Bautista enjoys strongest ‘performance’ of the season at Magny-Cours

Two sixth places and a seventh in the shortened WorldSBK Superpole race saw Alvaro Bautista claim his best points haul of 2021 thus far. 

The Spaniard produced impressive comeback rides through the field especially in the ten lap sprint, in order to secure a more favourable grid slot for the weekend’s final race.

For much of race two, Bautista was involved in a battle with team-mate Leon Haslam and Ducati’s Chaz Davies. 

Davies was able to get the better of the Honda rider in the end for fifth, however, the French round produced much better results from a ‘performance’ side of things, given no big changes were made. 

Following the weekend’s final race, Bautista said: "I am happy with the performance of the weekend because we worked really well.

"We had made some small modifications to the bike, especially on the setup and also on the electronics. 

"We didn’t find anything big, but it was a step that gave me a bit more confidence. Already from the morning, I felt a bit better with the bike. 

"In the Superpole race, which we normally struggle a lot in just ten laps, I was able to be competitive. 

"I made a really good comeback from 14th on the grid to finish seventh and allowed me to have a better position on the grid for race two."

While track conditions ‘were a bit worse’ due to unusual temperatures for Magny-Cours - over 40 degrees, Bautista was also able to use his tyre conservation to good effect and therefore have some of the better late race pace of anyone. 

"In race two, track conditions were trickier and more slippery than the other times," added Bautista. 

"It seems like the track was over 40 degrees and this is strange at this track! In any case, I understand very well how the track was and how much I could push.

"It was a bit worse than in the morning but, in any case, my feeling was better than other times we had these kinds of conditions."