Ducati officially launch Aruba.it WorldSBK Team in Bergamo Data Centre

WorldSBK 2025

Aruba Ducati

A third of the 24 riders on the entry list for next week’s WorldSBK season opener at Phillip Island will compete on Ducati machinery. However, the most sought-after Panigale V4 R seats belong to the official Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team, which returns this season with 2023 champion Álvaro Bautista and 2023 World Supersport Champion Nicolo Bulega, who will start his second season in the ranks of the premier Superbike category.

This week, the team unveiled its 2025 WorldSBK campaign at the Aruba Global Cloud Data Centre in Ponte San Pietro (Bergamo, Italy). The event also featured the presentation of the Aruba Cloud MotoE team’s Ducati V21L bikes and the Aruba.it – Ducati Factory MX team’s Ducati Desmo450 MX.

More than 300 people present, including authorities, sponsors’ representatives, guests and media, got to see the new colours of the Ducati Panigale V4R before meeting the riders at the dinner following the ceremony.

Two-time WorldSBK Champion Álvaro Bautista enters his fifth season with the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team, returning to the track with renewed enthusiasm and heightened motivation. After a challenging 2024 season, during which he had to adapt to sudden regulatory changes that added ballast to the Ducati of the lightweight Spaniard, Bautista is eager to make his mark once again.

Alvaro Bautista

“I am very motivated for this season, which will be my fifth with the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team, the fourth in a row. Last year was more difficult than expected, but we still got positive results, finishing third in the world championship standings. It’s clear that expectations are higher this season, and if I’ve decided to continue racing, it’s because I feel I’m still physically and mentally competitive. We will try to find a good feeling right away and have fun. I thank the Aruba Racing team and Ducati for their support and commitment. I will do everything possible to reciprocate this trust by obtaining excellent results”.

Nicolò Bulega, the 2023 World Supersport Champion, made an immediate impact in his rookie WorldSBK season, emerging as one of the championship’s standout contenders. He kept the title fight alive until the final round, ultimately finishing as runner-up. Now entering his fourth season with the Aruba Racing family, the Italian rider looks to build on his impressive debut—especially after his blistering start last year at Phillip Island.

Nicolò Bulega

“I am thrilled to start my second year with the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team. I can say that I am very confident about what we did last season. 2024 has been very positive, and an excellent feeling has been created within the team. We start immediately in Australia, where last year I scored my first win on debut, so expectations are undoubtedly high. The first goal is to come home from Phillip Island with even better memories”.

The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team is now en route to Australia for two days of official testing early next week, as final preparations ramp up ahead of the season opener. The 2025 WorldSBK campaign officially kicks off at Phillip Island on the weekend of February 21-23, where the team aims to hit the ground running.

Stefano Cecconi – Team Principal Aruba.it Racing Ducati

“In 2024, we fought until the last race, and we know that the season about to begin will also offer us a challenge that is perhaps even tougher. However, we feel ready to face it at our best and with maximum motivation. The weather we found during the winter tests did not allow us to measure ourselves against all our opponents and did not offer us much time to spend on the track, so it will be even more interesting to do so during the next official test days in Australia, where the work of adapting to the new technical regulations will also continue. I know the value of our riders and the guys in the team well, so all that remains is for me to wish them all the best of luck”.

Claudio Domenicali – CEO Ducati Motor Holding

“This is a special day for Ducati and Aruba, two Italian companies of excellence that for over ten years have enjoyed a successful partnership characterized by a common passion for great challenges. With the presentation of the Aruba Racing season this collaboration is not only renewed, but raises the bar even higher, adding to the management of the Ducati official team in WorldSBK and the MotoE team also the new role of Title Sponsor for Ducati’s first historic adventure in the MXGP World Championship. We are certain that from all three of these experiences we will be able to obtain great satisfaction, relying on a consolidated working method with the people of Aruba, starting from CEO Stefano Cecconi, which focuses on technology, development and innovation with the ultimate goal of continuous growth”.

Luigi Dall’Igna – General Manager Ducati Corse

“A new season is beginning in WorldSBK with the same goal as always for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Team: to fight for the Riders’ World Title that we did not win last year and try to bring it back to Borgo Panigale. This is our mission, and we will give everything to achieve the goal. It is a tough challenge, we are aware of the level of our rivals, but we know what to do, we have already demonstrated it in the past. We know perfectly the potential of our riders, Álvaro Bautista and Nicolò Bulega, who have been World Champions in several categories and who in 2024 fought for the World Championship until the end and were competitive in almost every race with the Panigale V4 R. We can’t wait to see Álvaro and Nicolò take to the track with the new liveries in the next tests in Australia and in the first race at Phillip Island, a truly special track. Let’s not forget the Team and Manufacturer World Titles that we won last year, let’s start from here and continue in this direction. I’m sure it will be a season full of emotions, we will have a lot of fun.”

2025 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Calendar

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