Ducati leaves it up to Bautista to do a wildcard in MotoGP, and he already has a circuit in mind

2023-06-21 19:21:15

Álvaro Bautista has shown during his last test in Misano with the Ducati Desmosedici GP23 that He has plenty of pace and speed to continue standing out in MotoGP. The man from Talavera has met again this week with a prototype that he last rode in 2018, when he was competing with the Aspar team, a motorcycle that had little to do with the Desmosedici with which he has been riding in Misano between Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

With close to 100 laps behind him, the 38-year-old driver ended up delighted with the sensations that the GP23 has transmitted to him; Despite the fact that he did not seek a fast time, Ducati assures that Álvaro registered his best lap during the fourth session on Wednesday, a 1’32.590 that the Spaniard set on a soft tire and that left him a second and a half behind the absolute record in Misano, held by another Ducatista rider, Pecco Bagnaia.

With his time today, after spending five years away from MotoGP and used to the reactions of his Pirelli-shod Panigale V4 R, Bautista would have achieved a creditable 10th position on the starting grid at the last San Marino Grand Prix, a sign that the #19 could still say many things in MotoGP with a competitive bike like the current Desmosedici.

Seeing Bautista enjoy and go so fast with the GP23 has awakened again the desire to see him race this year in MotoGP by the Spanish fans, and also from Ducati. Marco Zambenedetti, Ducati Corse Technical Coordinator, has made it clear that the decision to participate in a race this year as a guest is something that depends solely and exclusively on Bautista’s will.

This was stated by the Italian coach in statements collected by the official Worldsbk.com portal: “First of all, everything depends on the feeling that Bautista has. The main goal for him is WorldSBK to keep the number 1 in the fairing. Nobody knows. At the end of the Championship, if there is time, we’ll see.”Zambenedetti dropped, aware that, after the appointment in Argentina on October 14 and 15 that will close the 2023 Superbike course, MotoGP will still have several more rounds ahead in Asia, Australia and finally in Valencia.

For Gigi Dall’Ignawho did not want to lose Álvaro’s test in Misano either, “it’s too early to tell” if finally Ducati will line up a third official motorcycle for Bautista in one of the grand prix at the end of the year: “The season is very long, and we will probably reach the end really exhausted. We will see. This is not our goal at the moment. Of course I think I could do quite well with the bike, but honestly, I don’t want to think about it too much. I’d like to see him smile when he jumps off the bike and that’s it,” the Ducati Corse boss commented from the same paddock in Misano.

And what does the protagonist of this whole story have to say? At the moment, Álvaro is not closing any doors, although at the same time he remains prudent and silent about a possible wildcard in MotoGP. The man from Talavera is open to continue doing more tests with the Desmosedici, although there is still no clear roadmap: “I don’t know if Ducati might ask me to do another test or not, but at the moment there are no plans for the future.“, Spanish commented in Misano.

Read also: Dall`Igna: “Honda and Yamaha’s mistake is having followed a single rider”

Bautista is fully aware that “once our championship is over there will be many MotoGP races”, and insists that “Right now I don’t think about doing a wildcard”. Of course, add that “If you told me ‘you have to do a wildcard, what track do you want to race on?’, Well, maybe I would tell you Sepang, I like it and it has a long straight. But it’s not on my mind” remarked the Aruba.it Racing Ducati rider.