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Bautista "extra motivated" after "special" Aragon treble!

Monday, 8 April 2019 15:18 GMT

Can anyone stop Bautista? The WorldSBK Rookie is anything but as he continues his domination!

Everyone said that Neil Hodgson’s ‘nine-in-a-row’ achievement in WorldSBK back in 2003 was a one-off, but in 2019, Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing Ducati) updated that record to become only the second rider in history to do so! The Spanish sensation stormed to another WorldSBK treble on home soil, to the delight of the large partisan crowd.

The opposition weren’t able to challenge Bautista all weekend long, as the Spaniard topped seven out of eight sessions on his way to a phenomenal treble, which saw him break lap records, pole positions records and become the first Spanish rider in 12 years to win at a Spanish circuit.

Speaking after the race, an enthusiastic, record-shattering Bautista stated: “For sure, the feeling is fantastic! It can not be better! This weekend has been special because I share my first weekend in WorldSBK with all my Spanish fans, also with my family and my friends and to win the three races has been incredible!”

The records keep coming for Bautista: should he win Race 1 at Assen, then he will be the first Ducati rider in history to win ten consecutive races and should he complete the treble for a fourth round on the bounce, he will be the only rider in WorldSBK history to win 12 races on the bounce. On top of this, he gave Ducati their 350th WorldSBK win and is level on wins with 2014 WorldSBK champion, Sylvain Guintoli (9).

The Rookie continued, expressing his delight and looking forward to the forthcoming MOTUL Dutch Round at the TT Circuit Assen, saying: “We don’t have a lot of days for rest, and I prefer to go straight on the bike very soon, especially after this good feeling! Assen will be a new track for us with this bike – basically like all of the tracks in this season! The track is very different to the MotorLand Aragon circuit and also, the weather conditions are different too.

“The target is to reach the same level as in the first races, to keep the same confidence with the bike and then see how the Ducati Panigale works at Assen. But for sure now, we are extra motivated for the weekend!”

Will Alvaro Bautista be stopped? Find out with the WorldSBK VideoPass!