Bautista blames Baz for crash; ‘he just ran over the kerb to pass me and hit me’
While it was an individual mistake that cost Alvaro Bautista a potential race one World Superbike podium in Portimao, the same can’t be said about race two after being hit by Loris Baz.
Bautista and Baz contested third place in both feature races with Baz getting the better of Bautista during Saturday’s opening race.
After the pair exchanged places several times, Bautista then crashed out on the final lap which elevated Michael Rinaldi into fourth.
Sunday’s race two battle between both riders was just as thrilling and even more fierce, but unlike race one where Baz seemed the stronger of the two, this time it was Bautista who looked favourite for the podium.
The Spaniard attempted two overtakes down into turn one, but Baz was able to quickly respond. Then, with two laps to go Bautista looked to have finally made the move stick heading into turn five, before Baz made a late lunge down the inside.
The current MotoAmerica rider hit the inside kerbs which then pushed him into the side of Bautista - resulting in the former MotoGP rider hitting the deck.
Speaking after the race, Bautista had strong words about the incident: "I was battling Baz again and while yesterday I felt he was stronger than me around most of the track, today I felt I had a little more than him.
"I just had to find the best place to pass him. I tried a couple of times in turn one but he then passed me again. Finally through turn five, after I passed him by braking into the corner, I was able to keep a very good line but he just ran over the kerb to pass me and hit me, causing me to crash.
"I think his move was clearly not correct, as I had the correct line. I’m definitely not happy with this manoeuvre from Loris.
"But at the same time I think we must be happy with our performance and the work we did, because in both races we fought for the podium.
"That’s the most important thing in the end. Now let’s focus on Argentina and try to complete another strong weekend."
