Donington Park WorldSBK: Alvaro Bautista insists: “Tomorrow more difficult, Toprak and Rea favourites”
Alvaro Bautista banished his and Ducati’s Donington Park win drought with victory in Race 1 of the 2023 World Superbike event.
It was Ducati’s first win at the British venue since 2011 and Bautista’s first since 2006 in the 125cc grand prix class!
The reigning champion did it in style, passing fellow champions Jonathan Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglu, then going on to break the circuit record as late as lap 16 of 23.
It was also Bautista’s 15th win of the season and 11th in a row.
“I think every rider was worried about tyre life because we haven’t done many laps this weekend and nobody knew what would happen,” Bautista said.
“I had some moments in the first few laps and then I saw Toprak and Jonathan started to battle. It was nice to see, from the back. But the lap time was much slower and staying behind I felt not so good on the bike.
“I could not brake as hard and also the lines were not as I wanted. So I tried to get the lead, to get my pace, my reference, get my lines and my feeling. And I did it.”
Razgatlioglu and Rea both highlighted the incredible grip Bautista was getting under acceleration, and lack of any significant drop in tyre performance.
“I felt good on the bike and I felt like the tyres were not dropping, so I said, ‘OK, let's try to push a bit harder, a bit harder, bit harder’. And at the end the tyres remained more or less with a similar performance,” Bautista confirmed.
“I'm happy because it's my first win here in World Superbike. Sorry for no final battles! But if I can go faster, I will. Because I try to be always the best rider possible.”
Bautista: “Tomorrow more difficult, Toprak and Rea favourites”
Bautista’s Saturday form had many predicting he will go on to claim a perfect triple this weekend.
The man himself credited the new asphalt for improving his fortunes, but insists Razgatlioglu and Rea still rank above him in terms of victory chances heading into Sunday.
“The asphalt without bumps for me is a big help. Because last season, one of the biggest problems we had was the bumps because the bike become more nervous, more unstable and was more difficult to ride. Now I can ride like a normal track. I think this is the key.
“But we didn't have many data before the race and now after a race we have a lot of data for tomorrow. But so do the other riders and especially with tyres.
“At the end everybody choose the SC0 tyre because it was safe to do a long distance race. But tomorrow for sure for in the Superpole race we will use a softer compound and also in Race 2, maybe if the conditions are like today there is a possibility to make another tyre choice. Because at the end there was no big drop on the tyres, so let's see.
“But I think tomorrow it will be more difficult, especially in the short race, because I think Toprak and Jonathan are very strong. They have more possibilities to win than me, I think, especially in the short race.
“Then in the in long race it will depend on things like the tyre choice, because for sure we will have more options than today.”
“I think nobody is unbeatable,” he added. “But for sure it’s very important [to win today] because this track has been always a weak point for Ducati.
“I won in the past, in 125 here, and this track was one of my favourite tracks with the small bikes, 125 and 250. With the big bikes I never rode in MotoGP because we switched to Silverstone and with Superbike all the seasons we came here, I didn't have a good feeling. So I never enjoyed the bike as the track.
“This year I enjoyed it. I was quite competitive. Sincerely, I would like to try the old asphalt with this bike with the feeling I have this year. But any anyway, I'm happy because it's the first time that with a big bike I enjoy this track.”
Bautista, whose only defeat this season is a DNF in Mandalika, goes into Sunday holding a 91-point lead over Razgatlioglu.
Danilo Petrucci was the next best Ducati rider in fourth, 7.855s behind Bautista.
