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The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is approaching the halfway stage of the season and the future of the majority of the riders on the grid is still yet to be decided. One rider who does not have a contract for 2024 is Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and he provided an update on where he could be next season while watching teammate Alvaro Bautista test the Ducati MotoGP™ machine.

Rinaldi joined the factory Ducati team in 2021 on the back of a stellar season with Team GoEleven, where he took one win and three podiums. He was a winner in his first season with Ducati on three occasions, including two on home soil at Misano, but he hasn’t tasted victory since Race 2 in Barcelona in 2021. In total, he has racked up 16 podiums and three wins for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati squad, with five podiums coming this season.

He is averaging one podium per round in 2023 and he is set to smash his best tally of podiums for the team which was set in 2021 when he stood on the rostrum seven times. However, while he has shown strong pace throughout the year, he has also had some difficult moments. He was 14^th in a wet Race 1 in Australia, while he was leading Race 2 in Indonesia before finishing fourth. Assen proved difficult for the Italian but he was back on form in Barcelona and Misano, taking three consecutive podium finishes between Race 2 in Barcelona and the Tissot Superpole Race at Misano.

When asked whether there was an update on his future, Rinaldi said: “No, at the moment we’re still talking. I think that I will talk about my future after Imola. For now, I’m focused on Donington and Imola. For sure, after Imola, I will know what my future will be. I want to continue with the team but there are other options on the table. My goal is to remain here and if the team is happy to continue with me, this is my priority.”

The Italian was at Misano to watch Bautista during the reigning World Champion’s MotoGP™ test which was part of a prize for the Spaniard after he claimed last year’s title. Explaining why he went to Misano and that he’d like to see Bautista race in MotoGP™, something which has been discussed with a potential wildcard appearance, Rinaldi said: “I live close to here so I came to watch him and to understand his work and the difference between MotoGP™ and WorldSBK and how he adapted. Actually, I’m quite impressed because he went very well. I would like to see him racing in MotoGP™ because we can understand the level of WorldSBK. I think Alvaro, in this moment, is the best Alvaro of his career. He can be pretty strong also in MotoGP™”

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