Alvaro Bautista secures MotoGP wildcard

Following tests on the Ducati Desmosedici GP bike in June and August, World Superbike Champion Alvaro Bautista will make his return to the MotoGP paddock in November. The veteran Spaniard will ride for Ducati at their third MotoGP wildcard this season - the Malaysian GP at Sepang on 10-12 November - a fortnight after this year’s WorldSBK season ends.

Bautista was last in the MotoGP paddock in 2018. He was riding a Ducati Desmosedici for the satellite Angel Nieto Team back then, and while the bike he’ll ride this November is also a Desmosedici, the latest version is a very different machine.

Bautista’s GP bike will carry the same livery as the Aruba.it Racing Panigale V4 R he races in WorldSBK. This livery was also applied to Ducati’s two previous wildcard entries, at Mugello and Misano, where Michele Pirro was the rider.

Bautista’s two tests on the Desmosedici GP at Misano provided “convincing” feedback, giving the 38-year-old confidence ahead of his one-off MotoGP return.

"I'm really happy to be able to race in MotoGP as a wildcard at Sepang, a track that I really like and that I'm happy to be back at, since it's not on the WorldSBK calendar,” Bautista explained.

“The tests with the Ducati Desmosedici GP gave positive feedback: the feeling was good, and I had fun. I want to sincerely thank Ducati and Aruba.it because, without them, it would have been impossible to have this opportunity.”

While Bautista is looking forward to the Sepang ride, he says it won’t distract from trying to secure a second successive WorldSBK championship.

“I would like to say that this MotoGP race will be a bonus for me and not a priority. That's why we must stay focused on the WorldSBK Championship, which is the only thing that matters now. This last part of the season will be very demanding, with many races in a short time. The feeling with the Panigale V4 R is good, and I hope to continue on this path. Then, when the season ends, we'll think about going to Malaysia and having fun."