Alvaro Bautista expressed his thoughts on the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR as well as the World Superbike regulations.
About Matteo Bellan de Motoracing
Ducati found in Álvaro Bautista the perfect performer for the Panigale V4 R and putting it back in red after the divorce at the end of 2019 was the best choice. The successes of recent years in the Superbike World Championship are no coincidence. The Spaniard certainly rides a super competitive bike, but he is the one who makes the difference.
Great talents always make the difference and he has talent, like his rivals Toprak Razgatlioglu et Jonathan Rhea. Their problem is that Yamaha et Kawasaki have some limits which do not allow them to always be at the height of the pilot Ducati, the gap has also widened compared to 2022 and above all Kawasaki was late.
The Ninja ZX-10RR is a bit dated and Sale has repeatedly stated that he needs a new bike to win. However, the manufacturer Akashi did not listen to him and did not give him sufficient technical guarantees for the future, it is no coincidence that the six-time SBK champion decided to leave a year earlier and sign with Yamaha .
Alvaro Bautista: “ the base of the Kawasaki is probably from 2014, you can't fight a current model with a bike like that »
Baptist, interviewed by his colleagues at Speedweek, expressed some thoughts on the Ninja: “ the base of the Kawasaki is probably from 2014. You can't fight a current model with a bike like that. A lot has changed since then. The tires are no longer the same, the electronics and brakes have become more powerful. With a new motorcycle, a manufacturer follows these changes. What they need is a brand new motorcycle ».
Kawasakias an Yamaha , is working to demand regulatory changes that could allow them to narrow the gap. However, the current one does not even convince Baptist, who does not believe it is fair for a manufacturer to be penalized (for example, by reducing the number of engine revolutions) if it goes too fast: " Ducati has invested a lot of money in development and improvements. It's not fair to punish a manufacturer who has invested so much. It is better to allow one manufacturer to reach the higher level than to downgrade another to a lower level ».
The driver of the Aruba Racing team Ducati welcomes the fact that there are concessions for manufacturers who are further behind. A system that exists today and which is perhaps not sufficient. We will see if there will be any regulatory changes in the future.
