Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) achieved two third place results on Sunday in the Superpole Race and Race 2 at the Estoril Circuit. After a disappointing first Race at the track on Saturday, where he crashed out of contention and subsequently out of the title race, it was a positive return for the #1 rider.
BULEGA SUPPORT: Team-mate assists #11
Describing his first race of the day, Bautista said: “In the Superpole Race I could make a really good comeback from 11th position. I was really happy because I felt strong, Nicolo and Toprak had better pace than me and I finished in third position.” In the afternoon’s Race 2, Bautista demonstrated impressive late race pace, however was conscious of his team mate Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who is still in contention with BMW’s Toprak Razgitaloglu ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) to be crowned 2024 Champion. The #1 was leading the race ahead of Bulega, before Razgatiloglu passed both team-mates, and Bulega soon followed; taking second place from Bautista.
“In race 2, in the last few laps, I had something more, maybe attack for second position but at the end he has a chance, a very small chance to fight for the title. So as a team, I think it was better to stay in third. I am proud about this maneuver as it is not easy for a rider to not try and gain any position. I think it was the right decision for the team and I hope we can be closer to fight for the title with Nicolo.”
“It’s not my mentality, but today was like this…I still help.”
It was evident Bautista was able to fight for second position, but with team loyalties in mind, the Ducati rider remained in third position. “Behind Nicolo especially in the last three laps I felt I could brake harder than him and he was stopping me in some areas, but in some places, I can attack him. I felt I could attack for second, but I think it was correct to let him finish second and not lose a lot of points to Toprak and let’s see what happens in Jerez.”
“You never know what happens in the future but in this moment, I think it was the right decision, I did it. If I can help somebody, I sill help. It’s strange because normally it’s not in my mentally, I want to get the maximum in all the situation but today was like this. I think it has been the first time in all my career that I do this but there is always a first time for everything.
FOTI PRAISES: “In this case today, he was also world champion.”
Ducati’s World Superbike Team Manager, Serafino Foti commented on speculation about team orders between the two Ducati riders and praised Bautista’s efforts to support his team mate in the Championship race, stating; “To be honest, we didn’t show a team order because Alvaro was smart. He worked for the team for the is a team-mate. So, in this case today, he was also world champions. So, and I would like to thank you, Alvaro and also Nicolo, because he did a really good race was difficult to beat Toprak because the differing is quite a lot.”
JEREZ FINAL ROUND: #1 rider’s intentions
Looking ahead to the final round of the 2024 season, Bautista added: “The target will be to have a good feeling with the bike, to enjoy my riding because here I struggle more than in Aragon with traction so let’s see if we can be better and more competitive in Jerez. I will do my best. If in a race situation I can help Nicolo I will do but right now there is no sense to speak about Jerez because we have to start with FP1, FP2 etc.”
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Source: WorldSBK.com