WorldSBK Catalunya: Not ‘back to 2019’, insists Bautista

As one wag said to Alvaro Bautista as soon as he sat down in the WorldSBK media debrief room at Catalunya, ‘Welcome back to 2019’.

He was, of course, alluding to the fact that in the early stages of 2019, in his rookie WorldSBK season, and on the Ducati V4R, Bautista did not just beat his rivals, he beat them by huge margins - as he did in Race One at Barcelona. He slowed up over the line but his real advantage was half a second a lap for 20 laps. A little more, actually. But Bautista does not agree it is just like 2019 again.

“No, no because in 2019 we didn’t race in Catalunya,” he said, for starters. “Today, this kind of race depends, I think you can see more the ‘hands’ of the riders, especially with tyre consumption. It’s not a question of go fast. It’s a question of working for the race pace.

“Working not only with the bike, but also with the riding style. I’m happy because I can adapt to this kind of conditions. Yesterday in FP2, I had a really good feeling because I was very smooth with the gas, with the tyres. I was even fast with this kind of riding. So, I’m happy because I can adapt to this track with these conditions.

“In the other side, in Superpole, because we worked with the electronics of the bike for the race pace, we missed something in the two fast single laps. I was not able to go faster. So, now next thing we have to do is just try to change a little bit the bike, especially on the electronics side, and also in my style for tomorrow’s Superpole race because it’s a different history. Tomorrow is more to go fast than take more care of tyres. Today I’m happy because I feel good with the bike. I enjoyed every single lap, especially at the beginning when I took the lead.”

That was his period of maximum