Superbike legend Carl Fogarty amazes at how well Alvaro Bautista has done since Ducati comeback – But his favourite for the title is another rider
Ex-Vice World Champion Alvaro Bautista found his old strength after his return to Ducati. With his victories in Aragon, Assen, Estoril and Misano, Bautista made the mixed Honda years a thing of the past and took the lead in the championship. After one third of the season, the Spaniard is 36 points ahead of record world champion Jonathan Rea and already 79 points ahead of defending champion Toprak Razgatlioglu. Superbike legend Carl Fogarty would not have believed Bautista capable of such success.
“It’s a bit like three years ago. It went wrong then. So we wait and see. But I have to admit that I thought it was a mistake to bring him back for 2022,” Fogarty is quoted as saying by ‘WorldSBK.com’. “Normally I am usually right in such decisions. In this case I wasn’t sure. Nine times out of ten I’m right on transfers, but here I was wrong. At least so far.”
“Three years ago it went completely wrong at mid-season. Hopefully he has learned from that and is focused. I congratulate him and Ducati. It’s great to see,” said the four-time World Superbike Champion.
Are the scenes of the 2019 WSBK season repeating themselves?
Three years ago Bautista was on course for the title on the then new Ducati Panigale V4R. Crashes in the summer cost him the world championship lead and, a little later, the lead over Jonathan Rea, who took his fifth world championship title in 2019.
“I don’t know him but he has a lot of experience,” muses Fogarty. “I don’t think it will happen again. I expect him to stay the course and fight with Toprak and Jonny. Honestly, I still think Jonny will take the title. “
Carl Fogarty still bets on Jonathan Rea
“I said that at the beginning of the season and I haven’t changed my mind. And I said it three years ago when Alvaro won the first eleven races. His consistency is unstoppable. He very rarely makes mistakes,” Fogarty knows.
The duel of Rea vs. Razgatlioglu caused great excitement a year ago. The duels between the two exceptional riders also fascinate Fogarty. “They exchange paint quite often. It’s very entertaining to watch. They get on pretty well. If it had been a duel between me and another rider, we would have hated each other,” notes Fogarty.
Compared to the 1990s, things are much more harmonious in the World Superbike Championship paddock. “I just hated everybody. And that was necessary to win races. Jonny is different. He’s a much nicer person,” compares Fogarty.
