With the EICMA Estoril Round in the books, the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season opens up the throttle and charges towards 2025’s final round. In his final season with the Ducati factory outfit, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) has tidied up his riding and now looks to close out the season strong after locking down the Teams’ Championship in conjunction with Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) on Sunday in Estoril.

BEST OF THE REST: “P3 was the best we could achieve because Toprak and Nicolo were three steps ahead of the rest of us”

While Bautista has the third most podiums behind Razgatlioglu and Bulega by a margin of 14 rostrum appearances, the #19’s struggles with DNFs have put him neck and neck with Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) and the currently injured Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) for the Riders’ Championship third place position. He has had struggles in taking home solid points from races in which he is riding in a strong position, such as in Aragon’s Race 1, where Bautista crashed out while running in the top five. Since that mistake, Bautista has been clean as a whistle however, landing his fifth P3 in a row to close out Estoril.

On his weekend, Bautista said: “I’m satisfied because in the end it was a really good weekend. We placed third in the Superpole, Race 1, the Superpole Race, and Race 2. It wasn’t easy because I had to defend the position a lot. I didn’t fight a lot, but I was under pressure in every lap. I couldn’t relax, and I had to be very focused. In the end, P3 was the maximum we could achieve because Toprak and Nicolo were three steps ahead of the rest of us. We were fighting for the victory among the rest of the riders. Also, we got important points for the Championship, it’s good because in the past there have been times where we were close to third place, but something happened and I lost more points, but this time we were really concentrated and didn’t make any mistakes, so I’m happy about that.”

BRONZE MEDAL HANGS IN THE BALANCE: “In the Riders’ Championship, nothing is clear for third place. With three races remaining, there are lots of points to be lost or gained”

With Bautista and Bulega now having earned top team honours for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati, they both have silverware tucked away; however, the real prize Bautista is after in this late hour of the 2025 season is the final podium spot of the Riders’ Championship. He’s been dealt a good hand as his ‘Petrux’ lost out on important points after missing the Estoril Round with a hand injury suffered in training before the round. Now, his main competition comes in the form of Yamaha rider Andrea Locatelli, who sits a mere eight points behind the Spaniard. All eyes are on Jerez now as the two are sure to battle for bronze.

On his Teams’ Championship accolade as well as his forecast for the Riders’ Championship, Bautista said: “It’s always nice to win something, we won the Team’s Championship on Sunday, I think it’s my third or fourth Team’s Championship. I’m really happy because I earned them lots of points, I think it’s a good way to end my second stage with them with a victory. In the Riders’ Championship, nothing is clear for third place. With three races remaining, there are lots of points to be lost or gained. I’ll try to go to Jerez and enjoy with family, friends and fans. Last year, I had lots of problems there and didn’t feel super strong there. Now we have to defend third place; it’s not the same as if we had to catch them, but it comes down to us. Let’s see how the weekend goes.”

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