Alvaro Bautista says WorldSBK can have a three-way victory fight in 2025 without combining the minimum weight rules.
This rule was introduced in the 2024 world superbike season after Bautista won 27 of 36 races in 2023.
Since then, Bautista has won four races in his latest race at Aragon Race 2 last year.
The Spanish rider became more openly with his opposition to the rule, branding “discrimination” in a social media post after the Emilia Romana round in June.
Bautista’s Donington struggled to be in the top 10 during practice, but managed to score the podium in third place, three seconds behind his factory Ducati teammate Nicolo Brega and winner Toplac Razgatoriogle.
“The problem is when we punish only the riders, not the bike,” Alvaro Bautista said after Race 2 at Donington.
“This is a big problem.
“If they removed this stupid rule – because there’s no sense in this rule – I think we’ll probably be able to see the three of them, not two riders fighting for victory.”
He added that past success came not because of his lightweight but because of his slow pace of racing on used tires.
“In the past, there have been a lot of issues with the first lap, and if you’ve seen all the races before, you don’t get straight out and get away on the first lap.
“Maybe I’m two or three places too strong, but in a normal race I was fighting on the first lap.
“Then after the race, I started making a huge difference. For everything, for body energy, tire consumption, everything, the bike was lighter after a few laps at that moment, so it’s much easier for me to ride a bike.
“There are two types of forces at the corners (downward) and sub-force. Now I’m stronger than (downward) force, so I have even more problems.
Alvaro Bautista explains tire strategy
Bautista followed this pattern in Race 2 at Donington, catching him again until the very end after falling about three seconds from Brega in the opening part of the race.
Brega himself said this depends on the choice of tires. Because where he had the SCX rear tires, Bautista had a more difficult SC0.
Bautista takes a defensive stance on this and says it’s impossible for him to compete with the SCX as he can’t push the full tank, so he needs a tire with a grip at the end when the bike is lighter.
“In the race, I was able to match both of them at the same pace (Bulega and Razgatlioglu).
“Okay, because you (i) you used SC0 and SCX.
“It depends on your strategy.
“Finally, with SCX, I can’t push any more because it relies heavily on the bike. I can’t use it because (either) on the SCX or SC0 pushes me out.
“So, at least when the bike is a little lighter, I prefer to have tires.
“That’s why I had to choose the SC0. I was forced to use this tire. Not because it was more performance, but because I couldn’t use performance first because the bike wouldn’t allow me.
“I need to play with my cards.
“Everyone has cards and you need to play your best cards, so this is my card.”
He added: “We recommend that all riders be placed in the same conditions and rely on each rider’s abilities.”