Alvaro Bautista has admitted that switching to Honda for the 2020 WorldSBK season was not an easy decision as he was happy with the Ducati 'family'.

But the former MotoGP star, who had also been linked with a KTM MotoGP seat for next year, believes motivation offered by the new HRC project is a big factor.

“I am really happy, because I believe a lot in the new project with HRC. They want to come back to the World Superbike championship as a full factory team, so this has motivated me a lot," said Bautista.

“It was not an easy decision to make for me, as I am really happy with the Ducati family. We started with the new bike and a new project, and we were winning a lot of races.

Honda will unveil the new Fireblade in November and Bautista will have to start with a blank sheet of paper - athough HRC have collected a huge amount of data this year.

The project that HRC offered me motivated me a lot, as we will start from zero. I feel like one of the most important people.”

"To join the HRC factory is very important, as they are an important factory and want to win in WorldSBK again. The challenge for next year will be very difficult, but for sure, I will try and use my experience in the World Superbike championship from this season to develop the bike and hopefully, fight for victories.

“It is difficult to say now about the targets for 2020, but I want to work hard in the winter tests and arrive at the first round in the best way possible. I would like to fight for victories from the beginning, but we will see how everything is nearer the time.”