Álvaro Bautista will try to become Superbike world champion for the third consecutive time in the season that starts this weekend in Phillip Island. However, after a difficult winter in which he not only had to recover from an injury, but also adapt to the new minimum weight rules, he does not consider himself one of the favorites to win in Australia.
In statements to Servus TV, the Aruba.it Ducati rider said: ‘I have no expectations at the moment because I didn’t have the best preseason due to injury. I basically spent the entire preseason recovering my neck and in the tests, I couldn’t work much with my bike. For the start of the season, I don’t think I’m one of the favorites to win because I have a lot of things to recover, like the feeling with the bike, and I’m still a bit far from my best performance‘.
The Phillip Island circuit now has a new asphalt and Bautista admitted that this is another factor working against him: ‘Phillip Island is always good for us, but the Phillip Island now is a bit different because there is a different asphalt. The way you have to ride the bike is different. With a lot of grip, you can’t make the bike turn like in the past. You can’t make the bike lean. Phillip Island was very good for my riding style, but at the moment my riding style is not working on this surface. We have a very challenging weekend ahead of us and I will try to work as hard as possible to be competitive. At the moment we are in a different situation than last year‘.
