Alvaro Bautista has every reason to be happy after the Emilia Romagna round, the fourth round of the Superbike World Championship: his championship lead over Jonathan Rea increased to 36 points and his Ducati confirmed to be a notch higher. above other motorcycles.
Aside from the Sprint race, where the Ducati rider had to settle for second place behind Toprak Razgatlioglu, it was Alvaro Bautista's best weekend so far this season, achieving the double race. “This weekend, what I liked the most was the feeling and the confidence on the bike. Yesterday and this afternoon I knew I had good pace and when I took control of the race I showed it. In fact, when I'm in front, I manage to impose my rhythm and be natural unlike when I'm behind. I think I'm stronger than three years ago, when I fought in various places with Panigale. »
« I think I'm stronger than I was three years ago."
As for the championship, that's not yet what obsesses his thoughts : “I’m not thinking about the championship. Three years ago, I was more than 60 points ahead and in the end I lost more than 150. Now it's premature. I try to stay focused on what we are doing, enjoy the bike as I do, and when I can fight for victory, I do. If I can only fight for fifth place, I will fight. The important thing is to finish the races, collect data and have fun on the bike.”
With this result, the Spaniard is now 36 points ahead of second place Jonathan Rea. The Briton placed fourth in the second race this Sunday, his worst result this season. The reigning champion, Toprak Razgatlioglu, is third, already considerably behind Bautista: 79 points. Here is the championship standings, which still has eight rounds before the end of the season:
