A crash for Alvaro Bautisﷺta in WorldSBK Race 1 at Estoril 🦹cost him a shot at the podium, despite starting from 11th on the grid.

Bautista had passed his way up into second place by lap seven, but was being caught by his factory Ducati teammate, Nicolo Bulega, when he slid out at turn ꦚnine.

Explaining the crash to WorldSBK.com follow♔ing Race 1, Bautista said that he had a bad feeling from the beginning of the race with the front of the bike, as a mistake had been made with the setup due to the lack of dry practice.

“For sure, today was not the ♉best, with the conditions,” he said. “We tried some m꧂odifications from yesterday on the bike. On the wet, was not too bad — I had a crash in the Superpole and for that I had a bad grid position, but I think we made [the bike] stronger, a bit faster.

“In any case, I did a good start in the ra📖ce and I was in the front group, but from the beginning I felt the front was not really okay; I didn’t feel so comfortable, especially 🍎on the hard braking because it was like I arrived to the bottom [of the fork].

“We checked the data, and in fact we were too soft, because we didn’t have time in dry conditions and♍ we did a small mistake in the se𒁏tup.

“So, especially after a few laps, when I was alone, and I start to brake a bit harder, I arrive very in the limit in the coཧrners, I🔯 went long [wide] in some places.

“Unfortunately, I crashed in the chicane. So, a bit of a pity because, sometimes, when you feel the bi❀ke is not 100 per cent, maybe you have to manage an🥂d take the maximum [that’s available].

“It’s one 🌳of my characteristics — sometimes ไis good, sometimes is bad, but it’s like this.

“I try to always push, and sometimes you have to manage. In any case, I’m happy because I did my best. For sure, now we have m꧙ore data for tomorrow’s setup, and I hope to improve the feeling on the bike.”

Bautista’s Superpole crash leaves him✅ on the fourth row of the grid for the Superpole Race, but the still-reigning champion is confident that simple 💛fixes on the bike will allow him to fight for the top positions.

“We have to see how is the weather,” he began. “Seems like it will be dry, so we have a chance in the morning, in the Warm Up, to make some changes in th🍨e bike that I think will be easy to improve because it’s very clear where the problem w🌞as today.

“This problem I had already, in the past, and we know what to do in th✱e bike [to fix it], so I’m quite calm about that.

“If ๊I can do a good start like I did today, it will be not a problem the Superpole Race.

“For sure, everyone will push really hard, and will be more difficult, but, for me, if we can find the 𝓰good feeling with the bike, I’m not worried🉐 about nothing.”

Bautista’s Race 1 crash ruled him out of the championship. Coming into this weekend, he needed to outscore Toprak Razgatliꦕoglu by at least 20 points over the course of the three races in order to remain in contention at next weekend’s final round in Jerez.

But, with Razgatlioglu winning and Bautista not scoring, the most the Spanish rid🅠er can n💫ow outscore Razgatlioglu by is 12 points — if Bautista wins both Sunday races and Razgatlioglu scores points in neither.

Despite the implications, Bautista said he was not thinking about the championship when he crashed, but instead was asking himself why 🅰he crashed.

“Sin☂cerely, in that moment, I didnꦇ’t think about the points or the championship,” he said.

“I just thought about the crash and thought about: if I felt not so good on the b൩ik🦄e, why?

“Maybe in that moment I thought ‘Alvaro, you’re stu🔜pid, you have the limit, don’t [go over] the limit, please.’

“But, this warning I made in all my career, many times. But, it seems like I never learn about that. Well♍, or it’s my character, so I always try to do my maximum.

“But, sometimes you have to keep a bit out of the limit. But, it was my thought, I t𒁏hought ‘Why did🥃 you push? Why?’”