THE RETURN: Bautista’s near-retirement from motorsport in the early stages of his career
In the early stages of Bautista’s career, he almost had to quit motorcycle racing due to funding issues but was able to get back on a bike
The feature-length documentary details Alvaro Bautista’s (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) rise to be crowned Champion in the 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship after a reunion with Bologna-based manufacturer Ducati. However, Bautista’s career could have turned out very differently with the Spanish rider almost retired from motorsport towards the beginning of the decade but for an offer to race.
Bautista had been competing in a local Madrid competition in the early stages of his career and, for 2001, competed in the CEV 125cc Championship, finishing in 27th place in the standings with eighth points. This point in his career could have turned out differently if not for an offer to race in the Spanish Championship at that level which he accepted because he enjoyed riding the bike. Bautista also goes into detail about how his early career was funded as well as how his career continued.
Talking about the early stages of his career, Bautista said in The Return: “I remember in 2001, in that moment my parents paid for everything. And there was no more money, so at the end we just finished. But an offer came in for me when I decided to stop, to finish the Spanish championship with quite a competitive team. And we decided, OK, let's try it. But we weren’t thinking, let's try to maybe become world champion. No. Let's try because you enjoy the bike, and you want to race. So, let’s try the last run.”
This would prove to be a catalyst for Bautista in his career with the Spaniard going on to race in the Spanish championship for Team Atletico de Madrid, finishing second in the standings, as well as making his 125cc World Championship debut for the same team. In 2003, he was racing for Seedorf Racing, owned by former Dutch footballer Clarence Seedorf, in the 125cc World Championship while he won the Spanish championship in 2003. From there, his career took off as he became 125cc World Champion in 2006 before progressing into the 250cc World Championship and then MotoGP™.
Watch The Return in FULL for FREE using the WorldSBK VideoPass!
