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Round six of the 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship campaign sees the paddock travel east to the Czech Republic and the Autodrom Most. The Czech venue hosted its first WorldSBK round 12 months ago but since then, the Endurance World Championship has also visited. The track is a fast 4.2km venue where the average speed last year was in excess of 165kmp/h. The flowing track will be even faster this year following track improvements and resurfacing. The halfway point of the season will be reached on Sunday and after a stellar start to the campaign, Alvaro Bautista’s crew chief Giulio Nava gave a vital insight into tackling one of WorldSBK’s newest circuits.

THE MOST CHALLENGING: fast, flowing, hard-braking and more…

“The Most circuit is very fast and flowing,” began Nava. “You need to carry a lot of corner speed but you also have a couple of spots where you need to brake very hard. Stopping the bike well is very important into the first chicane and Turn 7 for instance. These are where you can easily fight for an overtake.”

The opening sequence of corners at Most has evolved over the years from a flat-out kink in sixth gear to a much a slower stop-start chicane. Last year, the bumps on the corner entry were severe but the new surfacing should make for a smoother ride. Even so, Nava knows that the challenge of Most is to find the best balance on the bike. Over the weekend, Ducati will need to decide if the setting on their Panigale V4 R is better suited to focusing on the full lap or compromising to get the best feeling through Turn 1.

“Turn 1 is a very strange corner. There’s nothing like it on the rest of the calendar. We will need to pay a lot of attention to this corner because the bumps are not easy to get through. Sometimes, you need to take a less than perfect line because it is safer for the rider. If you jump over the bumps with the brakes on it can risk a crash. Usually, we try to not change the setting based on a specific corner because everywhere else, the bike could be working well. Sometimes, you just need to fix a special corner through the setting or the riding style. We’ll work with our Ohlins technicians to improve the suspension on the damping side, to have the most absorption possible and give a better feeling to Alvaro. The biggest challenge for all of us at Most will be to compromise the setting. You need to be able to carry high corner speed, but you also need to stop easily on the brakes.”

TYRES AND TEAMWORK: a Pirelli curveball makes working together crucial

Complicating matters this weekend will be that for the first time in 2022, the teams will not have the availability of the SCX tyre for the longer feature length races. With Pirelli opting against brining the SCQ tyre, due to Most being one of the most abrasive surfaces visited by WorldSBK, the teams will be forced to use a harder tyre during the races. Traditionally, this has helped Kawasaki and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), Bautista’s closest title rival. Track temperature will be critical this weekend as teams adapt to the tyre allocation.

“This weekend our efforts will focus on the SC0 tyre,” explained Giorgio Barbier, Pirelli Motorsport Director ahead of the weekend. “This is the second year we are racing here, and we have recent data on which to base our choice of compounds. Some features of the circuit have undergone changes, but this is still a particularly demanding track for tyres due to its layout, and the new asphalt will likely be more aggressive.”

Having a different tyre allocation, including a new development rear tyre from Pirelli, will mean that it will be critical for Ducati to work together. Bautista has assumed the role as team leader this year but in Michael Ruben Rinaldi he was a very capable teammate. “Having two riders of almost the same size and riding style is a big help for us,” stated Nava. “When you try something on one side, it means you can suggest the other side to try and expect a similar comment. Both riders work well together and have a very good relationship so this helps us, as during tests, we can split the job and share the comments which helps our work as engineers to improve the bike. We work together and even though everyone wants their own rider to finish on the podium, the two crews have a good relationship.”

BAUTISTA BOUNCES BACK: a return to victory at Most?

For Bautista, one of the biggest tests of his title mettle was the last round at Donington Park. The British track has traditionally been tough for Ducati and whilst he crashed out of Race 1, his Race 2 rostrum showed the steel and determination that he’ll need if he is to win a close title fight that sees Rea trail by 17 points and Toprak Razgatlioglu, winner of four of the last races, just 43 points adrift. 

“We worked very well at Donington. Alvaro learned how to ride around the track by adapting his riding style. In 2019, we struggled a lot at Donington Park but this time, we found a solution for 90% of our problems and then Alvaro made the difference. I have said since the winter that the bike and the package overall is better than in 2019 and this shows the work Ducati has done. They’ve improved areas that were a weak point or had some room to improve.

“After the crash at Donington, Alvaro was quite disappointed. When he came back to the garage we spoke, and he explained the crash. He knew immediately why he had crashed so. We checked the data and the computer confirmed everything. He knows the reason and he knows how to avoid them again. We will move on from Donington with a positive feeling and give our best at Most.”

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