Alvaro Bautista unhappy, Lavilla: "So why does he keep racing in SBK?

Lavilla, Dorna WorldSBK executive director, has made statements that Bautista won’t like at all.

Alvaro Bautista was crowned Superbike world champion in 2022 and 2023, then the controversial minimum weight rule was introduced and the title fight became a two-man affair between Razgatlioglu and Bulega. The regulations were changed under pressure from rival manufacturers and riders, and perhaps Ducati underestimated the impact it would have on the Spanish rider’s performance, who, with about 6 extra kilos on his Panigale V4 R, ran into fairly significant difficulties.

At the end of the 2025 season the two-time SBK world champion had his colleagues sign a petition regarding the cancellation of the aforementioned rule. Almost everyone signed it, but there doesn’t seem to be any change to the regulations planned for 2026, the year in which the 41-year-old from Talavera de la Reina will race with the Barni Spark Racing Team’s Panigale V4 R.

Gregorio Lavilla, Dorna WorldSBK executive director, gave an interview to the YouTube channel of journalist Manuel Pecino and responded to Bautista’s complaints: "Beyond how someone expresses their discontent, they still want to keep racing here. There comes a time to say: if you think there are so many injustices, why do you want to keep putting up with them? Are you obliged to? Calling it combined weight is a mistake, because that would mean everyone on the grid would have the same combined bike-rider weight. That doesn’t exist, it’s impossible. When there’s a variety of riders with weight differences of up to 30 kilos, it’s impossible to add that kind of ballast. What we have is leveling to reach a more balanced average, but not combined. Together with the manufacturers we decided to add weight using a multiple of 0.5. This means that if you’re missing 10 kilos, you get 5; if you need to add 5, then you have 2.5".

Lavilla is keen to stress that the rule introduced in Superbike in 2024 wasn’t made to go against Bautista and that getting older is also affecting his results: "It’s not an attack on anyone. But we reached an extreme of certain practices that makes no sense. I’m not saying it can’t have an effect, but it’s something that was agreed upon by multiple parties, such as the FIM and the manufacturers. Did Bautista stop winning because of the weight? Time catches up with everyone. Bautista will still be light at 60, so he’ll be able to get on a bike and win. It’s a combination of factors, and his weight probably played a role in certain things, but no one is against him. I’m very sorry that people might think that. If you’re consistent, I would ask: why do you continue? It’s the same song every weekend. You’re the one who voluntarily wants to keep suffering from this".

Lavilla, who was a rider for many years, did not hide his annoyance both at Bautista’s complaints and at the insinuations being made about the rule. Many have called it an “anti-Bautista law,” but he tried to explain that this isn’t the case and that the aim was simply to make the situation on the Superbike grid more balanced. There are many differing opinions on the subject. In fact, there is only one rider truly affected by the rule, so it’s normal to consider it ad personam.

Alvaro reacted on social media by sharing some comments from his fans, critical of the WorldSBK executive director. It now seems certain that his attempt to change the regulations will have to be shelved; even in 2026 he will have to race with ballast on his Panigale V4 R.

YouTube Channel: CorsedimotoTV