After the announcement of his return to Ducati, all eyes were on Alvaro Bautista, one of the great expectations for the 2022 season. During these winter tests, the Spaniard did not disappoint expectations, quite the contrary. Riding the Panigale V4R, he too in Barcelona confirmed the good feelings and positive things seen in the previous tests. On the Catalan track, the two days of testing that anticipate the collective tests scheduled for the week of competition ended yesterday and Bautista won on the first day, finishing in second position on the second and last day.
The rain of the second day ruined the teams’ plans a bit, but after the lunch break Alvaro Bautista took the opportunity to get on the track and regain confidence with the four-cylinder in wet conditions, signing a second time trial in the final just short of four tenths from the leader Toprak Razgatlioglu. While the Spaniard completed 93 laps on the first day, on the afternoon of the final day he completed 18 in the wet, claiming to feel good with the SCX soft tire, not having used the new SCQ brought by Pirelli.
“I am satisfied with these two days of testing,” says Alvaro Bautista. “We worked a lot on the bike, trying some interesting solutions that gave positive results. I’m happy because I tested the Ducati even in wet conditions and the sensations were very good. It is obvious that the rain is not always the same, it depends on many factors. But I felt very comfortable and I understood how to ride the bike ”.
“The rhythms we had also in the previous tests show that we have been very constant, I am calm and without having found the limits yet. This is very important, even more than the flying lap. I hope to have these good sensations on other tracks as well. We are making steady steps forward and this gives us great confidence. The small tweaks we’ve made here have helped us be a little more consistent and give me a little more feeling. We go to the Aragon tests to do some counter-tests on what we found here and then on the second day of testing at Motorland we will work only for the weekend to arrive as ready as possible. At the moment the result is not my goal, but if I can ride as I did during the winter, we can fight for the top positions ”.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi, Aruba.It Racing – Ducati
Photo by: Ducati Corse
There is also satisfaction on the other side of the box, with Michael Ruben Rinaldi setting the fourth time trial at the end of the first day of testing. On the second day he did not go beyond the sixth time, but the chronometer was not the focus of the work in the box of the Romagna. The work was mainly concentrated in view of the race and, despite a time attack, the goal was to improve the sensations that are not yet perfect.
“These were two profitable days in which we worked especially in view of the Aragon race,” says Rinaldi. “Even when we tried the race tire (SCX) to find the lap time, the result was positive. The feeling has grown since the Misano tests and I feel I have taken a significant step forward. We are certainly not 100% yet and it is for this reason that the Aragon tests will be very important. The feeling is that the path taken is the right one. We just have to keep working in this direction ”.
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