Taking the sad stock of a first race at Laguna Seca that ended in the fifth lap with all four irons in the air, Álvaro Bautista wondered how he could have gotten there. The Spaniard new to the Superbike category first crushed his domination at the start of the season with a brand new Ducati Panigale V4 R. But here he is now 49 points behind Jonathan Rea and his Kawasaki after falling successively at Jerez, Misano and Donington…
A real reversal of the situation which put under the extinguisher a Ducati stand hitherto struck with the seal of euphoria. Clearly, nothing is ever acquired. And the worst is that Baptist do not understand : " I can't really explain it, I rode in the lead group and didn't push too hard » declared the teammate Chaz Davies who on the other hand found the podium at Laguna Seca.
« I rode behind Chaz and suddenly lost the front. It's very disappointing, because Chaz and I are very strong this weekend. I do not know what happened. It looks like the luck at the start of the season has disappeared. We are fast, but sometimes you also need luck » specifies the morale-stricken Spaniard.
« We know we are fast and can fight for victory in almost any race » explains the former MotoGP rider. “ The feeling hasn't changed, but I felt much better this Saturday than Friday or at Donington,” he notes. “We were fast enough for the win ».
« The bike has strengths and weaknesses and I think the strengths win out at the moment » convinces himself Baptist. " Everything is possible, I had a big advantage at the beginning, now we are behind, but everything can change, we have to stay focused, we have to try to improve the bike, I have to work on myself, I have to try ". And he ends: “ Being World Champion is not just about being the fastest, you have to have the experience, the concentration, it's a combination of things. Many drivers are fast, but you have to be more than fast ».
We will recall that between Alvaro Bautista and Ducati, nothing has yet been signed for 2020.
WSBK World Cup standings after Laguna Seca, round 1:
1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki), 401 points
2 Álvaro Bautista (Ducati), 352
3 Michael van der Mark (Yamaha), 215
4 Alex Lowes (Yamaha), 203
5 Leon Haslam (Kawasaki), 187
6. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki), 169
7. Tom Sykes (BMW), 152
8. Chaz Davies (Ducati), 150
9. Marco Melandri (Yamaha), 131
10. Sandro Cortese (Yamaha), 98
