Álvaro Bautista reached another podium in the World Superbike Championship, finishing third in the first race at Assen. The two-time champion had to make up ground during Saturday’s race, which started in the rain and ended on a dry track – being called off seven laps from the end due to oil on the track that caused a red flag.
The Spanish rider said in the official broadcast: ‘It was a really crazy day. Especially because it seemed like in the first part of the track it was like relaxing, not attacking, just going calmly and not making mistakes, so too calm. Then, in the second part of the track, it was all about attacking at 120 percent! Especially at the beginning, lots of overtakes in all areas. It was a bit crazy‘.
At the time of the interruption, Nicholas Spinelli (Barni Spark Racing Team/Ducati) was leading, but was losing ground, while Toprak Razgatliogku (ROKiT BMW) was second. In Bautista’s opinion, if the race had reached the planned distance, he could have fought with the Turkish rider for the win: ‘I really enjoyed the race. I just missed the last seven laps, because I think it would have been a good fight for victory between me and Toprak, because with Spinelli in front with that tire, maybe we could have caught him in the last laps. In any case, I’m happy, I enjoyed the race‘.
Finally, the 2022 and 2023 champion congratulated Spinelli: ‘Congratulations to Spinelli, because it was amazing. He made a very good choice. It’s true that I expected the track to dry a bit more quickly. In any case, I’m happy, I fought my best, so I’m happy about that‘.
