In the second part of the interview with Bautista, the Spanish rider discussed goals for the season, bike improvements and pressure in 2022

Ahead of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season getting underway, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) sat down for a two-part interview to discuss the 2022 season. In part one, he discussed returning to Ducati, working with his new teammate and his 2022 rivals. In the second part of the feature interview recorded at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, Bautista spoke about his aims for the 2022 season, the differences at Ducati between 2019 and 2022 and the pressure he is facing.

WHAT IS THE AIM IN 2022?

After a successful first campaign in WorldSBK with 24 podiums and 16 victories, Bautista could only manage three more rostrum visits in 2020 and 2021 after his switch to Team HRC. With his Ducati return in full swing, and a number of tests under his belt, what are Bautista’s goals for the 2022 season and his return to Ducati?

He said: “For this season, in 2022, I think I have more experience in this Championship. I know the tyres, races, racetracks more. I learnt a lot in the last two seasons because I tried to get the maximum in all situations and, for sure, now I feel like a more experienced rider. I don’t have a target in my mind, I just want to enjoy it. I just want to get my maximum, the maximum of the bike. Let’s see. Ducati improve a little bit because we can’t forget that in 2019 it was the first year of this bike. Now they have three years of experience, the engineers have more data so it’s easier to get a good setup in all kinds of conditions. I want to enjoy the season and try to do my best.”

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN 2019 AND 2022

Bautista has had two tests since his return to Ducati, at Jerez and Portimao, as he looks to reacquaint himself with the Ducati Panigale V4 R and the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati squad. With two seasons between his Ducati stints, Bautista explained what was different for him on the bike and with the team since he re-joined the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati squad.

Bautista explained: “The difference between 2019 and now with the bike… there is no big difference. What I felt is that in my first year with this bike, with Ducati, the bike was very strong, but it was not a balanced bike. Sometimes it was very, very fast and worked really well and sometimes, we had a lot of problems. What I found on my last time with this bike in November was that the bike was more balanced. Maybe the strong points were more or less the same, but also the weaker points were a bit better. They improved and made a more balanced bike. I think it’s easier to ride. They worked a lot with the power delivery. Basically, there is no big change on the bike, but everything is more in the right place.”

WHAT PRESSURE IS ON BAUTISTA?

When Bautista first joined Ducati in 2019, he won the first 11 races of the season and challenged for the title. Although his title charge was not successful, Bautista discussed the pressure on him for his second stint at the Bologna manufacturer. The Spanish rider, who showed strong pace in the Portimao test, discussed whether he is feeling any pressure following his instant success with Ducati in 2019.

Bautista said: “When I arrived in 2019, I won the first 11 races and many times by a large distance. Now maybe the people can think ‘now he’ll repeat that!’, but I think it’s difficult because the level of WorldSBK is higher than in that season. It will be more difficult. In any case, I will try to do my best as I try in that time. Let’s see what happens. I don’t think it will be as easy as 2019.”