WHAT DOES MEAN TO ME
At each round of the season we are asking some top WorldSBK and other paddock riding talents what WorldSBK really means to them. This time around we have some real racing legends speaking into the voice recorder. We prompted them to ask themselves one simple question- What Does WorldSBK Mean To Me?
Alvaro Bautista- Aruba. it Racing Ducati
What can you say about a rider who has won not one FIM Superbike Championship title but two?
Bravo, maybe?
We actually inducted Bautista into WorldSBK as a well-rounded and proven MotoGP™ regular. Seldom in receipt of a factory MotoGP™ machine( at least not when the bike is question was an unquestioned winning package) Bautista still took podiums and one overall top five in 2012.
Those of us with a long memory can remember Alvaro winning the 125cc Grand Prix title on a two-stroke Aprilia, way back in 2006. So, he’ s really a three-time World champ.
He finally ran out of MotoGP™ paddock options but was an instant hit when he joined WorldSBK in 2019. And he loved it.
“ Apart from championship wins, WorldSBK gave me- not a second chance- but it gave me a second chance to enjoy the bike,” explained Alvaro.
His seemingly certain‘ rookie’ WorldSBK title run suddenly went into a painful reverse, however, in a very visible fashion. He rode for HRC Honda for two years after that, then came back to the Bologna brigade a wiser and more title-focused WorldSBK rider. Two successive championships were the rewards.
What WorldSBK was for Bautista is the same now as it was in his rookie year, it seems. He said,“ I found that with the combination of bike and tyres I could show all my potential. That is what I missed in MotoGP™, between the combination of maybe nonfactory bikes and tyres that work a bit special. But, WorldSBK gave me a good bike, a good team, good tyres and I felt I could give all of myself. My 100 %.‘ This is Alvaro Bautista’, if you know what I mean? Whether I was champion or not champion, I could give my best.”
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