'Hat trick' objective in 2024
Winner of 27 races out of 36 in total in the last championship, Alvaro Bautista he became Superbike world champion for the second consecutive time, doing so once again aboard the Ducati. The Spaniard's dominance places him as the clear favorite to win the third title for next season, even if the #1 did not hide some concerns regarding the main objective of the 2024.
The minimum weight
In the first case there is the regulatory changes relating to the weight limit of the rider and the motorbikewhich overall must not be less than 168kg. In this way, riders under 80 kg, as in the case of Bautista or another Ducati rider like Oettl, will necessarily have to face the next challenges with a ballast on motorbikes to comply with the rule, even if the Spaniard did not hide some doubts about the new solution.
The doubts
In an interview with gpone.comthe world champion expressed his thoughts on the issue as follows: “They introduced this new rule about rider weight and I do not agree – has explained – being small and light does not only mean having advantages, but also many problems, such as tire heating and direction changes. I understand that they want to balance performance on the track, but in my opinion this is not the correct way to do it. I will definitely work harderbecause I will have to be more aggressive in his movements and I will need one longer braking distance to stop a heavier motorbike. For us it's not the best option, but we'll see what happens.”
Beware of rivals
In addition, Bautista also underlined other aspects that could put him in difficulty in winning the 2024 title, this time linked to his direct opponents, one above all: “To me, Razgatlioglu's choice to move to BMW didn't seem badas they have invested a lot in Germany – commented on the Turkish driver's move to BMW – furthermore, when you take on a rider like Toprak, it means that you are aiming for the world championship. Personally, I expect him to fight for the title from the first year. But besides him, Rea will also be there with Yamaha and I'm curious to see Bulega”. The rider from Emilia, fresh from winning the championship in Supersport, will make his debut in Superbike, taking over for Ducati from Michael Rinaldi, still riding a Ducati but in the Motocorsa Racing team.
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