Alvaro Bautista “struggling” at Jerez World Superbike round
“Last year it was easier to ride the bike with the gas, and [I had] more grip in the middle and exiting the corner.”
Alvaro Bautista endured one of his toughest Fridays of 2024 in Jerez, ending the first day of the final round of the season in 11th place on the timesheets.
The two-times champion, who was eliminated from title contention in last weekend’s Estoril Round, struggled in general with rear grip in Andalucia.
“For sure, it hasn’t been my best Friday so far because the feeling with the bike was very difficult,” Bautista told WorldSBK.com in Jerez.
“I struggled already from the morning with the rear grip. We tried both tyres, and we didn’t find a big advantage, so, in the end, we tried to work a bit with the bike.
“We made some steps [forward], but not enough. Now we have some data.
“Compared to last year, I’m struggling more; last year it was easier to ride the bike with the gas, and [I had] more grip in the middle and exiting the corner.
“But, this year, we’re struggling more, so we have data to work for tomorrow and try to improve my feeling and my confidence on the bike.
“Basically, today we struggled more with the rear grip; a little bit on entry, but especially mid-corner and exit the bike seems like it’s difficult to manage the grip and it became very nervous. We have to improve, basically, in this area.”
After winning both Sunday races in Aragon, both Estoril and now Jerez have seen Bautista struggle in comparison, especially this weekend in Jerez, where Bautista was out-paced on Friday by several other Ducati riders
“I think, in Aragon, with that amount of grip in the track it was easier for me,” Bautista said.
“In Estoril, we struggled a little bit more, but, at the end, we were the best Ducati, with Nicolo [Bulega].
“Here, to be Friday, the difference in time is not too much because we are like 0.5 seconds off the best lap. But the feeling, especially, is not the best, so we have to work on the feeling, and then, when I can force and I can ride the bike like I want, we will see the performance.”
In Estoril, Bautista and the factory Ducati team began working on settings for 2025, but Bautista said the starting point for him on Friday in Jerez was the setting he used in 2023.
“Basically, we started today with exactly the same setup as last year — with more weight and the new fuel [flow] regulation — but the feeling was not the same,” he said.
“So, now we have to make the normal change to the setup, like we did during all the season so far, to adapt to the new regulation.
“Tomorrow, I think we can make a step forward, and improve the feeling.”
Alex joined the Crash.net team in August of 2024 having covered consumer and racing motorcycle news at Visordown for two years.
