ALVARO BAUTISTA

A 125cc GP World Champion even before he got to WorldSBK from the MotoGP™ category in 2019, Bautista was almost WorldSBK Champion in his‘ rookie’ year. After that deep disappointment and two tough seasons on an official Honda HRC machine, Bautista proved to be a convincing double champ when he made a prodigal return to the official Ducati squad in 2022 and 2023. A relatively difficult 2024 campaign, despite winning four races, saw him finish in overall third place- behind his rookie WorldSBK team-mate Bulega. He starts 2025 second in the all-time WorldSBK race winners’ ranking.

ZAQHWAN ZAIDI

The PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team line up sees a new face in its WorldSBK wing, as Malaysian rider Zaqhwan Zaidi moves up from the MFJ All-Japan Road Racing Championship( JSB) and the Asian Superbike Championship. He was the overall winner in the Asian series in 2022, and runner-up in 2023. He has also raced in the WorldSSP class, way back in 2014, when he scored seven points for a ninth place finish at his home round in Malaysia. His great experience of racing the CBR1000RR-R model- even in the 2023 Suzuka 8 Hours EWC round- should help his transition into WorldSBK racing.

12 OFFICIAL PROGRAMME