Having the new Ducati Panigale V4 R in their hands in 2026 will be more of a problem than an advantage for Alvaro Bautista and the Barni Spark Racing team. According to what we have learned, the Bergamo-based outfit will have to weigh down the Spanish rider's bike with about 8.5 kg of ballast in the new World Superbike season.
Despite Alvaro's battle against the controversial minimum bike+rider weight rule, which came into force in 2024, the regulation will not be revised. This means that Marco Barnabò's team will have to contend not only with the already known 7 kg of extra weight brought in by the two-time Superbike World Champion. But also with the lightening of the latest evolution of the Panigale, which will lead to an increase of about 1.5 kg in the total weight of the ballast mounted by Alvaro, with the Barni team's setup.
This is because the regulations not only state that a rider weighing less than 80 kg (including suit) must add half the difference to his bike. They also set a minimum weight for all bikes of 168 kg, and the new Ducati is slightly below this limit.
This is no small detail for the independent team, which however is not in the least intimidated by the challenge: as its owner Barnabò explained to us during the winter, the Barni team is studying some solutions to try to make the ballast an advantage for Alvaro rather than a disadvantage.
Although the rain that fell during testing at Jerez and Portimao did not facilitate the team's work, which in addition to evaluating the best placement for the additional weight also had to design ballast capable of adapting to the new bike, we should already begin to understand whether the plan is working or not at Phillip Island.