France WorldSBK: Bautista enjoys strongest ‘performance’ of the season

Alvaro Bautista ‘happy’ after achieving his best WorldSBK points haul of the season at Magny-Cours; ‘We worked really well. We made some small modifications to the bike especially on the setup and also on the electronics’.
Alvaro Bautista, French WorldSBK Superpole race, 5 September 2021
Alvaro Bautista, French WorldSBK Superpole race, 5 September 2021
© Gold and Goose

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

The Spaniard produced impressive comeback rides through the field especiall🔥y 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 ba✤ttle with team-mate Leon Haslam and Ducati’s Chaz Davies. 

Davies was able to get the better of the Honda ridꦫer 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 wit♍h the performance of the wee♌kend because we worked really well.

"We had made some smal🐻l 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 aܫ bit worse’ due to unusual temperatures for Magny-Cours - over 40 degrees, Bautista was also able to use his tyre conser🐬vation to good effect and therefore have some of the better late race pace of anyone. 

"In race two, track conditions were tri🦩ckier 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 un🎶derstand very wel𝄹l how the track was and how much I could push.

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

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