Alvaro Bautista, Scott Redding discuss “aggressive,” “tasty” Australian WorldSBK Race 1 battle

Phillip Island is not a circuit where aggressive battles are a rarity, and in World Superbike Race 1 on Saturday it was Alvaro Bautista and Scott Redding who delivered one of the most intense duels.

For Bautista, Race 1 in Phillip Island saw him back on the podium having missed out in all three races in the final round of 2024 at Jerez; while Redding’s podium-contending ride resulted in fifth: his best result since he was fourth in the Superpole Race at Magny-Cours last September.

“I fought a little bit with Scott [Redding] that was too aggressive but at the end I was able to get some distance,” Bautista told WorldSBK.com.

He clarified: “Not aggressive, but he [Redding] tried, for sure, to be there because he’s strong here, maybe, with the strong wind [because] big riders have more strength on the bike and they can move the bike a bit better.

“I struggle a little bit more.

“He did a really good race because he started very well and he stayed there all the time.

“But when he was in front of me he was slower, so I think he was fast because he had the reference, but he battled very well.”

Redding himself described the battle with Bautista as “tasty”, and “good, clean racing”.

“It was tasty, that one [with Bautista],” he told WorldSBK.com.

“It was nice. Being able to overtake people again and to race in a way that I’m able to race, and I was having a lot of fun.

“I was pushing a lot because at the moment they are a bit faster than me so I was trying to adapt and learn in the moment, and when you make a step with the speed there’s a lot of things changing.

“Then I said ‘Okay, come on, we fight a little bit with them’.

“Then Alvaro [Bautista] came under quite aggressive, and I said ‘Okay, take a breath, we go racing again’.

“It was nice. It was good, clean racing.”