Twice a winner on the Aragon WorldSBK in 2024, Alvaro Bautista is unsure of his functionality to win races on the 2025 version of the MotorLand race.
Bautista enters this weekend’s Aragon Spherical nonetheless with no win in 2025, and 36 factors behind third-placed Danilo Petrucci within the riders’ standings.
The Spanish rider was fifth-fastest in Friday’s FP2 session, and ended the day feeling one thing acquainted for many of the WorldSBK this yr: that he would want to search out enhancements if he’s to battle for race wins.
“For positive, we have to do one step [more] as a result of Toprak [Razgatlioglu] and Nicolo [Bulega] are a bit sooner,” Alvaro Bautista advised WorldSBK.com.
“However right here, within the races, [things] change a little bit bit in comparison with the apply, particularly for us that we labored for the race tempo and the sensation to push.
“Right this moment I felt […] extra comfy using.
“It’s true that perhaps this observe fits very properly to my using type and perhaps is less complicated than elsewhere. However I’m assured as a result of I believe I realized one thing at the moment and, in actual fact, I can change a little bit bit my using within the final two laps in FP2, and with the tyre with 20 laps I used to be capable of do 1:49.2 within the final two laps.
“So, that was as a result of I understood roughly methods to handle the tyres in that second. I’m glad for that.”
Bautista defined that he began Friday with a unique setup to handle a number of the feeling points he’s confronted with the Panigale V4 R in 2025.
“This morning we began with a little bit of a unique setup on the bike in comparison with the opposite rounds as a result of, after the sensation I had in the course of the yr but in addition on the final race in Magny-Cours, at residence I used to be eager about the sensation and the way can we enhance or make the following step,” the two-time World Superbike Champion defined.
“So, for [Friday] we began with a bit totally different setup and immediately I felt a lot better, particularly much less on the restrict, so extra margin [to push].
“So, in FP1 I used to be fairly glad, and the afternoon we tried to regulate a little bit bit the setup. We did the primary exit and it didn’t work so properly, however we [reversed the changes] within the second exit and undoubtedly we discovered one thing that helped me, particularly with the tyre contact.
“I believe we labored very well as a result of we used just one set of tyres within the morning and one set of tyres within the afternoon and we have been fairly constant.
“So, the sensation with the bike was good, I can trip the bike roughly as I need, and particularly I felt extra protected using the bike so I believe it’s been optimistic.”
