Bautista: “We need more humility, Race 2 was very critical…”

Alvaro Bautista completed his first Sunday double since Misano but said mistakes need to be cut out for the remainder of the 2023 WorldSBK campaign.

Robert Jones

24 Sep 2023

Alvaro Bautista, Ducati WorldSBK Aragon 2023

Bautista recovered from his Race 1 mistake where he crashed from the lead, to win both the Superpole Race and Race 2 in Aragon.

Dominant in Race 2, Bautista had to fight extremely hard in the Superpole Race as he overtook Jonathan Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglu on the final lap.

"I’m so happy to get the victory on Sunday," Bautista told WorldSBK.com. "From Misano I didn’t win two races on Sunday and I’m so happy.

"Especially because today I could reset after yesterday and start from zero with the feeling I have with the bike.

"In warm-up I felt very good riding my bike. The Superpole Race was amazing because Jonathan, Toprak and I did a really good race with three different tyres on the rear.

"That means that the level was quite high. I felt good because the pace was fast and at the end I managed to overtake them on the last-lap. I knew I could fight for the win so I just tried without thinking about anything more.

"In the afternoon it was very critical because it was too hot. Already from the first lap I felt the rear spinning a lot.

"I didn’t have good traction so for that I tried not to push the rear and maybe I forced a bit more the front. After mid-race I felt a big drop on the front and in many corners I felt [the tyre] closing.

"I’m happy because in two different races we were competitive and fought for victory. We cannot make any more mistakes. In some tracks we can fight for better positions than others but the thing we can’t do is make more mistakes."

Bautista’s mistake in Race 1 was a follow-on from Imola and Magny-Cours where he also cost himself a shot at victory when he made errors.

And although this weekend’s error didn’t impact his championship lead too much, the world champion admits he needs to cut out this recent trend.

Bautista added: "It’s what I always say, I don’t think about points or the championship. I just try to do my best.

"If my best is to try and win then I will try. If it’s to finish fifth then I will do that.

"For sure, this weekend has been very important for me because I learned that even if it is a track that fits very well to me and my bike, you can not be 100% confident.

"In the races everything is possible and anything can happen. We need more humility."