The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship returned to action for the first time in 2024 at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, where the majority of the grid is testing. Reigning Champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) is on track for the first time since sustaining a neck injury at the same venue in the end-of-season test, an injury which impacted his running as a wildcard during the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang and something he admits “started to feel better in the last two weeks”.

HAS BAUTISTA RECOVERED FROM INJURY? “I was very worried but, lap after lap, I felt better”

With the Jerez test the first of 2024, Bautista hasn’t been since on a bike since the Malaysian GP in November. He spoke at Ducati’s recent launch event and stated that he was feeling much better, with the next step to ride his Panigale V4 R and see how he feels on track. On day one, he completed 68 laps, a figure that was exceeded by some riders but also not matched by a lot and set a best time of 1’39.847s to finish in tenth. Teammate Nicolo Bulega was the pace setter, 1.5s quicker than the two-time Champion although the #11 did utilise the SCQ tyre for his lap time.

Reflecting on his day and providing an injury update, Bautista said: “It’s not been the best day for me. I struggled a lot during this winter. I had a lot of pain in my injury after the Sepang race. I was really bad. I cannot have good training and I was working hard with my physiotherapist to recover. It wasn’t easy because November and December, I was almost with pain all day. I didn’t feet improvement. I started to feel better in the last two weeks, and I started to work more on myself. Riding the bike in the morning, the strength in my arm was really good, but the problem was in my neck and back. I felt a lot of pain. I was really worried but, fortunately, lap after lap, it felt better so I got more relaxed, and I could do a lot of laps but not with my best performance. I was thinking more about the pain than riding the bike.

THE CHAMPION DOESN’T GIVE CLUES: “I don’t know how much weight we’ve added…”

Once it was certain that he was physically better and ready for the new season, attention soon turned to the upcoming campaign. One big talking point has been the announcement of new rules, with a new weight regulation coming into force that’ll impact riders up and down the grid. The #1 explained that, while he was aware of the impact it would have on his bike, he did not know how much would be added or where, but that there were two options.

Expanding on how he’s adapting to the new regulations, Bautista said: “We did the job because, after the test last year, we decided to have two different bikes regarding the weight distribution. Today, I could compare both bikes and it was very clear which direction we’ll take for the future. I’m happy about that and I’m happy for the feeling I have with the bike. “I don’t know how much weight I’ve added. The engineers know how much and know where to add it. I don’t have these kinds of details. I just tell them if it’s better or worse. I don’t know! You’ll have to ask Giulio Nava or Marco Zambenedetti. It’s much worse to ride because, with more weight, you have more inertia, so it’s more difficult to turn in the corners and stop the bike. It’s more physical and all the areas are worse.”

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