Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was able to turn around his Acerbis Czech Round in stunning style on Sunday as he claimed a double MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship podium, including a hard-fought Race 2 victory, as he opened up his standings lead again. The Autodrom Most hosted a stunning weekend of action with the weather playing havoc and the on-track action being as fierce as ever as the #1 turned a “tough weekend” around in the Czech Republic.
Bautista had a challenging Saturday when his best Tissot Superpole lap time was deleted as it was set under yellow flags after Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) crashed at Turn 21. It meant that Bautista had to start Race 1 and the Tissot Superpole Race from 14th on the grid and, in Saturday’s flag-to-flag battle, finished in 12th after an incorrect tyre choice. Having started on wets, the #1 had to pit for slicks whereas those on intermediate tyres were able to go the full distance without changing tyres.
In the Superpole Race, Bautista was able to fight his way back up to third place while Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) claimed victory to close the gap to 49 points in the title fight. This gave the Ducati start a front row start for Race 2 and, despite losing ground as the lights went out, found himself leading heading into Turn 1. He was unable to pull away from the chasing back before he had a huge battle with this title rival.
Razgatlioglu moved into the lead on Lap 7 as he passed Bautista into Turn 13, but Bautista kept intense pressure on his rival, often looking to pass the #54 into Turn 1 but the Yamaha rider making sure he kept the place under braking. On Lap 12, Bautista changed his tactics as he looked for an overtake into Turn 20, but his rival resisted. The next five laps were a familiar theme, including Razgatlioglu defending around the outside of Turn 1, before the #54 highsided on the exit of Turn 2. With this crash and Bautista’s win, the Spaniard now leads Razgatlioglu by 74 points.
Discussing his Sunday recovery after a difficult Saturday, Bautista said: “I didn’t expect to win this weekend, especially after a really tough Friday and Saturday. I always believed in myself, tried to be calm and do my best. The Superpole Race was the key. I knew it was important to have a good race and improve the position from P14 on the grid for Race 2. I was fifth or sixth on Lap 1, I think it was one of the best starts of my life. When I was fourth, I was lapping similarly to the three guys in front of me and I thought P4 was nice for Race 2. After mid-race, I saw Bassani dropping a little bit. When it was two laps to go, I tried to close the gap and did my best lap on the penultimate lap. I was very close in the last two corners, and I knew I was a bit stronger than him there.
“Third position was nice for Race 2. I had a good battle with Toprak. He always tried to put the bike on the inside at Turn 1. Even if we missed the corner, he was in front. One time, I tried to stay on the inside, but I didn’t want to miss the first corner to avoid him passing me exiting between Turns 1 and 2. He came from the outside and the same. He missed the corner, but he was in front! It was fun. In races, anything can happen until the chequered flag. It’s the good and bad thing about racing. I’m really happy.”
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Source: WorldSBK.com