By María Vinas López / Motosan.es
Confined for several days due to the coronavirus, the WorldSBK rider returned to the first round of this season which took place in Australia almost three weeks ago.
If the World Superbike Championship had followed the schedule established for the season, the riders would have been preparing for the second meeting of the year, in Qatar. Unfortunately, the coronavirus crisis has compromised all plans for sporting events which were to be held in the coming months, including of course motorcycle competitions. The MotoGP World Championship could not even start, while the Superbike World Championship was only able to complete its first round at Phillip Island. Now confined to his home in Talavera de la Reina, Álvaro Bautista has spoken out about all this.
“It’s a very strange situation, I would never have imagined experiencing a situation like this, having to stay at home because of an epidemic”, he explained. “But in the end, it’s just about collaboration. It doesn't just depend on you, because it's something that is transmitted between people and you need to stay away as much as possible, especially with the most vulnerable such as the elderly or people at risk. Obviously, I would like to live a more normal life and be at the races, but I believe that in today's time, global health is more important than sporting competition. »
Unable to run, Bautista can take full advantage of his recent fatherhood: “Luckily, since my baby arrived almost three months ago, I'm very busy. We are worried about her, but let's say that the situation is "beneficial" for me because I can fully enjoy her first months. Amidst all this negative, I enjoy being at home. I discover things by watching her evolve and grow. Every day is completely new to her for me so I have something to do and I enjoy it a lot. »
“This is the weirdest situation I have ever experienced, as a pilot and as a person”, He said. " It's new. Perhaps our grandparents experienced somewhat similar situations, where we had to stay at home because of the Civil War, but it was an unprecedented situation for everyone else. I believe that the majority of people understood that we had to show solidarity, especially with people at risk. »
While remaining confined at home, maintaining physical fitness is one of the keys to returning to competition at the highest level. Like all other drivers, continuing to train is therefore mandatory: “In terms of physical preparation, you can’t just sit back and do nothing either. Fortunately, I have some equipment at home, so I get by. The only thing is that it's impossible to do motocross, supermoto and all those outdoor activities that we're used to doing. »
Like the rest of the sporting world, the coronavirus has affected the calendar which still has no fixed resumption date. “To be honest, at the moment I’m not thinking about it”, confided the Spanish pilot. “Hopefully we will start as quickly as possible because that will mean that the situation will be under control and everything will return to normal, but I am not saying to myself “if this race is postponed, what will be the next”. I think the most important thing is that everything returns to normal and from there the sporting side will follow. Human life is currently more important than sport. »
Bautista now just has to wait for his return to competition, which will mark an important season for him and for Honda, his new team since the start of the year: “The bike is new, like the whole team which was created in a short time. She lacks experience and there is still a long way to go, but as you can see the bike, the structure and the HRC have the potential to be able to fight for good results, it's a question of time. We need time to work and put everything in place and I believe that when we achieve this we will fight at the forefront. Already in Australia, from the first race, we were in the leading group and we showed that we had the potential to be there, to fight for victory. »
“Now, with this forced break we find ourselves a little caught off guard. We had made a lot of progress between the winter tests and the first race and now we are waiting to take a new step in the evolution. We will have to wait, but I think we will progress in the next races”, he concluded.
Read the original article on Motosan.es
