With the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship campaign fast approaching, teams are starting to unveil their projects for the season. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati squad are the latest to do so after a stunning event in Madonna di Campiglio, in the stunning mountains. Reigning Champion Alvaro Bautista was joined by new teammate Nicolo Bulega at the launch, while key figures from both Ducati Corse and the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team spoke as they previewed the 2024 season.

“THE QUESTION MIGHT BE ‘HOW CAN YOU DO EVEN BETTER THIS SEASON’?” – lofty goals for Ducati

First up to speak was Ducati Corse CEO Claudio Domenicali, who previewed the upcoming WorldSBK campaign and outlined his goals for the year after Ducati’s year of success in 2023 when the Italian brand won both the MotoGP™ and WorldSBK Riders’ Championships. He said: “Ducati has a great history towards beauty and design; design’s always been a very important element but it’s even more important today. Beauty fills our hearts. We were Champions last year in MotoGP™ and WorldSBK. This is something unprecedented as no company has won MotoGP™ and WorldSBK two years in a row, so I think this is a goal that needs to be consolidated. The question might be ‘how can you do even better this season?’.”

“I’LL TRY TO BE EVEN BETTER THAN LAST SEASON”: can Bautista make it three in a row?

After winning the title in 2022 and 2023, Bautista will look to become only the second rider to win three consecutive Championships in WorldSBK should he take this year’s crown, with Jonathan Rea (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) the other. He will face stiff competition from his rivals as they look to stop his run of success, and he discussed this at the launch, as well as his new teammate and the challenges he will present to the Spaniard.

Bautista, who will use the #1 plate with three stars inside to mark his three World Championships, including his 125cc title, said: “This season will be a great challenge with so many changes compared to last year; last year we only changed the number! I switched from #19 to #1 but this year will be full of serious changes. My teammate this year is very young and strong, and he pushes a lot. When you have a young teammate, you know that person is hungry for victories. He wants to do his best. I’m extremely happy because he’s here with me. The regulations have changed compared to last year. Some changes are good for us, they will help us, but some other details are not so good for me. Some are about minimum weight, but we are trying to reach the same levels as last year. Every year is different from the previous one, and we will try to be as competitive as possible. When changes arrive, you have two ways to face them. You can feel defeated or disadvantaged or you can accept the challenge, take it on and do your best. I have picked the second option. I want to do my best. I’m happy about Nicolo’s arrival and this makes me feel more motivated. I will try to do my best and I’ll try to be even better than last season.”

BULEGA AIMING TO IMPRESS AS A ROOKIE: “I’ll try to steal some secrets from Alvaro!”

After storming to the 2023 WorldSSP title, Bulega secured a seat in the factory Ducati team alongside Bautista for 2024. At his first official team launch as a WorldSBK factory rider, the #11 spoke about having the reigning Champion as a teammate, experiencing the launch from inside the event and more. The Italian said: “Being here with these beautiful bikes is just amazing. Being here with incredible teammates is wonderful. This is a beautiful experience, seeing it from inside and outside. Last year, when I was called to join this presentation, I was extremely happy. I’m enjoying it and I’ll do my best. Having Alvaro with me in the team will be tough because he’s such a good racer. I’ll be suffering because Alvaro will be fast all the time, throughout the season. It’ll be my first year as an official rider, so I will have to learn so many things. Having Alvaro as a teammate will be paramount, will be crucial, for me. I’ll try to copy and paste, steal some secrets from him, to be faster. It’s an amazing motorcycle. In my opinion, this new livery is amazing. Last year, it was already beautiful, but this is even better.”

CECONNI’S THOUGHTS: what does the Team Principal expect from 2024?

The event was rounded out by Aruba.it Racing – Ducati’s Team Principal, Stefano Cecconi, giving his thoughts on the upcoming season. Speaking about rookie Bulega, he stated: “Nicolo was not a bet or a challenge because we relied on him for the WorldSSP project. We were aware we’d found a magical combination because he’s very young, but he has a lot of experience. We needed someone like him, and he proved to be great during the first year. During the second year, when we reached our goal.”

Cecconi then went on to discuss Bautista’s goal for the year, as he joked: “I’d like to see if Alvaro’s going to win the biggest challenge. Asking him to win the third Championship wasn’t very original, so I asked him to gain weight! After his injuries in the Jerez test, I asked him to gain weight and he told me he’d try.”

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