Bautista was the first rider to seriously threaten Jonathan Rea’s run of dominance when he joined WSBK from MotoGP in 2019, winning an unprecedented 11 races in a row at the start of the campaign with Ducati and its then-new Panigale V4 R.
Bautista’s title challenge eventually crumbled in spectacular fashion and he ended up splitting with Ducati after a single season to join Honda, but the 37-year-old has returned to the Italian marque this year in place of BMW’s new signing Scott Redding.
Competing in his first weekend back at Ducati since the 2019 season finale in Qatar, Bautista successfully outgunned Rea and reigning champion Toprak Razgatlioglu in both races on Sunday to clinch a double win and take an early lead in the championship.
Speaking after the season opener, Bautista said he feels he and Ducati now form a very potent partnership, with both sides having worked on their weak points in the intervening years in search of championship succcess.
“That time was the…
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