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It's difficult for Alvaro Bautista to imagine that 2024 could end with a hat trick, like last year in the grand finale at Jerez. After all, the two-time Superbike champion wasn't able to get beyond an 11th place overall, half a second off Rinaldi's best time, on first practice day on the Andalusian track.
"This year is a little different than last year. It's been like that all season. I struggled more today than I did in 2023. There seems to be a bit less grip, and I'm struggling more this years when there's less grip. I don't know why, but we have less grip on the rear. We're working to improve in the future, since I have good memories of riding the bike,especially on this track," Alvaro said. "We have to keep working, because we can take advantage of the potential when the track offers good grip, but we struggle more than last year when there's little grip."
But the rider from the Aruba team wouldn't mind being able to get into the challenge between his teammate, Nicolò Bulega, and World Championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu.
"It looks like the lap times are very close and, if we look at everyone's pace, it looks like there will be 15 riders fighting for the win," he commented with a smile. "So, if I can keep up with them, it'll mean being in the fight for a good position. But I'll first have to improve the sensations tomorrow and see if the track conditions will change a bit, since it rained the past few days, and we rubberized the track a bit today. First of all, I'll have to be able to ride the way I want and then it would be nice to be able to be up there with them."
A wildcard in the MotoGP in 2023 at Sepang, despite not being in his best physical condition, the rider from Spain gave his opinion on the rumors that Andrea Iannone will be replacing Fabio Di Giannantonio in the upcoming round in Malaysia.
"It's going to be interesting to see him back on a MotoGP bike. We'll see. I've been testing and, in my opinion, the biggest difficulty is the tires. The bike is very competitive, but it's been a long time since he last used Michelin tires, which have changed a lot in the meantime, and we'll have to see if he can understand them. I think that's going be the key. If he can understand how to ride with those tires, maybe he can do well," said the Ducati rider.
Is it a pity that Bautista wasn't considered?
"Actually, no. I'm more worried about the problems in my own garage than about the ones in other people's grrages," the Aruba rider said lauging, since he believes a few practice sessions aren't enough to be able to learn how to use all the devices currently used in the MotoGP.
"It's very difficult, plus it's very hot in Sepang. It's a big challenge, but Iannone has a lot of experience, however, it definitely won't be easy for him because, the last time he rode a MotoGP bike, it didn't have all the devices it has now. I don't know if relying on him is a good idea or not. If I were the owner of the team, like Valentino is, maybe I'd have ridden myself," Bautista added, concluding with a joke.
