What happened here? Alvaro Bautista explains

The first day of the postseason World Superbike test was red-flagged when Alvaro Bautista crashed.

Bautista fell from his Ducati on Tuesday in Jerez but was able to return to action later the same day.

“I am okay,” he reacted. “I was just braking. I lost the front. But without physical consequences for me.”

He went second-fastest on Tuesday behind only teammate Nicolo Bulega.

Bautista notably had #19 on his bike on Tuesday, having conceded the WSBK championship to Toprak Razgatlioglu at the weekend.

Bautista will return in 2025 having opted against retirement to try to claim the title back again.

On Tuesday at the Jerez test, he rode a base version of his Ducati without his personalised set-up.

He said about Tuesday’s bike: “It was different to the rest of the season. This weekend at the last race, the feeling was settled with the bike.

“[On Tuesday] I wanted to re-set everything. We used the base set-up on the frame, suspension and electronics.

“I didn’t want to use my bike.

“With the new regulations - with the weight - I wanted a clear start.

[Tuesday] was to forget my riding [habits].”

He continued: “It was not better or worse. It was different.

“I didn’t want to touch anything, just to understand how the bike was working.

“It was different, I wanted to just ride and adapt to the bike.

“We could have touched things but I didn’t want to. I just wanted to use the potential of the bike without my personal set-up.”

On Wednesday, Bautista explained his plan: “To understand more of the bike. After one day, in my mind, there is more data.

“I will try to keep this working.

"For me, it’s not about timings or finding a set-up. It’s just about riding, re-setting, and going into the winter break calmly.

"I want to start next year with a clear mind."