WorldSBK, Cecconi: “Bautista is in control. The second seat? We’re not in a hurry”

If there are certainties in the Superbike paddock then one of these is the Aruba Ducati team that, from 2015 until now, has steered the Ducati mission in the production-derived paddock. A pathway that, in order to become perfect, needs just one final step, or rather the world title, something that is fixed in the mind of both Team Principal Stefano Cecconi and the rest of the squad. And 2022 could be that year, considering the standout performance of prodigal son Alvaro Bautista.

Stefano, how can you sum up Bautista part 2?

“I couldn’t ask for more right now, as it wasn’t exactly a given that he’d immediately find the confidence he had with the 2019 bike; the bike is similar but not the same. He was pleased right from the first test, which gave us peace of mind, and the race results have further improved the mood of course. I think Alvaro has been able to bridge some gaps between then and now, and so he feels more confident and in control now”.

And how are things on a personal level?

“As a person, Alvaro has always been wonderful, both in terms of his professionalism and friendliness. His awareness is different, in that it was all new to him in 2019, although he nevertheless put together an excellent rookie season, but you can sense he’s more relaxed now”.

Considering his current form, do you regret the fact that his contact was not renewed in 2019?

“In hindsight, I’d say yes, but situations need to be contextualized. At that time, it wasn’t possible to come to an agreement, and Alvaro believed in a project and thought he’d find something better, something that has now made him more mindful perhaps. In terms of results, 2019 left us with a bitter taste only up to a certain point – it was pure chance that the first tracks on the calendar suited Alvaro and the bike, while those that came later exacerbated the negative trend to some extent. If we’d run the same championship but inverted the tracks, the overall perception of the season would have been different”.

How do you think the 2020 and 2021 seasons would have gone with Alvaro on the team?

“Well I expect. I don’t think we’d have done worse than second or third, but I can’t say we’d have easily won the championships during those seasons”.

Redding recently criticised Bautista’s weight advantage, calling for a bike+rider weight ruling. What do you think?

“Scott says what he thinks, which is a good thing. I don’t agree, the weight of the rider brings advantages and disadvantages. For example, Redding is stronger and can therefore overcome certain problems. Alvaro has an advantage relating to his weight, but less so than you might think, in that he makes the difference by lifting the bike on exiting the corners. He’s also very good at not consuming the tyres, which obviously helps at the end of a race. I don’t think it would be fair to penalise him where he has an advantage without helping him where he’s at a disadvantage. And we weren’t in favour of this rule when we had Redding and Davies on the team either”.

Cecconi: "I don’t want to sign contracts in December, but not now either"

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The market’s in full swing now. What’s the situation re the second seat?

“In this regard, the pressure is more external than internal. We’re fairly relaxed and can take it a bit easy. We’ve got used to a market where decisions for the following year are taken early on in the current year, which is strange. I don’t want to sign contracts in December, but we’re barely midway through the season. We may stay as we are or we may decide to make changes”.

Are the candidates Rinaldi, Petrucci and Bassani?

“To be honest we’re not in an advanced stage of negotiations with anyone”.

In Supersport you’ve embarked on a new path. Are you pleased?

“I’m pleased with Bulega, firstly with how he’s tackling the season – he was, and still is, sure of his decision. We’re paying for the fact the bike is new and are battling bikes that are a lot further forward in terms of their development. At the start of the project, we’d have said that we’d be very happy with podiums, but now we’re starting to crave that first win. The limitations at the start were significant, but things are improving now, although the old Supersport bikes still have something more”.

Is Bulega already sorted for 2023?

“He’ll stay in Supersport, also because we considered the first year to be a learning experience, with a view to trying to win during the second year”.

Is there a project to create a supply chain of riders for Superbike in Supersport?

“That was the initial idea, also because we’d already started to do that in Superstock1000, which also fields bikes that are more similar to the Superbike. When the new Supersport class was created, we thought it would make sense to develop a rider internally, constructing a pathway that could also lead to the factory team in the reigning class”.

Aruba is in MotoGP as a title sponsor for the first time this year. Does this mark the start of a change of paddock?

“Right now we’re focused on Superbike and Supersport. The MotoGP opportunity came about when we discussed the renewal with Ducati. Pirro has always done wildcards and seeing as we have a great relationship with the MotoGP and SBK test teams, we took this decision. It’s been great to see a piece of our paddock on the other side, but we have no further plans for now”.

Speaking of the test teams, do you think more could be done on the Superbike side?

“There is development, I can confirm that. Ducati has done well to only reveal part of the work it’s been doing, also because the fact we’re leading the championship is proof that we’re working hard. We’re working and I think the results will come. By the end of the year, the new version of the Panigale V4R will be presented and this will definitely help us further.”

Translated by Heather Watson

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