MotoGP 2017 – Alvaro Bautista to ride Aspar Ducati GP16
Bautista returns to the team where he was crowned 125cc World Champion in 2006, and 250cc runner-up in 2008
The Aspar Team and Álvaro Bautista will join forces again in 2017, the Spaniard (born 21st November 1984) returning to the team where he last raced between 2006 and 2009. Bautista’s fifth season with the Aspar Team will also be his eighth season in MotoGP, this time riding aboard a Ducati GP16.
Álvaro Bautista touched the sky in his first season together with the Aspar Team in the 125cc World Championship in 2006.
The rider from Talavera de la Reina picked up eight pole positions, eight victories, four second places and two thirds, taking 338 points from sixteen races on his way to a dominant title.
Bautista was crowned champion in Australia, handing the Aspar Team its first World Championship with three rounds to spare.
Bautista moved up to the 250cc World Championship together with the Aspar Team, fighting for honours throughout three seasons that saw him come close to the title in 2008, when he finished runner-up.
Bautista and the Aspar Team again recorded impressive figures in the intermediate class, with a total of eight wins, twenty podiums, nine poles and twelve fastest laps.
In 2010 he made the step up to MotoGP with Suzuki, spending two seasons with the Japanese factory team before switching to Gresini, where he currently rides an Aprilia after an initial period on a Honda.
The 2012 season was Bautista’s best so far in MotoGP, with two podium finishes and fifth overall in the championship.
Jorge Martínez ‘Aspar’
“For the Aspar Team it gives us great pleasure in every sense to welcome Álvaro Bautista back. As a team we picked up our first World Championship title with him back in 2006 and we enjoyed some wonderful years together. Our professional and personal relationship with him is excellent and for the team and our sponsors this is great news. My hope and desire is that this brings great results for Ducati and for us. It is important for us to have a Spanish rider with his record and his professionalism. He can give us an advantage on track.”
Álvaro Bautista
“I am happy to be returning to what was my home for many years in the World Championship, where I enjoyed my best results including the 125cc World Championship title and fought for another title in 250cc. I am happy and motivated to be going back and especially to have another year in MotoGP, a new adventure. Over the years I have grown a lot and I have much more experience now. I am confident that with this team we can be competitive in 2017.”
