Retrospective: Alvaro Bautista didn't wait for Superbike to be good, quite the opposite!

In just a few years, Alvaro Bautista has become a major figure in Superbike. In a recent interview, he even said he was one of the main reasons for the championship's current appeal. I'll let you be the judge of that statement, but personally, I loved Bautista when he was competing in Grand Prix. Here's his story.

Álvaro is a pure product of the Spanish school. While he discovered the joys of motorcycling at just three years old, he immediately became interested in competition in the mid-1990s. His father ran a repair shop, which helped considerably in preparing the machines. Alberto puig, as a great talent scout, is not insensitive to the incisive handlebar technique of little Álvaro.

 

 

First on 50cc and then 125cc bikes, Bautista made a name for himself alongside Dani Pedrosa and Héctor Barberá, who came from the same training program. Then, he turned to football. Rest assured; as you know, Bautista never abandoned the racing circuit. but has had two unusual sponsors linked to football.

In 2002, he signed with Atlético de Madrid, not the club, but the team that the Madrid institution sponsored. If the adventure with the Colchoneros It only lasted one season, but it gave young Álvaro the opportunity to make his World Cup debut, with three appearances during the year. Ironically, it was Clarence Seedorf, a Milan legend and motorcycle enthusiast, who signed him for three years starting in 2003. The Dutch team rode fairly high-performing Aprilia 125cc bikes, which gave Bautista the opportunity to make a name for himself in the smallest category.

After a difficult 2005 season on the Honda, Bautista signed with Team Aspar, managed by the legendary Jorge Martínez. He immediately achieved success. He won his first career race at the opening round in Jerez and secured the title in style. Mika Kallio, in second place, had 76 points at that point! In a category as competitive as the 125cc, that meant a lot.

At the time, people were convinced: Bautista could play with the greats. MotoGP In a few years, when the Spanish school reaches maturity. Furthermore, the transition to 250cc, again with Aspar, has been successful. He won several Grand Prix and even finished second overall in 2008 behind the late Marco Simoncelli.

Then things got tougher. In 2009, he tried again in the 250cc class, but he wasn't as fast. However, the Aprilia was still competitive; Héctor Barberá finished as runner-up in the world championship for the final year of the 250cc class. Aged 26, Bautista was ready for a move to the premier classHe immediately found a factory ride with Suzuki. Admittedly, the GSV-R 800cc of the time struggled against the Yamahas and Hondas, but it could still spring a surprise. Besides, John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen hadn't been out of their depth on it. The opportunity remained attractive..

The change was more difficult than expected.His year was marked by consistent performance, but also by numerous retirements. It was promising, especially since his teammate, an aging Loris Capirossi, was far behind in points. However, a 13th place overall finish was still a tough pill to swallow for a champion of Bautista's caliber.

The 2011 season was no less frustrating. Injured from the very beginning of the year, he recorded a worse result than in his first season in the premier class. His inherent speed compensated for the limited capabilities of his machine. which proved sometimes effective, sometimes dangerous given its large number of falls.

Suzuki decided to end its MotoGP program at the end of the year. Fortunately, Bautista found a good ride at Honda Gresini. The RC212V was much better, and the results soon followed. At Silverstone, he recorded a pole position (the only one of his MotoGP career), as well as two podium finishes at Misano and Aragon. The white Honda bearing the number 19 was the bane of the pack; with Andrea Dovizioso at Tech3, They embodied the outsiders of 2012, in 4th and 5th places in the overall standings.

The Gresini years were his best, by far. He remained competitive in 2013, but declined in 2014 despite a podium finish at Le Mans. His poorly managed speed frequently led to crashes. At the end of the season, a shocking announcement shook the Grand Prix world: Gresini was parting ways with Honda to develop the Aprilia program, which was making its grand return to the premier class. The brand new 2015 version of the RS-GP was not up to standard. Thus, for two years, Bautista floundered just like his successive teammates, Marco Melandri, Eugene Laverty or Stefan Bradl.

 

 

Approaching his 33rd birthday, he wanted to make a comeback with Aspar, riding a Ducati. While his season was punctuated by some good results, the problem of consistency persisted; eight DNFs in eighteen races. 2018 was his last season in the premier class, also a mixed bag, salvaged only by a one-off appearance with the factory Ducati team at Phillip Island. A fine fourth place, but not enough to keep him among the elite.

A new challenge awaited him, in Superbike. The debut, on Ducati, was thunderous. Twelve wins in as many races, before being overtaken in the second half of the season. After moving to Honda, he endured two difficult seasons before making yet another comeback on Ducati in 2022. And there, he delivered a performance worthy of his talent. Facing tough and younger opponents, he only missed the podium twice in 33 races, culminating in his victory at the Mandalika circuit in Indonesia. A challenge brilliantly met and followed by a second title in 2023In 2026, he will work for Barni, still on Ducati, hoping to bounce back in the absence of Toprak Razgatlioglu.

Now, let's debate. Don't you think Álvaro Bautista was in the wrong place at the wrong time? Never on a truly competitive bike, he nevertheless over-raced most of his machines in an era that didn't favor privateers. Imagine Bautista in 2012 in the era of the single ECU. Wouldn't he have won several races, and played the spoiler in the championship? Nobody knows for sure, but I have my own little theory.

What do you think ? Tell us in the comments!