Bautista: “Problem is if it happens in the races…”, reacts to ‘stupid crash’

Five red flags, several of which were deployed due to geese being on the edge of the track on day one of the official WorldSBK test at the Australian circuit, were shown as Bautista finished third fastest. 

Wildlife has often been the cause of red flags at Phillip Island whether racing has taken place towards the end of the season or the beginning, and although he joked about it, Bautista is concerned it could be an issue this weekend.

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Asked if the red flags impacted his test program, the world champion said: "Not too much but at the end we are in the test and we had some problems with the geese. 

"But the problem is if it happens in the races. Here, in Phillip Island, it is like this with the Kangaroo’s, big bears and everything. It’s not easy on this track. It’s a beautiful circuit but you find lots of animals during the track."

In terms of on-track action, Bautista was once again in fine form as he finished third - +0.134s down on Toprak Razgatlioglu.

After smashing the Superbike lap record at Portimao, Bautista continues to look strong aboard the new 2023 Panigale V4 R ahead of his title defence, although a new set-up that was tested was not to his liking. 

"Today was a really fun day because I enjoyed a lot with my bike," said Bautista. "Today we just checked again from Portimao the swingarm with a different set-up and it was working really well. 

"But at this track and with these tyres that are a bit harder than in Portimao I didn’t notice a difference. In fact, I think I prefer the base set-up instead of the new one. 

"But for the rest, we tried a different set-up on the front of the bike and we didn’t find something much better but step-by-step I got more confidence during this day. I’m quite happy with my feeling with the bike."

Bautista’s day was not without its hiccups as the Ducati rider, like Razgatlioglu (FP1) and Jonathan Rea, suffered a crash.

"I arrived behind Van Der Mark and I went in the wrong line," added the Spaniard. "Was a stupid crash because in that corner it’s very easy to crash because you need to arrive and stop the bike but fortunately I’m okay physically. I have to learn from this mistake."