Well on his way to making it back-to-back WorldSBK championships in 2023, Bautista has been even more impressive than last seaso❀n after winning 11 of the first 12 races. 

The factory Ducati rider has been just as dominant as 🥃the beginning of 2019 as he now gets set for the first of two home rounds for Ducati.&nbಞsp;

• Bautista: “I don’t think Ducati ♔wants two top riders, difꦬficult to manage” 
• Kawasaki “is now 10ﷺ0% WorldSBK” after deciding not to enter Suzuka 8 hou𒉰rs

Misano plays host to the first ꦬof those two rounds this weekend, and while full focus is on extending his championship lead over Toprak Razgatli♓oglu, Bautista will soon be aboard MotoGP machinery as a ‘prize’ for winning last season’s title.

Although it’s only scheduled as a one-day test, Ducati management 😼have not ruled out the possibility of Bautista doing a MotoGP wildcard appearance later this season, however, the Spaniard claims the test is not part of a pre-arranged plan t♉o do so. 

Talking about his upcoming test, Bautista told : "After I won the World Championship in 🦩WorldSBK, I asked Ducati to have a ꧒test with the MotoGP bike because, from the outside, it seems like a really fun bike. 

"We will do the test very soon. I don’t do the test with an intention to do a wildcard. I’d ✱like to do the test aꦕnd let’s see what happens. 

"I don’t think there’s a lot of chance to repeat what Troy 🍷Bayliss did in𓆉 2006. It was another time and it was different. 

"At the moment, in my mind, it’s only the World Superbike Championship. I just take the test🃏 like a prize andꦫ don’t think about Troy Bayliss."

Bautista needing to be ‘more precise’ in WorldSBK title defence

Bautista’s late race p⛄ace has 🦩been a big reason as to why he’s claimed so many wins in 2023 already.

However, the 38-year๊-old does not believe he will have things his own way at Misano: "My rivals are very strong, especially🦩 Toprak and Jonathan but also we have new names closing the gap like Locatelli or my teammate, Rinaldi. 

"Also, the two Hondas are ver♌y close. This yeaꦛr, you have to be more precise to make fewer mistakes and have more focus on the weekend otherwise you lose a lot of positions."