The penultimate piece of the 2017 puzzle has fallen into place. Today, the Pull&Bear Aspar team announced that they have signed Alvaro Bautista to race for them for the 2017 season.
The deal had long been anticipated, Bautista confirming at the Sachsenring that he was in talks with Aspar, and expected a contract to be signed.
The final details were sorted out in Austria, and an announcement made the day before the Czech Grand Prix is to get underway in Brno.
Like the Avintia Ducati team, Aspar will have two different bikes at their disposal for their riders. One rider will be given a Ducati Desmosedici GP16 for the season, while the other will have a Desmosedici GP15.
In the Avintia team, it is Hector Barbera who will have the GP16, while Loriz Baz makes do with the GP15. In Aspar, it is Alvaro Bautista who has the GP16, while the second rider, still to be confirmed, will get to use the GP15.
Bautista’s signing leaves one more seat to fill. The second seat at Aspar is still up for grabs, though Eugene Laverty has first refusal on it.
The Irishman is still vacillating between the Aspar ride and a seat in WorldSBK with Aprilia. A decision on that shoudl be forthcoming very soon. If Laverty doesn’t take the seat, then Yonny Hernandez will retain his seat in the Aspar squad.
Photo: © 2016 Tony Goldsmith / www.tonygoldsmith.net – All Rights Reserved
This article was originally published on MotoMatters, and is republished here on Asphalt & Rubber with permission by the author.
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