Ducati factory rider Alvaro Bautista is angry about a mistake in the season opener – but classifies the crash at Donington as an important warning signal
Alvaro Bautista has not made many mistakes in the first six race weekends of the 2022 World Superbike Championship. The Spaniard went into the summer break as the World Championship leader with 298 points after the event in Most, Czech Republic. Looking back at the past weekends, there is only one mistake that the Ducati rider regrets.
“Looking back, we shouldn’t have changed the bike in Aragon,” notes Bautista. “Before the weekend I had a good feeling. But we then made some changes. I was still able to win and was also quite fast. But my feeling was not the same as before.”
From Assen onwards, Bautista used the usual set-up again. “When we went back to our set-up from the winter tests, I felt much better. That’s the only thing I would do differently. Apart from that, I can’t complain about the first half of the season,” the former MotoGP rider summed up.
So far, Bautista has only recorded one zero. In the first race at Donington, the Ducati rider crashed and threw away a safe podium position. “I drew my lessons from the crash in Donington. I’m trying not to repeat that mistake,” he commented.
“Sometimes you have to make mistakes to wake up and not relax. These moments show you that you have to stay focused. I think this crash was a warning sign to be ready for everything else,” explained Bautista, looking ahead with confidence to the second half of the season, which starts this weekend at Magny-Cours: “We can continue like this. “
Meanwhile, Bautista also knows exactly how to deal with his World Championship rivals. Defending champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) stands out for his hard braking manoeuvres and his one-on-one strength. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) is also a tough fighter who is strong in all conditions.
“When you build more confidence in a duel with your rivals, it’s easier to know where to attack and where it’s better to focus on defence,” notes Bautista, who has won races at Aragon, Assen, Estoril, Misano and Most this season
