The Ducati rider’s main concern is the new WorldSBK minimum weight limit,ౠ which means riders under 80kg will have to add 50% of t༒he (kg) difference to their bikes in the form of ballast.

For Bautista that equates to an extra 7kg on top of the 168kg minimuꦦm machine weight.

“They made this new [rider w🌟eight] rule and I don’t agree,” Bautista told .

🌱“Being𒆙 small and light does not only mean advantages, [it also means] many problems such as when warming up the tyres and changing direction.

“I understand that they want to balance the pe🐠rformance on track, but this is 🌜not the correct way to do it in my opinion.

“I will c🅷ertainly struggle more, because I will have to be more aggressive in my movements and I will need more braking distance to stop the [heavier] bike.

“For us this is not the best option, but we will🅘 💛see what happens.”

The next best Ducati rider in last year's world championship was team-mate Michele Rinaldi, ಌin fifth.

🐲Meanwhile, on title rival Toprak Razgatlioglu’s winter move from Yamaha to BMW, Bautista said:

“To me, Toprak’s choice to go to BMW didn’t seem🃏 bad, given that they invested a lot in Germany. Furthermore, the moment you get a rider like ♒Razgatlioglu, it means you are aiming for the title.

“Personally, I expect him to fight for the title from the first year. But besides him, Rea will also be🌊 there with Yamaha and I’m curious to see [new team-mate a🦄nd reigning WorldSSP champion] Bulega.”