WorldSBK Misano, Bautista: “Going back to the test bike has been my salvation”

On top at the end of day 1: "I tested the new tyres, but time is short and we’ll need to gamble”

11.06.2022 ( Aggiornata il 11.06.2022 12:18 )

Alvaro Bautista has come to Misano with the riders’ title in mind, and things have gone well at least as far as Friday’s concerned. The Spaniard finished on top, despite a less than stellar start to the day: “This morning I struggled a bit - explains Alvaro – as the conditions weren’t the best and I didn’t immediately find the same good sensations I had during the test. We’ve changed a few things since then, but ahead of FP2 we decided to recreate that test bike, and the improvement was clear to see”.

What had you changed on the bike between the test and now?

“During the Barcelona test (which followed the Misano test), we tried some different front fork stiffnesses which worked well at the time, and so we kept them for all the races we’ve run since. But here we’ve gone back to the stiffnesses we had at the Misano test, and things are immediately good again”.

Have you tested the two new SCX specs?

“Yes, and I didn’t see any big differences with respect to the base SCX. There are advantages, like the stability profile, but the performance and grip are very similar.”

Bautista: “Being small doesn’t bring the advantages everyone thinks”


Rea has explained that he’s not overly happy to have so many different tyres, as there’s not enough time. Do you agree?  

“Yes I agree, as there’s not enough time or a sufficient number of tyres to try a specification in the right way. In these conditions, you have to take a gamble, going with the one you think is best”.

How is your pace?

“In the afternoon, I completed a lot of laps in the low 1’34s, but I didn’t work specifically on pace, focusing more on tyre performance to understand which spec to use tomorrow. I’m not worried anyway, as I feel good on the bike.”

Rea has said it won’t be easy to pass you and the other Ducatis here at Misano. What do you think?

“I don’t agree, as we all have very similar pace. Razgatlioglu and Rinaldi are very fast too, but perhaps Michael has a little less. I don’t think Johnny will struggle any more than usual to pass”.

Dall’Igna has said that your secret aboard the Panigale is to ride like Pedrosa with the two-strokes. What do you think?

“They’re different worlds. With my physique, I have to focus on lifting the bike up early in order to hide the disadvantages… On corner exit for example, I struggle to turn the front in the right direction, as I have difficulty loading the front. Overall, it’s easy to say that smaller riders are at an advantage but that’s not the case. I have a lot of a disadvantages that bigger riders won’t understand.”

Translated by Heather Watson

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