Delighted Alvaro Bautista after Catalunya test: “I feel like I’m back again!”
Nicolo Bulega (P1) and Alvaro Bautista (P3) react to Thursday's WSBK test
The Catalunya WorldSBK test might eventually be remembered as the moment Alvaro Bautista’s title defence truly began.
Bautista has endured an injury-disrupted winter ahead of the 2024 season which features new weight rules.
But on Thursday, the first of two days of testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Bautista went third-fastest and emerged with a feeling of delight.
Bautista was second-quickest until a late surge from Toprak Razgatlioglu, but still completed 100 laps with a best time of 1’41.029s.
He confirmed there are no lingering feelings from his injury, and added: “Now, I am happy because I am feeling like I am back again.
“After the Australian Round, I was quite confident and, today, I started like a bit awkward but then I felt good on the bike.
“I can say I don’t have problems riding the bike.
“We didn’t make a lot of changes because, for me, it’s important to get the feeling with the bike.
“The bike is basically the same as last year. A bit more weight but basically the bike didn’t change.
“It’s important to get the feeling, get used to the new weight of the bike and see in which areas we can push more or less.”
Nicolo Bulega fastest on Thursday in Barcelona
Bautista’s Ducati teammate Nicolo Bulega has topped the timesheets at every WSBK test he has been involved in.
On Thursday he completed 72 laps with a best time of 1’40.305s, which arrived on his 67th lap.
He finished half-a-second clear of Razgatlioglu.
Bulega reacted: “It’s not a bad feeling to be P1!
“I know it’s just a test, but it gives me a lot of confidence to be P1 but also if I was P2; I’m fast, so it’s good.
“I used the SCQ, I think like everybody. I used it like Alvaro, Toprak and a lot of guys.
“I tried the new Pirelli C900 tyre, and I liked it; I think it can be a good choice for the round.
“All the tyres I tried today, I had a good feeling. We concentrated a lot on the clutch because, in Australia, my three starts were bad.
“We tried something new on the clutch to start better. I improved a little bit, so I’m happy, but when you are in the races, it’s more difficult.”
Every WSBK rider will also test on Friday in Barcelona.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
