In great form and on the verge of securing his second title in the Superbike World Championship, Álvaro Bautista is standing out as the strongest rider of the so-called ‘Titanic Trio’, but throughout his life in motorcycle competition he has also had other fierce rivalries with well-known names in the sport.
After the intense battle with Toprak Razgatlioglu in Portimão during the last WSBK weekend, the current world champion was asked about the Turkish rider’s position in terms of the rivals he has faced in his career. In his response, the Ducati rider said: ‘I’ve had many, many riders. Marco Simoncelli, Valentino Rossi… maybe not all were direct rivals for the title, but also with Dani Pedrosa and Marc Márquez’.
With his mind focused on his MotoGP days more than ever, he emphasized that the situation is different… just like the bikes: ‘These bikes are different from those in MotoGP. It’s not easy to fight with him, because he is very aggressive and can easily move the bike and make maneuvers right on the limit, having a lot of control. Toprak is one of the toughest rivals I have ever fought with’.
