NOT A DEAD CERT…
FIM SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
I t was with almost no surprise whatsoever that I learned Alvaro Bautista had joined Chaz Davies in the official Ducati WSB squad, when the press release pinged in my inbox. Alvaro’s time in GP, really, was up three years ago. But he hung in there, and the last time we spoke (when he was riding for Aprilia), he was determined to try and make it somewhere near the front of MotoGP – one last try.
He was hoping securing decent second-gen Ducatis would give him the tools for the job, and though he had a half decent 2017 for a privateer, 2018 hasn’t been all that. Plus, with new signings in GP needing to be under 20 years old (as is the current fashion), and him on the wrong side of 30, nobody was answering his calls any more, so to speak.
We’d discussed him potentially moving to WSB, and he was open to the idea three years ago. Like anything else though, the prestige of GP was partly what kept him hanging around, that and the increased money of course.
This new challenge may energise him once again. Should you agree with a lot of what’s been said on social media since the news, the world seems to think simply being an ex-GP racer means he’s quids-in for the title already. Anything is possible, but look at previous swaps twixt both series, it’s not that easy.
For well over a decade now, (most) riders moving between the two classes have been saying WSB is more a completely different discipline, rather than a step down in terms of talent. The roads to both classes are usually very different, too, as have been the fortunes of those who swap over.
People are quite happy to talk about how Superbike riders wash out in GP, but the fact is that the same is true the other way around. In recent memory, Stefan Bradl and Karel Abraham both seriously struggled, enough that they lasted only a single season in WSB. And Jonny Hernandez has hardly set WSB alight thus far, has he?
Go further back, and it took both Max Biaggi and Carlos Checa four seasons to win the WSB title. Biaggi turned up, won his first race in 2007 at Qatar on the Alstare Suzuki, then only won a single extra race that year, and none the year after. Checa likewise would put in the odd win here and there before his title win in 2011. Were we to believe the huge purported gulf between riders in both series in terms of talent, shouldn’t they have ruled the roost after a short period acclimatising, rather than it taking multiple seasons to achieve?
True, Ben Spies turned up and won at the first attempt, but he had three AMA Superbike titles in his back pocket so was already well versed in la vie Superbikes. That and he was a special talent, of course. The other GP refugee of note was John Kocinski, who triumphed in his second year on the Castrol Honda in 1997, yet the history books are awash with ex-GP racers who, despite wins, titles and success in various classes, couldn’t the grade in WSB. Even the much missed Norick Abe, a man who had beaten Mick Doohan and other racing legends in a straight fight a few times, barely made a mark there.
Which brings me neatly back around to Alvaro and his new venture. He certainly has the talent to achieve great things there, and add another thorn in the side of Jonny Rea and his new team-mate. Yet he’ll have to get used to the Pirelli tyres that behave quite differently to GP hoops, and the Ducati V4 will also be new, too, so there will likely be development needed before either can truly challenge. He will also find, as have others, that the rest of the grid are not shy of putting moves into anybody, no matter who they are.
But the great thing about racing is how unpredictable it can be, so he could hit the ground running. With what will doubtless be a fresh and determined attitude to prove his worth, he may indeed be one to watch – but time will tell…