Bautista: “For now, I love it! In one of the best moments of my career”

As highlighted by his third WorldSBK hat-trick of the year, which is also his second in succession at Barcelona, the world champion has shown no signs of slowing down.

11 wins from 12 races means Bautista has opened up a lead over Toprak Razgatlioglu that can’t be overturned in one full weekend.

• Rinaldi and Bassani spat continues - “I don’t know what happened to his brain” 
• Tom Sykes leaves Puccetti Kawasaki, returns to BMW temporarily

Bautista won last season’s championship with a round to go, but given the results and form he’s currently in, doing so earlier than that in 2023 appears to be very likely.

Speaking after his treble of home wins in Catalunya, Bautista added: "I feel very good now and very strong. It’s what I said last year, that I feel in one of my best moments of my career. I still have this feeling. 

"I like the training and preparation at home, not only physically and at the moment I love it, to be a better rider. 

"I can keep racing. But I think one day, as a rider, I’ll think that I don’t want to do it continue, but for now, I love it. 

"In 2019, I made mistakes and we made technical mistakes as the bike was also new, such as trying things that we kept in the wrong way. 

"All together, lost the Championship, but now, we’re stronger than ever."

Locatelli wants to remain with factory Yamaha team in WorldSBK

With Bautista and Jonathan Rea confirmed for 2024, the next big name to watch is Locatelli’s teammate.

But whether Razgatlioglu stays with Pata Yamaha, leaves for another manufacturer or moves to MotoGP, Locatelli’s form so far this season has made him very likely to remain at the factory team.

"Honestly, I am so happy in Yamaha; when I came here in the first year in 2021, we learnt and improved in every race," said Locatelli. 

"I signed for two more years until 2023 as I loved the project and Yamaha were interested to help me and believe in me. 

"In this moment, I am happy about my bike. For sure, we need to improve a little bit on the power but in the end, the balance is not so bad and we’re always working to improve the bike. 

"In every race, we see that one manufacturer has an opportunity. In this time of my career, I am young enough to learn a lot and my target is to win or at least fight for wins and podiums. 

"Honda is a good bike, Kawasaki too, they can improve but we can improve our bike too. The feeling is try to continue with Yamaha."