Alvaro Bautista says was “unfortunate” to be concerned within the multi-rider first nook incident on the UK WorldSBK in Race 1.
Bautista crashed with Yari Montella and Sam Lowes on the first flip. Lowes was taken to the medical centre and identified with a left shoulder contusion however declared match for Sunday’s races.
Bautista and Montella have been unhurt, and Bautista particularly was clear that he was unlucky to have been caught up within the crash.
Explaining the incident from his perspective, Alvaro Bautista stated: “Sincerely, I noticed that Montella went a bit vast and he hit Sam [Lowes], and I used to be on the within and I clearly noticed the bike of Sam leap and switch round and are available to me.
“It was like I noticed the eyes of the bike taking a look at me and say ‘Okay, I am going for you.’ Unfortunate.”
After watching the crash again from the TV broadcast, Bautista reaffirmed that the incident was “unfortunate”.
“It’s tough to say as a result of it’s the primary nook, everybody entered,” he stated.
“It’s true that Danilo [Petrucci] was inside, however we’re 24 riders so you must take note of each rider.
“For me, [I was] unfortunate, as a result of I wasn’t concerned within the accident and I simply discovered the bike.”
It was not the primary time Bautista has been concerned in a primary lap incident in World Superbike this yr, and even one on the first nook. The Spanish rider, who hasn’t certified on the entrance row this yr and who was tenth on the grid at Donington for Race 1, stated, once more, that that is all the way down to unhealthy luck.
“For certain in the event you arrive first within the first nook, you keep away from lots of this type of scenario,” he stated.
“However it’s true that, if it’s for this, in all of the races, all of the riders ranging from the again have an issue. It’s not the truth.
“So, I had actually unhealthy luck, additionally as a result of I wasn’t concerned within the accident of Yari [Montella] and Sam. Simply the scenario that the bike rotated and got here to me, so I had no contact with one other rider or a crash with me. Unfortunate.
“For me, it’s higher in the event you begin from the entrance, however in the event you begin from the mid-grid, you don’t need to have these issues.
“In Most, the primary race, I began from the again and I had the issue; in Race 2, I began from the second row and I had the issue. So, for me, it doesn’t change an excessive amount of.”
He added: “We see not lots of issues in all of the races, so these form of issues occur in like two or three per cent of the races, and sadly, this yr, each time it occurred, I’m concerned.
“So, that’s the issue: it occurred once I’m there. It must be like a joke as a result of, on the finish, you can not assume an excessive amount of about this, you may’t do something.”
Montella “in a sandwich”
“It’s a race accident,” Montella stated.
“I discovered [myself] like in a sandwich. I had Danilo [Petrucci] on my proper aspect, and to not contact him I picked up the bike and I touched Sam Lowes, and likewise Alvaro [Bautista] crashed for our accident.
“So, I’m so sorry for them, nevertheless it’s one thing that in a race sadly can occur and it was not in my management.”
He added: “I defined to Sam that on the finish it was not my mistake as a result of I didn’t miss the braking level or one thing like that.
“On the finish, I felt like in a sandwich. Everybody within the first lap desires to recuperate as [many positions as possible] and to take one of the best line. However the flip is one and the correct line is one.”
Montella picked up a protracted lap penalty for the flip one incident.
“The issue is simply that tomorrow I’ve to make the lengthy lap penalty for the accident of right this moment,” he stated.
“Actually, it’s one thing that I don’t perceive as a result of, for me, it was not my mistake. I used to be in a mistaken second on the mistaken time.”
He continued: “They [the FIM Stewards] assume that it was my mistake. However, on the finish, no, as a result of I don’t miss my braking level, I used to be not too quick, I used to be in my place however in a mistaken second.”
