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It’s the home of Gaudi, a historic old town, rambling avenues, soft sandy beaches and a dramatic landscape, with a strong culture sweeping through this part of Spain. Just 30km away from the centre of Barcelona, nestled in the hills behind, one of the most famous racing venues in the world. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya makes Barcelona one of the most attractive race weekends on the calendar, and WorldSBK is one of the most attractive events to enjoy. However, whilst fans may take in the Sagrada Familia and take pitstops in the tapas bars, riders and teams will be at their own sacred venue, ready for whatever is served their way.

UNSTOPPABLE, UNBEATABLE: the hallmarks of a Bautista triple once more

With a Championship lead that has soared to 56 points, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) could afford to have an ‘off’ round, but it doesn’t look like coming here. The reigning World Champion breezed to victory in 2022 with a dominant hat-trick as he got the first fingers on the title, and with upgrades to the Panigale V4 R in the off-season and a successful test conducted at the track, who would bet against that continuing? It’s true that every year is different in Barcelona; the low grip is a constant after five laps, but bad weather does roll in unexpectedly and there’s always one rider who surprises. On paper, Bautista has this weekend covered and smart money says a hat-trick, but races aren’t won on paper.

WHO CAN STOP HIM? A strategic fight coming from old foes

Whilst Bautista does go extremely well at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, his rivals’ determination and tenacity will see them scrap it out with him if the opportunity arises. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) took three podiums at Assen and is second in the Championship. He’s yet to win at Barcelona but did try going with Bautista in 2022’s Race 1, only to suffer a big tyre drop at the end. If his Yamaha crew can improve the longevity and pick up from last year’s P3 in Race 2, then perhaps Toprak will lead the charge. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) is likewise in better form with two Assen podiums and he won in Barcelona back in 2020, albeit not with Bautista on the Ducati. For those two, it was clear at Assen that attack is the only chance they have when they spoke after the Superpole Race, so could teamwork be seen? Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) has a win in Barcelona and two other podiums at the track; ignore his poor form when it comes to a low-grip situation at Barcelona. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) took a podium in 2022 in Barcelona, maybe he’ll have a say in the top three again?

Other riders who could figure towards the front include Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK), who is third overall in the Championship and in mighty fine form with a podium at every circuit so far in 2023, although at the March test in Barcelona, ‘Loka’ wasn’t too far up the order. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) is fourth overall in the standings after a stellar start to the season but is yet to take the podium he “needs”; he led a race for the first time and finished second two years ago in Race 1 – what an achievement that’d be if he was to fight for victory this weekend. One rider who impressed at Assen was Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), with the Swiss star very strong at the end of races, conserving tyre life for a late attack; if he repeats that in Barcelona, a track where tyre life will be the number one focus for all, he could repeat GRT’s podium success from 2022. That was with Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW), and whilst 2022’s challenge is a different one, don’t be surprised if Gerloff gets his best result of 2023 so far this weekend.

ALTERNATIVE CHARGE FORWARDS: Vierge and Lecuona headline the chasers

It was a weekend to forget at Assen for Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) and teammate Iker Lecuona, with no Honda inside the top ten in either of the full races during a weekend for the first time since Magny-Cours, 2020. However, Barcelona is arguably their happiest of hunting grounds; strength in testing has always seen Lecuona feature inside the top three, whilst he took pole in 2022. Before that, it was Alvaro Bautista in 2020 who led a race before a monumental highside at Turn 4, whilst he took a podium in 2021. It’s Xavi Vierge’s home round and he’ll want to continue having the measure of his teammate, but both will hope to end the crashes that littered the Dutch round.

BMW’S WOES: a tough start and van der Mark out injured

Unequivocally, with the updates brought in 2023, BMW’s start to 2023 has been something of a far cry from what they’d have wanted. Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) is their top rider in 12^th place overall and on a run of five consecutive points-scoring finishes, with a best of P7 coming last time out at Assen in Race 2. Redding crashed out of the two main races in Barcelona last year and only took two points from the weekend with P8 in the Superpole Race. A tough time in testing at the track saw him 12^th, with BMW’s ability to put the power down at the circuit still an issue. However, they did test four different swingarms, so they’ll have plenty of data of which to use. They’ll also have a different rider on the second bike with Michael van der Mark out injured…

INDEPENDENT CHALLENGES: Petrucci and Gardner count on experience

Sitting seventh overall in the Championship and just three points behind incumbent factory Ducati rider Rinaldi, Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) is having a solid debut season in WorldSBK and will be hoping that his MotoGP™ experience in Barcelona and tyre management could help him be in the hunt for his first WorldSBK podium – he enjoyed a MotoGP™ podium for Ducati in 2019 with third. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) could count Barcelona as a second home-round, having lived in Catalunya during the racing season. He won from pole position in the Moto2™ Grand Prix in 2021 and with a tenth and eighth at Assen in the full races, he enjoyed his best round in WorldSBK yet.

Other riders who go well in Barcelona are Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven), with the German a top six finisher there last year, whilst Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) aims for a first top ten of the season, having had a third place in Barcelona in 2020. Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha), Hafizh Syahrin (PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Team) and Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) all got points last time out and will hope they can repeat it in Barcelona. Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing MOVISIO) just missed out on a first point of 2023 at Assen, whilst Eric Granado (PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Team) heads to a track he knows well. Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK) showed good potential at Assen, whilst Isaac Vinales (TPR by Vinales Racing) readies for his second round of 2023. Gabriele Ruiu (Bmax Racing) will also be back in action and in quest for his first points of 2023.

Get the FREE Official Programme here, the full entry list here, catch-up on round three from Assen with highlights and make sure to enjoy Barcelona’s action LIVE with the WorldSBK VideoPass!