Alvaro Bautista has been given the chance to run a MotoGP test with Ducati after taking the WorldSBK Championship with the manufacturer last year.
The reigning World Superbike Champion has once again dominated the WorldSBK class so far this season. With 12 races done already this season, Bautista has won 11 of them, and he leads Toprak Razgatlioglu by 69 points in the standings.
The factory Ducati WorldSBK rider recently spoke with WorldSBK.com on a variety of topics, including his upcoming MotoGP test with Ducati and whether or not being a light-weight rider helps him win.
“After I won the World Championship in WorldSBK, I asked Ducati to have a test with the MotoGP bike because, from the outside, it seems like a really fun bike,” Bautista talked about the MotoGP test. “We will do the test very soon.
“I don’t do the test with an intention to do a wildcard. I’d like to do the test and let’s see what happens. I don’t think there’s a lot of chance to repeat what Troy Bayliss did in 2006.
“It was another time and it was different. At the moment, in my mind, it’s only the World Superbike Championship. I just take the test like a prize and don’t think about Troy Bayliss.”
Ducati did not completely rule out the possibility of Bautista competing as a wildcard later in the season when it was announced that he would test the newest Ducati MotoGP bike.
However, it seems that Bautista never considered that to be a part of the plan and will likely wait until at least after the World Superbike season is through before undertaking one.
Since leaving the MotoGP class at the end of the 2018 season, Bautista has never gotten a chance to run a MotoGP bike. He was riding a Ducati for the Angel Nieto Team when he left MotoGP. He has also filled in for injured Jorge Lorenzo while riding on the Factory Ducati.
The 38-year-old obviously does not think he can accomplish what Troy Bayliss did in 2006, when he wildcarded in Valencia and won the season’s final race. But it would be intriguing to watch Bautista perform today on a MotoGP bike.
