Alvaro Bautista gets his smile back: a change to the Ducati could turn his season around

Positive weekend at Assen for Bautista and the Barni team: the two-time Superbike world champion made strides forward.

The Portimao round had been disappointing for the Barni Spark Racing Team, which, after the excellent start at Phillip Island, had hoped for much better results. But Marco Barnabò’s squad bounced back at Assen: Alvaro Bautista finished fourth three times, while Yari Montella took eleventh, eighth, and fifth in the three Superbike races at the TT Circuit. An excellent haul of points that lifts the spirits of the entire garage.

The two-time SBK world champion gave a positive assessment of the performances and results achieved in the Netherlands: "We have to be satisfied; we finished fourth three times and the most important thing is that we were consistent throughout the weekend. I’m happy, compared to Saturday we made a small change to the bike and in the Superpole Race I was able to push hard right from the first lap, where I usually have problems. Even in Race 2 the feeling in the opening laps was better than in Race 1: in fact, I managed to fight with the other riders without losing much. We were still far from the battle for the podium, but we got the most out of it."

The change made to his Ducati Panigale V4 R worked, and that is a very important aspect. After Race 1, Bautista had admitted to being a bit dangerous in the opening laps due to the difficulties in managing his bike, which is ballast-laden because of the regulations. Controlling it wasn’t easy and he was forced to be particularly careful not to cause contact. The adjustment allowed him to ride with greater calm and effectiveness. It will be crucial to confirm this step forward in the next Superbike round at Balaton Park (May 1–3). Being less limited in the first laps is something that can help the Spaniard have an excellent 2026.