Álvaro Bautista may not have been the fastest on the first day of the Most round of the World Superbike Championship, but he ended this Friday with reasons to be satisfied. The two-time world champion finished second in the second free practice session, which was the one with the fastest times. He was 0.103s behind the leader, Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW).
However, quoted by the website GPOne.com, Bautista expressed great satisfaction with the sensations. The Aruba.it Ducati rider explained that he changed the bike’s setup and now feels back in control:
– We used a different setup after Donington and this morning I immediately felt much, much better. I was able to ride the bike the way I wanted and now I feel like it’s mine again. Furthermore, in the afternoon, I improved the feeling and the references even more. If before I was like a passenger on the bike, now I can ride the bike. There is a big difference and I am very happy with the feeling and the feedback I get from the bike, even more than the times and the position.
Regarding the changes made, Bautista explained: ‘We went back in all areas, but not in all of them. It’s like we made a mix between what we had last year and some of the new things we tested, and it seems that it can be a good basic setup with the current regulations. I was convinced that finding a good balance was a matter of time, and I think we were able to identify it today. The feeling I had today, I have never had it before this season‘.
