podium there so hopefully we can have another good weekend like in Jerez. I am still recovering a bit after the crash in Misano, so this will be a good physical test too. Let’s ride!”

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Round 6 of the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is fast approaching and Donington Park marks the halfway point of the season. The Donington Park circuit is steeped in history and often produces incredible classic races. While this year’s Prosecco DOC UK Round is still just over a week away, why not warm up for Donington with some classic races? After looking back at some wildcard wins already, this time it’s a visit to 2007 and Race 2 for a last corner showdown.

In 2007, there was much hype coming into the Donington Park round as Britain’s James Toseland led the Championship standings aboard his Ten Kate Racing Honda. The British rider had never done the double but after winning Race 1, he was right in contention to send a packed Donington Park absolutely crazy. However, it wasn’t to be as a rare mechanical problem took the British rider out on the exit of Turn 1 on Lap 4, with Yamaha riders Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser narrowly avoiding him.

This left a huge land of opportunity for the chasing pack as Toseland’s 25-point lead in the Championship could be completely wiped out if Max Biaggi on the Alstare Suzuki won, whilst Haga was 52 points back, meaning a win for him would put him back into contention. With Haga taking over the lead and teammate Corser in second, it was Biaggi who was closing in and on Lap 10, went through on Corser for second place at the Melbourne hairpin before setting off on closing down the 1.4s gap that Haga had pulled out. On Lap 14, Biaggi was right there and made his move on Haga at the Foggy Esses but then went wide at Melbourne, allowing Haga back through as Corser now made it a three-way fight.

Biaggi finally got through at the Foggy Esses the following lap and despite continuously running deep at the Melbourne hairpin, looked like he had it covered. Onto the last lap, Haga was right there and at the final corner, Biaggi went wide, throwing away the victory as Haga sliced under him and out-dragged the rookie to the line. It was a first win of the year for Haga and his last win in the UK, where he was a popular figure. Biaggi was now five points adrift in the title race, as although he lost the win, he made up big ground on Toseland.

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Source: WorldSBK.com

Reigning Champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) is temporarily swapping his Panigale V4 R machine for the Desmosedici GP bike at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” as part of a prize from Ducati for winning the 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship title. He jumped on the bike on Tuesday morning for his first MotoGP™ action since 2018. You can see images from Bautista’s test at Misano in the gallery at the top of this article!

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Donington Park hosts the next round of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at the start of July and there will be an extra unknown heading to the historic British circuit. Ahead of the 2023 motorsport season in the United Kingdom, the full circuit at Donington Park was resurfaced for the first time in more than 20 years as part of major developments to the track where WorldSBK had its first race in 1988.

The process to resurface the 2.5-mile circuit started by taking 40mm of material off the top surface allowing the new surface to be laid down. This was to allow the removal of undulations as well as to optimise drainage in the event of rain, while the works also helped with the camber of corners. The resurfacing took place in two sections, with the surface initially laid in the pit lane and from the Craner Curves to the start-finish straight. After that, the rest of the circuit was completed.

There was a sustainability push to the works too with materials that were taken up set to be used around the Donington circuit in order to benefit other areas of the circuit including campsites and pathways. A series of tests were held following the resurfacing, including a day dedicated to motorbikes, before racing events took place. The British Superbike championship raced there in May on the Grand Prix circuit, which WorldSBK will use in July. Lap records were broken at this event, with the new lap record around one second quicker compared to the previous one.

MSV Chief Executive Jonathan Palmer said: “Donington Park is an extremely important circuit in MSV’s portfolio, hosting both World Superbike and British Superbike events, where some of the best international riders push their 220bhp race bikes to the absolute limit. With just two tyre contact patches, the size of the palm of a hand, to be able to rely on the grip and consistency of the surface is critical. I was at Donington for the British Superbike weekend and heard nothing but the highest praise for our new surface, which was immensely satisfying. Riders loved the increased grip, in both dry and wet conditions, and its smoothness. Just a few weeks before, the top British Touring Car Championship drivers echoed these sentiments.”

The existing lap record for WorldSBK at Donington is held by Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) after he posted a 1’26.080s to take pole position last year, while Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) holds the race lap record with a 1’26.767s from last year’s Tissot Superpole Race. If the conditions are dry, could both of these records fall on the new Donington surface?

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Source: WorldSBK.com

The 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is gearing up for the Prosecco DOC UK Round at the start of July, and what better way to get hyped for it than re-watching some classic races from Donington Park? Heading back to where it all began, the historic British circuit has hosted some incredible races throughout its history and Race 2 in 2000 sticks out as a magical moment. Neil Hodgson claimed victory for Ducati ahead of Chris Walker as the two wildcards battled it out at the front of the field in front of a packed partisan crowd for glory.

Summer was on the horizon and Great Britain was searching for its next WorldSBK ‘King’ in 2000, following the career-ending crash of four-time World Champion Carl Fogarty earlier in the year at Phillip Island. By the time the paddock had reached the United Kingdom and Donington Park, all eyes were on the wildcards – particularly GSE Racing’s Neil Hodgson and Crescent Suzuki’s Chris Walker. Little did they know that on Sunday evening, they’d be national heroes as they did the unthinkable.

Whilst Race 1 saw Colin Edwards ease to victory, Race 2 was an entirely different affair; Edwards crashed early on, leaving Pierfrancesco Chili to work his way to the front of the field on his Dunlop-shod Suzuki – Donington Park was historically a circuit where Dunlop runners would come good. However, despite having a lead of over two seconds at one stage, his tyres began to fade. Coming onto the final lap of the race, he had a gap of 0.996s over the chasing Hodgson, who had been closing in all the time. As they came through Coppice for the final time, Chili had a huge moment, allowing Hodgson to get right alongside him down towards the ‘Foggy Esses’. Hodgson swept majestically around the outside of the Italian to the roar of a capacity Donington Park crowd, whilst on the exit, Chris Walker got through too. Hodgson took victory ahead of Walker in what was his first win in WorldSBK and Walker’s first podium; the first 1-2 for the United Kingdom in WorldSBK.

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Source: WorldSBK.com

While the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship enjoys a short break between rounds, one rider is keeping busy by jumping on a MotoGP™ bike. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) will ride the Desmosedici GP at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” during a two-day test in Italy as a reward for his 2022 WorldSBK title success with the Aruba.it Ducati team running the Misano outing with Bautista.

Bautista raced in MotoGP™ as recently as 2018 before he switched to WorldSBK in 2019 where he initially challenged for the title before falling away in the second half of the campaign. Two years with Honda proved to be difficult for the 38-year-old but a return to Ducati last season paid dividends. He claimed the World Championship after a season-long fight with Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) and his title defence is well underway with 14 wins in 15 races.

Between the Emilia-Romagna an UK Rounds, Bautista will return to MotoGP™ machinery as part of a two-day test with the Aruba.it Ducati squad which ran Michele Pirro at the Italian Grand Prix, with the local rider finishing 16^th in the Grand Prix. The test will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday this week as he tests the Ducati MotoGP™ machine at Misano; a circuit he recently took a hat-trick at in WorldSBK.

Looking ahead to the test, the 38-year-old said: “I feel so happy to ride a MotoGP™ bike again as it’s been a long time since I rode this kind of bike. For sure, the excitement is there. At the same time, I know it’s just a prize so it’s about taking it easy, building some references, some feeling with the bike and that’s it. I’ll try to have some fun riding the bike. In the end, I approach this test with the mentality that it’s a test. It’s not for anything in the future. It’s to have some fun during the two-day test. I don’t want to take risks because we have three races in a row very soon, and that’s the important thing. This test is just to have fun. I don’t try to find the limit. I just go there and take some references and feeling and have some fun.

“I don’t have any lap time in mind. I’m going to make the test just with my feeling without watching the lap times. That’s all. There is no target with lap times. The target is just to have fun, try to get a good feeling and understand the new MotoGP™ machinery with the aero packages and all the electronic items and everything that the bike has now compared to when I raced. That’s all. After the test, there is nothing more. We have the test because it’s a prize for the World Championship we won last season. It’s a prize. There is no other reason. After the test, if we have a good feeling, I will be happy. Otherwise, I will not be as happy as I expect to be!”

While Bautista has spoken ahead of the test about there being “nothing more” after the test, he has spoken about a potential wildcard previously. The test will be covered extensively on WorldSBK.com with a team on the ground to produce video footage of Bautista on track while he will also be interviewed to get his first reactions on the test at Misano.

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Source: WorldSBK.com