One of the long-running rider market sagas in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship came to an end this week when Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) signed his new contract for 2025, committing to the Bologna-based brand for another season. During Friday in France, Team Principal Stefano Cecconi revealed his thoughts on the new deal when speaking during FP1 and explained why it took so long to conclude the deal.

Bautista’s contract renewal was announced in the lead up to the French Round, with the reigning Champion signing a one-year deal for the 2025 season. It had been a long-running story until the new deal was announced. Now, speaking at Magny-Cours, Cecconi and Foti have given their thoughts on the #1 committing to the Italian manufacturer for 2025, which means he’s got a chance to add to his 61 Ducati wins while extending his second stint with the team to four seasons.

Discussing Bautista signing his new deal, Cecconi admitted it took ‘a bit too long’ but was pleased to have the Spaniard commit: “This was our target from the beginning. Unfortunately, it took a little bit too long to fix all the details and settle all the paperwork, but we have no doubt about the plan. It’s clear now that it’s official, we will have one more year to give it a try. We know we have to work around the regulations to find out the best setup for Alvaro, but we are convinced that he can get the same results in the past.”

In 2023, Bautista was one of the first riders to sign up for the 2024 campaign, but it was a complete contrast this season. The #1 was only confirmed in September for 2025 after months of speculation about his future. Cecconi went on to explain why it took so long for Bautista to sign for next year, revealing that not having a deadline meant they could use the time they had to agree the contract.

He added: “We weren’t in a rush, honestly speaking. Having no deadline or fixed date in mind, all the phases of negotiation, including fixing all the minor details in the contract, maybe we took a bit more time. Why? When you have a deadline, a lot of stuff is going in place very quickly. If you have plenty of time, you tend to use it. Maybe not being in a rush, we took too much time… next time, we’ll be quicker!

“The contracts usually have options to be flexible but currently we’re fixed for one year. Then, we’ll see next season how Alvaro feels on the bike. Of course, knowing that, sooner or later, a new bike will be available, maybe he’s curious to see the new bike. For the time being, we’re done for one year then we will have time; we’ll try to be quicker, but we’ll have time discuss it.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com