Alvaro Bautista, Ducati “have one more year to give it a try” in WorldSBK 2025

Alvaro Bautista’s continuation with the Aruba.it Racing Ducati team in WorldSBK was confirmed earlier this week, after much speculation.

Bautista’s announcement has seemed to trigger the move of Adrian Huertas, who was reportedly in the running to replace Bautista should he have retired or otherwise left Ducati at the end of this season, to Italtrans in the Moto2 World Championship.

It was perhaps fortunate for Huertas that the Bautista confirmation came when it did, as the Italtrans seat remained open despite Ducati and Bautista taking several months to reach the conclusion of their 2025 negotiations.

“This was our target from the beginning,” said Aruba.it Racing Ducati team principal Stefano Cecconi to WorldSBK.com on Friday at Magny-Cours on the subject of Bautista’s renewal.

“Unfortunately, it took a little bit too long to fix all the details and settle all the paperwork, but we have no doubt about the plan.

“It’s clear now that it’s official, we will have one more year to give it a try. We know we have to work around the regulations to find out the best setup for Alvaro, but we are convinced that he can get the same results in the past.”

Although he says the team and Bautista “took a little bit too long” to finalise the details of this 2025 contract, Cecconi also says that neither side was in a rush to get something signed.

“We weren’t in a rush, honestly speaking,” he said. “Having no deadline or fixed date in mind, all the phases of negotiation, including fixing all the minor details in the contract, maybe we took a bit more time.

“Why? When you have a deadline, a lot of stuff is going in place very quickly. If you have plenty of time, you tend to use it.

“Maybe not being in a rush, we took too much time… next time, we’ll be quicker.”

One of the key parts of Bautista’s contract is the length: one year, not two.

“The contracts usually have options to be flexible but currently we’re fixed for one year,” Cecconi said. “Then, we’ll see next season how Alvaro feels on the bike.”

The door is open for Bautista in 2026, especially with the new Ducati Panigale likely becoming available in WorldSBK then.

“Of course, knowing that, sooner or later, a new bike will be available, maybe he’s curious to see the new bike.

“For the time being, we’re done for one year then we will have time; we’ll try to be quicker, but we’ll have time discuss it.”