Alvar💟o Bautista says he has engaged 🎀in discussions with Ducati over a new World Superbike deal for 2025, but insists nothing has been signed.

The double world champion has endured a difficult 2024 campaign on the factory Ducati 🌱as a result of the series’ combined rider/bike weight limit rules.

Dominant in the last two years, Bautista has slid behind younger team-mate Nicolo Bulega after six rounds in 2024 and speculation has been rife that he may not reach a new agreement with Duc꧂ati.

However, on the run up to this weekend’s Portimao round, it is now thought Bautista♎ and Ducati are close to agreeing on a new deal - though the Spaniard has moved to quell these reports.

“Well, if ꩵyou read on the social media, the comments for everybody, it’s crazy,” Bautista told WorldSBK.com.

“ꦬOne day I’m already signed. Next day my bike is for ‘this’ rider. The next day we have agreed together. And next day we are not in the same agreement. It’s crazy.

“The real🍨ity is we started to speak after Most and we are in negotiations.

“That’s the reality. It’s clear that I want the best f🥃or me and ꦑDucati wants the best for them.

“We are not f♉ighting but speaking. 🌼So, for the moment, all you see on the social networks is fake. It’s nice to see the people speaking, but it’s not true [that anything is signed].”

He added when asked where negotiations had reached: “Well, at least we spoke a lot. We have not signed, but we are on the way and let’s 𝔍see.”

All of this follows reports that🍨 KTM MotoGP rider Jack Miller - who raced for Ducati between 2018 and 2022 - had been of🐻fered a WSBK deal by the Italian manufacturer for 2025.

Earlier o🏅n Thursday, Danilo Petrucci confirmed that his preference now is to remain with the Barni Racing Ducati squad in 2025 and hopes to announce his plans soon.

Baut꧟ista took a clean sweep of victories at Portimao last year after battling hard with current chamꩵpionship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu.

Having gone without a victory siꦦnce Barcelona at round two, Bautista doubts a repeat of his Portimao form from one year ago is possible this weekend.

But he does feel like he made a step with his feeling on the bike at Most last time out and hopes to build on that in Portugal🍰.

“Since🔜rely, after Most, the feeling with the bike improved a lot,” he said.

“And I had the confidence that this weekend can help me to keep up this improvꦯement.

“I’m looking forward to tomorrow to start working on the bike and fe🐬el good like in Most and try to arrive to my performance.

“This is the target of this weekend, tryiไng to arrive to the performance we had last year.”