The move to Team Barni in 2026, the minimum weight rule in Superbike and many other topics in the interview that Corsedimoto conducted with Alvaro Bautista.
De Matteo Bellan / Corsedimoto.com
At 41, he still has a huge desire to run and be a protagonist. In 2026, Alvaro Bautista will be back on the grid of the Superbike World Championship, but this time under the colors of the Barni Spark Racing Team and with the new Panigale V4 R. He will benefit from the technical support of Ducati and clearly intends to fight for important results.
He explained it during the team presentation event. Barni Spark Racing Team de Marco Barnabò and he also confirmed it in the interview he gave us at Corsedimoto.
New year, new team, new bike. Álvaro, how are you approaching your eighth season in the Superbike World Championship?
“A lot has changed, and I’m very excited and motivated to take on this challenge. It certainly won’t be easy at first, as I’m joining a new team after so many years with Aruba Ducati, and it will take time to build relationships with the team members and adapt to the new way of working. I don’t have any particular expectations, especially since there will be a new Panigale V4 R model, and we’ll have to discover its potential. As for results, I don’t want to set any goals for now, as I don’t know what we’re going to achieve. What I am sure of is that I want to do well and show that I’m still competitive.”
In mid-November, you stated that winning the Superbike title with an independent team would not bother you.
“I’m here for that, to win. The Barni Spark Racing Team is a growing team, improving its results every year, and I think it will take another step forward in 2026. I feel ready to give it my all, and the reason I want to continue racing is because I feel physically and mentally ready to try and win. We’ll see; there are a lot of changes, but that’s the mindset. We’ll also have official support from Ducati, which is a very important factor for me. I don’t think I’ll do any worse than in previous years; I think we should be able to fight for the podium in every race. In any case, I don’t want to get carried away before I’ve started working with the team and the new bike. We need to find the formula for success; I’m convinced we’ll get there, but I don’t know how long it will take.”
“It wasn’t a performance test; we were testing certain things for Ducati. In any case, the first impressions were very positive because the bike’s character remains typical of Ducati; there haven’t been any radical changes. But it’s true that with the double swingarm, there’s perhaps a significant improvement; I felt very comfortable immediately, without even touching the bike. I have the impression that with the double swingarm, the weaknesses of the single swingarm have been corrected. The first impression was positive; we’ll see how it develops when we push the bike further and work more deeply on its characteristics.”
What is the program for the first SBK 2026 tests in Jerez (January 21-22)?
“First and foremost, we need to start working together and getting to know each other: my chief mechanic, the mechanics, and the rest of the Barni Spark Racing team. Regarding the bike, since it’s new, we’ll start with a standard Ducati base: I’ll try to adapt, and then we’ll make some minor adjustments, because winter testing can be misleading. The temperatures are low, the bike behaves differently, and so do the tires, compared to a race weekend. Our goal isn’t to be fast from day one; it’s more important to understand the new Panigale V4 R and develop a good feel for it so we can ride it as comfortably as possible. When you’re comfortable, you can push harder if necessary. We don’t want to make too many changes at Jerez. The goal is to accumulate track time and find our rhythm, both on the bike and within the team.” Furthermore, I need to get back into the swing of things, as I haven't ridden a Superbike since the last race of 2015. There's still a lot of work to do before I can really push the limits.
The fight against the minimum weight rule in SBK
The minimum weight rule is confirmed for the 2026 Superbike World Championship. With the exception of Jonathan Rea, all your colleagues signed your petition for its abolition, but for the third consecutive year, you will have to race with ballast on your Ducati. How disappointed are you by this situation?
“For me, it’s not a fair rule, and the other riders agree, but it’s the manufacturers who set the championship regulations. I expected the FIM and Dorna to side with the riders, given that we’re the ones racing and risking our lives. We know what happens when there’s more inertia on the bike: you get thrown off the track in the corners, it can cause more crashes, and generally, the risks are higher. The FIM and Dorna are always looking to improve safety on the track, so I expected them to put pressure on the manufacturers to change the regulations. Unfortunately, with the exception of Ducati, they’re not willing to do so. I don’t understand why they’re afraid to remove this rule, since I’m the only rider on the grid penalized for my physique. It doesn’t affect their riders, only me. Maybe they’re still afraid of me, I don’t know.” In the last two championships, the battle for victory has been between two great riders. I'm not fighting this battle just for myself, but for all the less imposing riders, because there's no room for the others in this championship. Now, no manufacturer or team wants lightweight riders. I want to warmly thank Barni, to whom I am grateful for his confidence.
At Honda, when you weren't fighting for the top spots, your weight wasn't a factor…
“With Ducati, the bike is more competitive and we managed to do everything we could to win. They tried to penalize Ducati, and when they saw that it wouldn't stop me, they decided to penalize me directly. It's normal to want to level the playing field between manufacturers, but without targeting any particular rider.”
At 41, with three world titles (one in 125cc and two in Superbike), and feeling like a victim of such injustice, others would have retired.
Does continuing to run with a rule that disadvantages you motivate you even more?
“I could have stayed home after winning races and world championships, because I no longer need to race. The problem is, I enjoy it, I feel competitive, and I feel I can win. I don't want to retire and then regret not trying again. Why should I give up what I love because of a rule? I don't want to stay home because of a decision made by others who wanted to force me to carry ballast.”
For 2026, do you have any new ideas for managing this extra weight? Could the new Ducati Panigale V4 R simplify things?
“Barni is working tirelessly with his supplier to position the fairing so that it gets in my way as little as possible. But the 7 kilos are still there. I don't yet know if I'll feel this extra weight more or less with the new bike, but we're working on a different distribution. It also depends on the positioning requirements of each circuit. Having more weight will always be a disadvantage, but I'm optimistic because Barni is doing everything he can to help me.”
Respect, preparation, the 2026 season and Toprak Razgatlioglu in MotoGP
Since you've been in the Superbike World Championship, do you feel sufficiently respected as a rider? There has often been talk about your weight and/or the fact that you ride the best bike, sometimes minimizing your merits for your performances and results.
“I remember when I first arrived in Superbike and started winning, not everyone was happy about it. I think in 2019, a lot of riders were jealous of how I arrived in the championship. Then they were always looking for excuses to justify why I was winning and they weren’t. At first, they said the Ducati Superbike was practically a MotoGP bike, then they attacked my weight. There was always a reason to explain my victories, never mentioning that I was simply better than them.”
Everyone knows the reality; we saw it on the track. I'm very happy with what I've accomplished and how I've done it. What matters to me is the opinion of the people close to me; others are free to think what they want.
How did your training evolve when you switched from MotoGP to Superbike?
“In MotoGP, there are more Grands Prix, but in Superbike, there are three races per weekend, which is very demanding both physically and mentally. I started modifying my training during my last year in MotoGP, opting for shorter, more intense aerobic sessions. I had already worked extensively on my aerobic endurance during my racing career, so I had a good foundation. I also started working intensively on the mental aspect. Competing in three races per weekend is very demanding; you have to recharge between each race. It's the mental aspect that I've worked on the most, and I think the results are good.”
What are you expecting for the 2026 season?
“On paper, Bulega is the clear favorite for the title. Without Toprak, he would have won the last two years. For me, with the ballast, the fight was more difficult. We'll have to see how all the changes this year play out. Vierge has moved to Yamaha and had some very good tests. We'll see what Petrucci can do at BMW, where Oliveira also rides, who will be an unknown quantity since he's been in MotoGP for many years.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu has left Superbike for MotoGP. What do you think of his new adventure?
“He had the opportunity to go to MotoGP and he took it, so it’s understandable that he wanted to try it. But that championship is very different from SBK: the bikes, the tires, the circuits, the riders… What’s more, over there, if you complain, nobody listens to you; you just have to work twice as hard. I don’t know what to expect from him. Toprak clearly has a lot of talent and excellent control of his bike. The first year will be very difficult because he’ll have a lot to learn. We’ll see how he does.”
Read the original article on Corsedimoto.com
Matteo Bellan
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