The prize test for the Spaniard who dominates with the red Superbike gave very interesting results from the time trial, 1″% behind Bagnaia without forcing it. “But I’m only thinking about SBK”. But was it just a test day?
– misano
For the MotoGP racing cars, technical changes, even on the smallest details, take place very quickly, on every race weekend. Every year a motorcycle that is “disrupted” compared to the previous season, in compliance with the regulations. Imagine what happens to these missiles after five years. Well, there are those who get on a MotoGP after five years and on a technical and tough circuit like Misano lap a second and a half from the track record set in 2022 by Pecco Bagnaia, today number one and leader of the premier class. We are obviously talking about Alvaro Bautista, reigning SBK world champion on Ducati, who completed a good 99 laps in the two-day prize test that has just ended on the Romagna circuit astride the MotoGP bike, 49 of which on the final day.
I didn’t push
—
“I never pushed to find the best time – Bau-Bau said at the end, visibly satisfied – there was no reason to take risks. What matters is that I can ride the MotoGP however I want. Now I have to think about my WorldSBK championship, especially the next rounds at Donington and Imola” . Well. Bravo Bau-Bau. But the stopwatch was there and it ran following every step of a fast and confident rider, increasingly at ease on the Borgo Panigale MotoGP bike. Again, no time attack attempts. Lap after lap in search of the best setup by mounting different tire solutions, especially on the front. Appetite comes with eating: on the seventh lap of the fourth run with a soft tire and an asphalt temperature of 49°, Alvaro set his best time in 1’32.590. The Bagnaia track record is 1’31.065. Alvaro, therefore, a second and a half behind the leader of the 2023 MotoGP world championship.
wild card suggestion
—
Of course, at this point, one can also think of a MotoGP wildcard for the 38-year-old Spanish world champion, perhaps after having closed “his” world championship in production-based derivatives early. Considerations and suggestions after the Bautista-Ducati MotoGP test. There is confirmation, if any were needed, of the super level of both the Bautista rider and the Ducati bike. It takes a big handle (and a big head) to ride on those times with a “never seen before” racing car, hyper-technological, super-powerful with 300 HP and super-fast with 360 km/h. And you need a great bike, not only so powerful and fast, but also “handy” and “adaptable” to go so fast and, another important detail, without causing damage. It is no coincidence that in SBK not only Bautista’s Ducati is strong but it is only the one with Bautista on the saddle that makes the difference, dominating races and the championship. In other words, when it is said that Ducati dominates in Sbk it is not entirely true: the Bautista-Ducati duo always keeps everyone behind. La Rossa, without Alvaro, is behind.
the other reds
—
Ditto in MotoGP, with many Ducatis (8 on the track permanently) super competitive and unattainable today, but only one with the number 1 on the fairing, the same one that is leading the championship with Pecco Bagnaia (in seven races 6 first places, three seconds, one third) followed by three other bikes from Bologna (Martin second, Bezzecchi third, Zarco fourth) and the fourth by Marini (sixth), then Alex Marquez (11th) and Di Giannantonio (15th). Obviously, unlike WSBK, the game is far from over in the MotoGP world championship and Bagnaia will not have an easy life, right up to the end. Summing up, for now, we can really predict a race for Bautista in the MotoGP by the 2023 season. Perhaps as a “reward” to Alvaro after pocketing his second Sbk world title. Risks? Only for some Ducati riders, not just for those who struggle in the race and in the standings, who could end up behind a wild card.
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED