WorldSBK Argentina: Bautista wades in on Great Weight Debate

There has been nothing but talk in WorldSBK about how fast the combination of Alvaro Bautista and his factory Aruba Ducati is down the straights, and out of corners.

The other riders say they have no chance at times. So does Bautista feel in any way personally slightly disrespected by his rivals or by the media and/or the public?

“No,” Bautista told bikesportnews.com at San Juan “Sincerely, I believe that people who know about races know the reality. For me, it’s normal that many people out of the races like big fans of a rider or another it’s easy. It doesn’t matter for me, because the people who know very well the races know very well my advantage, but also know very well which are my disadvantages.

“Because for the weight, and arguing for that, why Pedrosa didn’t win many MotoGP championships? There are a lot of factors. For me, people can say what they want to say. I’m very clear that I do my best every time. There are many places that I have an advantage, other places that I have a disadvantage.

So at the end, my target is try to use all my advantage and try to don’t lose a lot in the disadvantage areas.”

Many people were surprised when Ducati re-signed Bautista, but from his point of view it ooks like maybe moving back to Ducati was not such a bad idea?

Bautista had an extra-wide grin when he said, “It’s what I thought when I changed. The feeling I had the first season with the Ducati was incredible. I was too fast, but also I enjoyed the bike. Then the experience, I had some problems for that. But the feeling I had that season was one of the best of my career.

“So, I wanted to recover that feeling and try to finish my career with this feeling, enjoying the bike. So for me, it was the best option to come back.”

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