SBK, Alvaro Bautista’s outburst: "I blew up, nobody wanted me"

Bautista reiterates his stance on the minimum weight rule in Superbike: he still hopes it will be scrapped for 2026.

It will be very interesting to see how Alvaro Bautista fares in the next WorldSBK championship with the Ducati Panigale V4 R of the Barni Spark Racing Team. After years spent only with factory teams, for the first time he will race with an independent outfit, albeit a very strong one like the structure led by Marco Barnabò.

His dream is to pull off the feat of winning the title as an independent rider, but it will be very complicated. The minimum weight rule introduced in 2024 is still in effect and forces him to race with about 6 kilograms of ballast. Even though he has spent the past few months trying to get it abolished, even having his Superbike colleagues sign a petition, it is very likely that in 2026 he will again find himself racing with the extra weight.

Interviewed by Motorbike Magazine, the 41-year-old Spaniard explained his decision to commit to the fight to scrap the rule that has penalized him over the last two years: "This year I exploded and had to vent, because I couldn’t take it anymore. It’s tough knowing you can fight for good results, to win races and world championships, but because of an injustice you can’t show it. I feel better inside, because I feel I’m fighting against something unfair and I’m trying to obtain justice."

Bautista recalled that he risked being left without a seat for the 2026 Superbike World Championship and reiterated why penalizing lighter riders is a big mistake: "This year, when I was left without a contract, nobody wanted me, because of my weight, since they would have had to modify the bikes. Riders with my build won’t be able to come here; nobody will want them. You shouldn’t penalize a rider for his physique, because it gives him advantages but also disadvantages. If you take away the few advantages he has, you’re not playing fair. You’re taking away all the advantages I might have had, and where I was already at a disadvantage you’re increasing that gap, so now I’m even worse off."

Alvaro reveals that, despite Gregorio Lavilla’s recent statements (Dorna WorldSBK Executive Director), a change to the rules is not 100% impossible: "They’re considering it. The MSMA, especially some manufacturers, do not agree with scrapping it. I don’t understand it, because I’ve been racing with ballast for two years and I’ve beaten those manufacturers even with the extra weight. They don’t care whether I carry ballast or not, because it won’t affect them. The only one it affects on the grid is me. In practice you’re creating a rule for one rider. When I was at Honda, nobody complained that I was light."

Bautista has a glimmer of hope that he can contest the 2026 Superbike World Championship without ballast, even if today it seems highly unlikely: "It’s a decision that doesn’t depend on me or on the riders, even though most agree with abolishing it and finding another solution. I think they should listen to us, modify and reverse the decision taken. There’s still a long way to go before Phillip Island, but I trust they will listen to us and I hope they make the right decision to ensure healthy and fair competition."

As we’ve already said, it would be interesting to see the Barni Spark Racing Team rider compete without the extra weight. We’ll see if anything changes in the coming weeks. Teams and riders will be back on track on January 21–22, 2026 for the first pre-season test scheduled at Jerez, then on the 28th and 29th they’ll run at Portimão. On February 16–17 the action will move to Phillip Island, which will then host the opening round of the 2026 Superbike calendar.