The Ducati Factory team pairing of Nicolo Bulega and Alvaro Bautista look to improve on what was despite coming up short in the Riders’ Championship, a very strong season. The two-time champion Alvaro Bautista, despite contending with minimum weight restrictions and some unfortunate finishes, ended the season in third place. Beside him, 2024’s runner up finisher Nicolo Bulega, who impressed many with the talent he displayed in just his first WorldSBK season. They will both race atop the Ducati Panigale V4R with their brand-new liveries featured here.
Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Team Principal Stefano Cecconi spoke at the team launch event. He emphasized the progress the team still wants to make with their package after having a limited preseason up to this point due to the poor weather. Cecconi outlined his team’s goals in this upcoming season and stressed the importance of not underestimating their rivals.
“In 2024, we fought until the last race, and we know that the season about to begin will also offer us a challenge that is perhaps even tougher. However, we feel ready to face it at our best and with maximum motivation.” Said Cecconi “The weather we found during the winter tests did not allow us to measure ourselves against all our opponents and did not offer us much time to spend on the track, so it will be even more interesting to do so during the next official test days in Australia, where the work of adapting to the new technical regulations will also continue. I know the value of our riders and the guys in the team well, so all that remains is for me to wish them all the best of luck”.
Alvaro Bautista spoke at the event as well, the #19 excited to kick off his fifth season with Aruba.it Racing – Ducati. He referenced last season as being more difficult than expected, and that while expectations are higher this season, he is mentally and physically ready to continue fighting for the title at 40 years old and feels his team supporting him in that endeavor.
“I am very motivated for this season which will be my fifth with the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team, the fourth in a row.” Said Bautista “Last year was more difficult than expected, but we still got positive results, finishing third in the world championship standings. It’s clear that expectations are higher this season, and if I’ve decided to continue racing, it’s because I feel I’m still physically and mentally competitive. We will try to find a good feeling right away and have fun. I thank the Aruba Racing team and Ducati for their support and commitment. I will do everything possible to reciprocate this trust by obtaining excellent results”.
Nicolo Bulega, who won his first-ever WorldSBK race in Australia in Race 1, sounds confident ahead of his sophomore season, and especially confident about his chances in Phillip Island’s season opener. If he can improve aspects of his riding, Toprak Razgatlioglu and BMW will have a stiff challenge in front of them in accomplishing their shared goal of winning both the Riders’ and Manufacturers’ Title for their respective manufacturers.
“I am thrilled to start my second year with the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team.” Said Bulega “I can say that I am very confident about what we did last season. 2024 has been very positive, and an excellent feeling has been created within the team. We start immediately in Australia, where last year I scored my first win on debut, so expectations are undoubtedly high. The first goal is to come home from Phillip Island with even better memories”.
Ducati Corse General Manager Luigi Dall’lgna was present at the event as well, and while he stressed the challenges of the season ahead of them, he reminded WorldSBK fans that Ducati won last year’s Teams’ and Manufacturers’ Championships. The Manufacturers’ title this year will be likely less of a challenge than the Teams’ or Riders’ Championship as there are more Ducati’s on the grid than any other manufacturer, however in any case, strong performances will be required of their riders in order to stave off numerically smaller teams.
“A new season is beginning in WorldSBK with the same goal as always for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Team: to fight for the Riders’ World Title that we did not win last year and try to bring it back to Borgo Panigale.” Said Dall’lgna “This is our mission, and we will give everything to achieve the goal. It is a tough challenge, we are aware of the level of our rivals, but we know what to do, we have already demonstrated it in the past. We know perfectly the potential of our riders, Álvaro Bautista and Nicolò Bulega, who have been World Champions in several categories and who in 2024 fought for the World Championship until the end and were competitive in almost every race with the Panigale V4 R. We can’t wait to see Álvaro and Nicolò take to the track with the new liveries in the next tests in Australia and in the first race at Phillip Island, a truly special track. Let’s not forget the Team and Manufacturer World Titles that we won last year, let’s start from here and continue in this direction. I’m sure it will be a season full of emotions, we will have a lot of fun.”
