The Latest Breaking News from WSBK

Bautista made his MotoGP return at the Sepang International Circuit last weekend for a wildcard appearance with Ducati, having recently wrapped up his second WSBK crown.Having not competed in a MotoGP round since the 2018 Valencia GP, when he rode a year-old Aspar-run Ducati, Bautista struggled – qualifying second-to-last, finishing…

Bautista moved to WSBK in 2019 with Ducati after losing his ride in MotoGP, previously serving nine years in the class riding Suzuki, Honda, Aprilia and Ducati machinery.

The first all-female circuit racing motorcycle racing series was announced back in April, though very little was known about it other than it would form part of the World Superbike support bill in 2024.

Bautista notched up his 25th win in 34 races in Saturday afternoon's 20-lap contest, beating his nearest title rival Toprak Razgatlioglu by a margin of 1.195 seconds.

Rinaldi had been left searching for alternative employment when Ducati made the decision to promote Nicolo Bulega directly from World Supersport to its works WSBK team, where he will join Alvaro Bautista.

Australia will be the only overseas destination on the 2024 schedule, with Phillip Island staging the opening round on 23-25 February following a pre-season test the week before.

Italian rider Bassani's move to Kawasaki, where he will replace Yamaha-bound Jonathan Rea, was finally made official on Friday on the eve of the penultimate round of the season at Portimao.

As reported by Motorsport.com earlier this month, Bassani will leave Motocorsa Ducati after three seasons to join Alex Lowes at Kawasaki next year.

Lowes went under the knife last Tuesday following the previous round at Magny-Cours, where a damaged meniscus on his left knee left him unable to complete the Superpole race, while also ruling him out of the second full-distance race.