Alvaro Bautista won his first Superbike title in 2022 with Ducati and the Borgo Panigale manufacturer offered him a test with the Desmosedici as a gift. He finally got to contest a MotoGP race this year, a prize that will be redeemed this weekend in the Malaysian Grand Prix, just two weeks after his second world title, won in Jerez at the end of October.
The Spaniard ensures that he will arrive at Sepang without great expectations, just having fun on the bike. But you just barely know him to not believe him and understand that he will try to be as fast as possible and, if he can, he will try to stay in front.
“I arrive without great expectations in terms of results, even if I were able to stay close in terms of times, we have seen that the current level in MotoGP is very high, perhaps we can stay within seven tenths of the first, which for me would be very good . But this means finishing twentieth. This is why I don’t have and don’t want to set any expectations for the results, I just want to find a good feeling with the bike, feel comfortable and be able to push everything I can. If I am able to achieve this at the weekend, then I will be happy,” assured Bautista on the Thursday before the action in Malaysia.
However, Ducati offered him wild card options at various circuits, but Bautista insisted it be at Sepang, where he has always been strong and can have a better chance of being competitive. “The first option was to do it after finishing the SBK championship, so only Valencia remained if we wanted to do it in Europe. But the truth is that I want to enjoy this opportunity and Valencia at the end of November isn’t that fun… I didn’t trust it.”
Photo by: Aruba.it Racing
Alvaro Bautista, Ducati
“I prefer Sepang, a circuit I like, it’s one of my favorites and I haven’t raced there for a long time. It’s warm and a little more stable. Furthermore, with these two straights I can always have help (laughs, ed). Basically, I didn’t know if I would be able to enjoy it in Valencia, but I want to make the most of this opportunity,” she continues.
With two SBK world titles, Bautista’s presence alone will be an attraction, even if Dani Pedrosa has raised the bar a lot with his two appearances this year: “He has certainly raised the bar! We are in a slightly different situation. Dani is a test rider, he has done many more kilometers with this bike, he knows it very well, he had a plus. It’s true that he lacked a bit of pace in the race, with a bit more pace he would have done better, I’m sure he could have made overtaking without risk. I have pace, but I don’t have the experience in MotoGP, they are different situations. I don’t keep him as a reference, because he would be too much,” he added.
Bautista will have a Desmosedici GP23 like that of the official team, and Ducati asked him to do nothing but have fun: “I won’t try anything, I’m just coming to have fun. I’ve already tried things in the tests, even in Misano where I replaced Michele Pirro and I couldn’t get into the rhythm, just try.”
Although the Ducati rider assured that he had not had time to look back at his past races at Sepang, he admits that he remembers that it wasn’t bad on this track. Here we will relive the duel between Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin for the title, a fight in which Ducati seems to have given absolute freedom to the riders: “It’s something I see well. Ducati would certainly like the world championship to be won by the rider wearing the official colours, but in the end there is so much balance that for them it is better if they win on the track, as long as they don’t do anything stupid.”
“At the moment, I personally see Jorge as very strong mentally and above all in terms of confidence with the bike. On the other hand, the safety and tranquility of the champion Bagnaia is an important point. It will be interesting, let’s see who will succeed, Jorge’s speed and ambition or Pecco’s tranquility and experience”, concludes the rider from Talavera de la Reina.
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