PORTUGUESE ROUND | SATURDAY

Alvaro Bautista was the protagonist of a fantastic Race-1 at Portimão characterised by an intense fight with Rea (Kawasaki) and Razgatlioglu (Yamaha).

The Turkish rider managed to hold off the reigning World Champion until the seventh lap, then Bautista’s pace became uncatchable and allowed him to win Saturday’s race by a comfortable margin.

At the chequered flag the Ducati party got underway.

The results of Race-1, in fact, officially hand the Borgo Panigale Company the WorldSBK Manufacturers’ Title for 2023.
Ducati thus confirms the World Title won in 2022 and brings the total number of championship victories in the category reserved for manufacturers to 19, an outright record in the Superbike World Championship.

This is a further chapter of a legendary journey that began in 1991 with the three consecutive successes achieved with the Ducati 888 and which has been characterized by some memorable achievements, such as the three World Titles won one after the other with the Ducati 916 between 1994 and 1996 and the seven triumphs between 1998 and 2004 with the 916, 996, 998 and 999 models. Ducati was able to confirm itself in the Manufacturers’ category also in the 2008 and 2009 seasons with the 1098 and 1198 models.

#THEDEFENCE

Alvaro Bautista #1 
RACE 1 P 1

“I am very happy for this victory, which also gives Ducati its second consecutive Manufacturers’ World Title. It is an important result for the Borgo Panigale family and I am very pleased to have made a real contribution. Even during the race there were many emotions with exciting duels and a strong wind that made things difficult. The feeling on the bike was not the same as this morning and I couldn’t push as I wanted, so I thought about not making mistakes.”