The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship returns to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this weekend for the 2023 Prosecco DOC Catalunya Round with contract news dominating the talk on Thursday, following the announcement that Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) would remain with the team in 2024. With Bautista’s future confirmed, attention now turns to who will join him in the factory Ducati squad next season.

THE INCUMBENT: will Rinaldi remain with Ducati?

Michael Ruben Rinaldi joined the factory Ducati team in 2021 after a race-winning campaign with the Independent Ducati Team GoEleven squad in 2020. Three wins in 2021 made for a solid if unspectacular season when he finished fifth in the standings, but he went winless throughout 2022 and only scored four podiums compared to seven the year before. In 2023, Rinaldi has shown strong pace, with two podiums in the dry races in Australia and fourth in Indonesia Race 2 after leading for most of it. However, he had a difficult weekend at Assen with a best result of tenth and in the wet in Australia he finished 14^th. There was also a non-score in Race 1 at Mandalika when he collided with Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) at Turn 1 on Lap 1.

Discussing his future, Rinaldi said: “For me, it’s too early to talk about 2024 because we have only had three rounds. When you are in a factory team, you need results. Everybody’s like this. I’m not worried, I know that we can be at the front as always. I think the whole grid wants my bike! I’m not worried about Bassani, Danilo or Nicolo. I’m happy Nicolo is doing great in WorldSSP and I wish him all the best to win the Championship because he’s a good guy and he deserves it. If I do my job, I will not lose my seat. It’s all on my shoulders, not on everybody else’s results.”

THE CONTENDERS: who could join Bautista if it isn’t Rinaldi?

One rider who has made a name for himself in his short WorldSBK career so far is Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing), who has made no secret his desire for a factory seat. Speaking ahead of the Catalunya Round, Bassani spoke on his future and said: “I want to know my future but, at the moment, I don’t know what will happen. From my side, I try to push 100% to get a factory bike. To try and battle for a Championship, you need a factory bike. I hope the factory team starts to watch me after calls me! I want a factory Ducati. It’s my first goal. If it’s not possible to go to a factory Ducati, I’m happy to go to another factory. The plan is trying to win a Championship is good, I want to be on a factory bike. I don’t want to go to a factory team to be a second rider. I want to win.”

Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) has enjoyed an impressive start to his rookie WorldSBK campaign as he fights consistently in the top ten on the Independent Panigale V4 R despite not being “100% comfortable” on the bike. In a feature interview, the two-time MotoGP™ winner for Ducati expressed his desire to be join a factory team so he could fight for the title. He said: “I’m here for this reason in WorldSBK, to at least try to win a race. I would like to join a factory team to see if I am able to win the Championship. I can’t quit my career without trying!”

From WorldSSP, Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) recently tested a Panigale V4 R at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto and, when he spoke about the test, he revealed his ambitions for the future. He said: “I think, if I continue to be first in WorldSSP, my target is trying to get to WorldSBK because I think this is normal. If you win the first category, then, I think, you have to go to the second one. At the moment, no, but I would like to stay with Aruba because I think they are a very good team, and also Ducati. They took me from Moto2™ at a bad moment in my career because I didn’t finish my career there in a good way, but they believed in me; they gave me a very good team and a very good bike. I would like to stay with them and try to make my first year in WorldSBK.”

DUCATI’S THOUGHTS: Foti, Bautista share their feelings

Aruba.it Racing – Ducati’s Team Manager, Serafino Foti, said when asked about Bautista’s teammate in 2024: “Our priority was to understand Alvaro’s decision. We don’t have a favourite rider, but the favourite rider is Rinaldi because he is our current rider. We aren’t in a rush. We have time to decide, to understand the performance of our riders and also understand what the best for our future is. Also, even Bulega is doing a really good job in WorldSSP. Let’s see. I think we will decide not now but in the middle of the season, in August/September. Every rider who wins the title in WorldSSP, their goal is to jump into WorldSBK.”

Bautista was also asked about who he would like as a teammate in 2024 and he said: “I don’t have a preference for my teammate next year. I have a really good relationship with Rinaldi, he’s a nice guy and also very strong on track. This year, it seems like he made a step forward. I always focus on myself and my team. It’s not an easy decision for Ducati because there are a lot of riders who want to ride this bike. Let’s see, it’s not my problem!”

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