The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship visited the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and, for the second year in a row, the weekend belonged to Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) as he took three race wins on home soil during the Prosecco DOC Catalunya Round for the second consecutive year. The results mean Bautista has extended his Championship lead to 69 points over Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometon WorldSBK) after winning 11 of the first 12 races this season.

Bautista claimed pole position for Race 1 and the Tissot Superpole Race on Saturday with a new lap record and he converted this into two victories, with victory in the partially rain-affected Superpole Race giving him pole position for Race 2. Although he did not get away as well as he did in Race 1 and the Superpole Race, Bautista quickly returned to the front of the field to claim a hat-trick for the third time in 2023.

The Superpole Race started in dry conditions but spots of rain started to fall in the second half of the race and, with Bautista out in front, he was the first rider to come across any change in conditions on the track related to grip but he was able to overcome this to take his second victory of the weekend, which put him in a perfect position to claim a hat-trick in Spain. It means he has won the last six races held at the Catalan venue and now has 236 points in the Championship.

Looking back on his weekend, Bautista said: “The weekend has been perfect. We won three races and each race was a bit different, especially the Superpole Race. It was a bit scary in the last few laps because it started to rain, but not regularly. It was sometimes raining in the first sector, the next lap in sector three, the next one in four and two… leading the way was quite difficult because you never knew what to expect, the amount of water is on the track, so I was discovering the track every lap. It was the longest three laps of my life! For Race 2, the conditions were similar to Race 1 but maybe the grip was a bit lower because of the rain in the morning. I understood the track and I can keep my pace. I’m really happy especially to win three races here in Spain, in front of all the fans and my family, is always more special.”

Although the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya isn’t the nearest circuit to where he hails from, it is a track where he has enjoyed a lot of success across his entire career. He won there in the 125cc World Championship in 2006 on his way to the title and he took two podiums in three seasons in the 250cc World Championship as well as a top-five finish when competing in MotoGP™.

Talking about his good record at the circuit, Bautista said: “Maybe it’s not my home circuit but I feel very good here! I have always been very fast here, in my time in 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP™ I was quite strong. Today, the weather was a bit complicated. In the end, if it rained, no problem because I could do nothing, I’d have to adapt to the conditions. I always prefer a dry race. I feel good here, so I hope to have the same feeling in the next rounds that are coming.”

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