Alvaro Bautista enjoys “really fun” Australian WorldSBK fightback after Superpole Race “mistake”
Alvaro Bautista went from 11th to second in WorldSBK Race 2 at Phillip Island.
Two mistakes in the Australian World Superbike Superpole Race left Alvaro Bautista 11th on the grid for Race 2 at Phillip Island, but he recovered to second in the final race of the weekend.
Bautista’s Superpole Race issues started on the first lap when he ran wide at turn four and dropped to the back of the pack. A lap later, he crashed at turn six, and remounted to finish last, forcing him to start 11th on the grid for Race 2.
“The problem [at turn four] is that the wind there is in a different direction to [Saturday],” Bautista explained when speaking to WorldSBK.com.
“So, with the slipstream of the other riders, I arrived a bit faster and the wind was pushing me. I braked at the same point, but I could not stop the bike.
“I think Toprak [Razgatlioglu] was behind me and he felt the same as me, so he cannot stop the bike and he went long like me.
“Fortunately I was alone, because it could be dangerous if we touched another rider.”
About Race 2, Bautista said: “For sure it has been a really fun race for me, because starting from the back I had to overtake many riders, so I enjoyed a lot the race.
“Especially I’m happy because the feeling with the bike is getting better and better, I can push more the bike to the limit, so I’m so proud of the work my team has done, and myself to never give up and try always to improve step-by-step.
“So, I’m really happy, more than the result it’s the way we get it and the feeling I have with the bike.”
He added: “I don’t [know if], starting from the front, I can be or not be with Nicolo [Bulega], but it’s true that I was catching him in the second half of the race and I did the fastest lap of the race.
“So, my pace was to fight for the victory.”
Despite missing out on a potential victory in Race 2 at Phillip Island as a result of the poor Superpole Race result, Bautista was happy with his weekend as a whole.
“Basically, I didn’t come with any expectations, especially after the winter tests that we cannot make good work with the bike,” he said.
“The target was just to feel better and better with the bike, to get the confidence.
“I think we were improving every day of the weekend, and at the end I think overall we have to be happy because I think we end the weekend with a lot of performance, very competitive, a good feeling with the bike, and happy.
“So, I think it’s been positive – not perfect, because we are on our way to our real target [which[ is to be at our 100 per cent.”
Alex joined the Crash.net team in August of 2024 having covered consumer and racing motorcycle news at Visordown for two years.
