News 14 Mar 2019

Bautista not complacent as Thailand WorldSBK looms

Ducati contender still beaming with confidence after Phillip Island dominance.

Image: Supplied.

Alvaro Bautista isn’t feeling complacent as round two of the 2019 FIM Motul Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) heads to the Buriram circuit in Thailand this weekend.

The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati newcomer dominated the opening round at Phillip Island in Australia, winning all three races on debut in the series, while also marking an extremely successful start for the all-new Ducati Panigale V4 R.

Despite his commanding performance at the Island, the Spaniard understands the bike is still its infant stages of development, and acknowledges this weekend could very will serve up a contrasting result.

“Australia was a dream weekend and I couldn’t have asked for a better start in World Superbike,” said Bautista. “In Thailand I got a good result last season in MotoGP, so I’m feeling confident but Buriram is a track that has different characteristics to Phillip Island because there are more mixed sectors.

“For sure our rivals will be tough to beat, so we have to remain focussed and work really hard during the weekend. Anyway we will go to Thailand with the same mentality, I know the right feeling with the bike now so I will try and find it there as well.

“The Panigale V4 R is still a completely new bike, and the potential is high but we’ve got a lot of work to do to get it to 100 percent. I don’t know if Buriram is a Ducati track or not, we’ll just have to see what happens.”

With three race wins to his name, Bautista leads the standings with a 13-point advantage over four-time defending champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team).

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