Bautista is ready for the “Home GP” at Barcelona. Rinaldi is motivated and looking for redemption. Bulega to defend leadership in WorldSSP
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team is already hard at work at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, where the fourth round of the 2023 WorldSBK season will be staged next weekend.
Fresh from his extraordinary hat-trick at Assen, Alvaro Bautista arrives at his “Home GP” firmly at the top of the world championship standings with 174 points, 56 more than Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha).
Michael Rinaldi’s goal, on the other hand, is to erase the difficult Dutch weekend and return to the battle for the podium with his Ducati Panigale V4R.
Free practice for the Catalunya Round will start on Friday at 10.30am. On Saturday at 2.00pm, the WorldSBK lights will go out, followed by the start of Supersport at 15.15. As always an intense Sunday program awaits: at 11.00am the Superpole Race, then Race-2 Superport at 12.30pm to end with Race-2 WorldSBK at 2.00pm.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #1)
“It’s always very special to race at home. Barcelona is one of my favorite tracks, with lots of long corners that allow me to have a lot of fun riding the bike. We’re in a great moment and that motivates us even more. We will start working hard from Friday to try to get back the good feeling we found during testing and also in the first rounds of the season. My family, my friends, and many fans will be there and I hope I can give them some satisfaction”.
Michael Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #21)
“We arrive in Barcelona after a difficult weekend in Holland. But that doesn’t change our plans. We have analyzed well what happened at Assen. In addition, we had a test in Barcelona a few weeks ago that provided us with very positive indications and that gives us a lot of confidence to be back fighting for the top positions. I can’t wait to be on track and show our potential”.
WorldSSP
After the one-two at Assen, Nicolò Bulega, and the Ducati Panigale V2 of the Aruba.it Racing WSSP team arrive in Barcelona with the lead in the Supersport World Championship and a 37-point advantage over Manzi (Yamaha)
Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WSSP #11)
“I am very motivated after the fantastic weekend at Assen. It’s clear, though, that reconfirming at those levels won’t be easy, both because our rivals will arrive very determined and because last year we encountered a few difficulties on this track. This season, though, we have really made a big step and so I am confident that we can have a good weekend. I hope to be fast and bring home important points”.
