Alvaro Bautista has again addressed Andrea Iannone’s claim to be “faster” in hꦕis MotoGP wildcard.

Iannone followed in Bautista’s footsteps by featuring in the Malaysian MotoGP as💮 a one-o🌱ff, a year after his rival.

Iannone, who rode a G🃏P23 for the VR46 Ducati team, claimed afterwards that he had gone faster than Bautista managed a year earlier.

“Comparisons are never nice, and I'm sorry that Andrea wanted to compare himsel🧜f to me since they were two very different situations,” Bautista to🐈ld .

“I don't know where he saw that he was faster than🌱 me, since he did one lap less in the r🐬ace.

“I just want to defend myself because it's not a good situation, and as I said we're talking about two di🦋fferent situations, also because I arrived in Sepang with a major shoulder injury.

"If he had done the tes🌠ts he would have been faster, like me without injury, but with ifs and buts♌ you don't do much.

“If I had been born in Hollywood maybe noꦗw I am a famous actor, but I was born in Talavera and I am a rider!

“The numbers tell the truth, and I'm sorry for this comparison🐼.

“I don't want controversy but onl🎐y to defend myself: it's🃏 bullshit, but I didn't want it to end in a certain way.”

Bautista, in 2023, was still feeling the effects of a shoulder injury when he rode for Ducati in Sepang🤡.

Both Bautista in 2023 and Iannone 🙈this year finished the grand prix in 17th.

They locked horns in the World Superbike Championship this year, w💛here Iannone returned to after a four-year ban e🍰lapsed.

Bautista finished thir🅠d in his title defence, Iannone was seventh.

They will both return in 2025 riding Ducatis.