BAUTISTA TRIPLE ROCKS RIVALS
Rookie Spaniard make the WSB grid look average with three stunning wins
Alvaro Bautista made history by winning all three races on his WSB debut. With Ducati’s new V4 under him, the 34-year-old stunned rivals and the racing world as he dominated the Phillip Island weekend.
The first appearance of Aruba Ducati’s new bike was always going to attract attention, but even more so when Bautista delivered a string of rapid laps during last week’s two-day test. Whether the former 125cc World Champion and MotoGP podium finisher could achieve such pace over 22 racing laps in stifling heat was another matter. From third on the grid and with a massive straight-line speed advantage, the WSB rookie saw off Jonathan Rea with nonchalant ease to become the first debut winner since Max Biaggi in 2007.
The man who shared a podium with Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi proceeded to win twice more on Sunday, including the new ten-lap sprint race, but only after seeing off a fraught challenge from four-time title winner Rea. The Kawasaki rider upheld honours for the seasoned WSB campaigners, hinting the Spaniard won’t have it all his own way this season. Bautista’s opening win was only 1.5 seconds quicker than that of Marco Melandri last year on the old V-twin Ducati. Nevertheless, a victory by 15 seconds and final race lead of over 18 were nothing short of unbelievable for the man who also led October’s Australian GP while subbing for Jorge Lorenzo. “I love this track and definitely felt more comfortable thanks to its long corners,” Bautista beamed. “The Superpole race was fun, pushing to the limit doing multiple qualifying laps. Johnny and I had a great battle which I enjoyed a lot. He is very strong, so I knew I had to push very hard in the final race.” At the Qatar MotoGP test, technical guru Gigi Dall’Igna called a special press briefing to discuss the success of his first Ducati World Superbike, which features aerodynamic winglets and puts out monster power at a staggering 16,350 revs per minute.
“We have dedicated a lot of effort to this project and I’m so happy for everybody involved,” the Italian told MCN. “The relationship between MotoGP and Superbike is more important now because the design is so closely related. This speeds up bike development.” Phillip Island’s high-speed and anti-clockwise nature plays havoc with tyres and can throw up misleading results. That said, Thailand’s Buriram’s three straights could make Bautista hard to beat in three weeks’ time. Bautista’s is the sixth person to join an illustrious list of rookie winners that are Davide Tardozzi, Peter Goddard, John Kocinski, Yuichi Takeda and Max Biaggi.