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SBK, Alvaro Bautista: World championship no longer in my hands

"Mathematically, it's not lost, but even if I win all the remaining races, Rea could always come in second."

SBK: Alvaro Bautista: World championship no longer in my hands

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He said it yesterday, and he did it: "To try to ward off this bad luck, I'm shaving my head. Maybe it's being blond that brings me bad luck.

I tried, but it didn't work. This bad luck isn't going away," Bautista tried to joke about it, and there's no trace of anxiety in his eyes. It's a good sign because five consecutive falls have the power to bend the strongest character, but Alvaro has always been a cheerful guy.

The crash with Toprak Razgatlioglu didn't even phase him, so much so that he got back in with the start of Race 2 after suffering a nasty blow to his left shoulder.

"I wasn't able to do it." He confessed. "More than the pain, I had no strength, and I preferred to stop immediately before doing any more damage. Even on the straight, I couldn't hold the bike. I felt like I had more power in my hands than a MotoGP. I still don't know if I have broken ligaments in my left shoulder because we only took an x-ray, not an MRI."

Toprak didn't take responsibility for the collision. He spoke of a simple race accident.

"On the first lap, I was inside behind Haslam," said Alvaro, "when Toprak arrived from the outside and touched me. He rode as if no one was on the track. Then he came to the clinic to apologize. He told me that, when he saw me, it was too late."

Another fall on a weekend to forget.

"Yes, at Laguna I crashed twice, and I really didn't expect it. Maybe, at the beginning of the season, we didn't expect to win that much, but I certainly didn't think of finishing the season like this. I have no explanation for what is happening to me. It's difficult to understand."

There are those who insinuate it's psychological. It's all head thing.

"It's not in my head because I'm still fast," Bautista said, cutting it short. "I was, even here. I was calm in Race 1. I wasn't pushing. The only fall of the recent ones that I consider "normal" was the one in Donington on the wet track. In that case, it can happen... but, for the others, I really don't have an explanation. It's not even a limit of the bike. It's not like we're at a standstill. How can I explain it? It's black or white because I never slipped during practice. I only fell in the races. And it's strange because, during practice, I push even more, to understand the limit."

One wonders, after a weekend like this, with a long time to wait before the race in Portimao, on September 8th, how do you react.

"What will I do now? The most important thing is to recover physically, turn off my brain, and go on vacation. Then we'll regain confidence with the bike. Of course, we can still improve it, but the only difference between now and the beginning of the championship is that before, I was winning, now I'm falling."

Bautista was already clear on Saturday about the remaining chances of winning the world title. Now his answer is even more blunt.

"The world championship? Obviously, from a mathematical viewpoint, it's not over, but it's also true that Rea could always come in second if I win all the remaining races. The championship is no longer in my hands. The only thing I can do is win as many races as I can. But I'm no longer thinking of the title."

Translated by Leila Myftija
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