The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship gets underway in just a few weeks and team launch season is well and truly here, with Aruba.it Racing – Ducati the latest to unveil their colours and bike for the 2022 season. Following the launch, riders Alvaro Bautista and Michael Ruben Rinaldi outlined their goals for the season with both riders aiming and the Bologna-based manufacturer aiming to win the title in 2022.

Alvaro Bautista makes a return to Ducati after two years with Honda, linking up once again with the team he fought for the title with in 2019. In his debut WorldSBK season, Bautista claimed 16 wins and 24 podiums as he looked to end Jonathan Rea’s (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) reign. While he was not able to claim the title in 2019, the Spanish rider is aiming high for his return to Ducati.

The 37-year-old said: “I am very happy to be back in this fantastic team, with Aruba.it and Ducati. It feels like a real family to me and finding basically the team I worked with in 2019 has been of paramount importance. My feelings with the Panigale V4R were immediately very positive: I think the bike is even more balanced than the one I left. With such a competitive team and machine, obviously the goal is to fight for the title. I have more experience, I know the tyres and the format of the competition better, but it will still be crucial to learn from the mistakes of three years ago. Winter tests got me very excited and I can’t wait to get on track at Aragon.”

Bautista will be paired with Rinaldi for his second stint at Ducati, with Italian rider Rinaldi entering his second campaign with the team. He claimed three wins in his first season with the Ducati factory team, including two on home soil at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”. Although in his second year with the factory team, Rinaldi has been involved with Aruba.it Racing for several years.

Looking ahead to 2022, Rinaldi said: “The 2022 championship is about to start: it will be my second season with the official team even though I have been part of the Aruba.it family for many years now. This is why the time has come to reap the benefits we have sown so far. It will not be easy because the competition is very fierce but I believe that these years together can be a solid base to create something good. It will be a very important championship both for me and for the team and my future career could also depend on this season. I will certainly give my best and with the help of the team I am sure we can achieve important results. I’m very happy and I want to thank Aruba.it, Ducati and all the sponsors who have allowed me to take on this fascinating challenge”.

Stefano Cecconi, Team Principal at Aruba.it Racing – Ducati, added: “We look at the 2022 WorldSBK season with high ambition and strong determination. The goal of our team is to always take a step forward, year after year, in terms of performance and results. This is the reason why we are proud to represent Ducati in the World Superbike Championship, feeling the presence and passion of the Ducatista people on every circuit. We have bet on Alvaro Bautista’s return and we want to fight with him a more exciting season than the 2019, which gave us great satisfactions after all. We firmly believe in Michael Rinaldi and we reckon he is ready to take that significant step forward after the steady growth he has shown so far. I would like to wish the best of luck to the riders and to all the members of our teams, whose sense of belonging makes us proud and pushes us to give more and more every year.”

Luigi Dall’Igna, Ducati Corse General Manager added: “The level of WorldSBK is growing every year, as well as the competition. Obviously, this doesn’t scare us, and on the contrary, it pushes us to give more and more, work more carefully and focus on every single detail. In the 2021 World Championship, our team was the only one to have won at least one race with both riders, and this confirms the potential of the Panigale V4 R.”

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