Do Ducati's hopes of winning the 2022 WorldSBK champ🌄ionship rest solely on Alvaro Bautista's shoulders?&nbဣsp;

෴Ducati have not won a WorldSBK championship since 2011 when Carlos Checa claimed the title, ho⭕wever, one of their best seasons ever from a statistical point of view was set by former MotoGP rider Bautista in 2019. 

Winner of 16♑ races - one less than eventual champion Jonathan Rea - including the first 11, Bautista returns to a f💙amiliar team, and perhaps more importantly a very familiar bike. 

Bautista and team-ma♓te Michael Rinaldi will be aboard a revised 2022-spec Panigale V4-R machine, a bike very similar to last season’s package which saw Scott Redding challenge Rea and current champion Toprak Razgatlioglu for much of the year. 

With Bautista and Ducati’s expe🐟rience, both togeth🔜er and apart, many expect a title challenge despite WorldSBK getting more and more competitive every year. 

During the Aruba.it Ducati team’s official 2022 launch, Ducati Corse General Manager, Luigi Dall’Igna, ꦕacknowledged as much, although ‘this doesn’t scare us’. 

"The level of WorldSBK is growing every year, as wel🐬l as the competition," added Dall’Igna. 

"Obviously, this doesn't scare us, and on the contrary, it pushes us to give more and more, work more carefully and focus on🌼 every single detail. 

"In the 2021 World Championship, our team was the only one to have won at least one race with both riders, and this confirms the potential of the Pan𒁃igale V4R. 

"To achieve our most important goa🏅l, we rely on Alvaro Bautista's return - who🦋 needs no introduction - and Michael Rinaldi's desire to impress. 

"In addition, in the 2022 season, we will also be competing in the Wor𒉰ld Supersport Championship with the Panigale V2. 

"It's a fascinating challenge that underline💟s Ducati's deep commitment to the world of production-based racing."

Bautista has already looked quick during pre-season testing after he joined Razgatlio♋glu and Rea as the lone riders to break the Official Portimao lap record during a two-d🦄ay test last month.