The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship burst into action on Friday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the Prosecco DOC Catalunya Round and it was Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who topped the times after a stunning show of rapid pace and incredible consistency. The Spanish rider overhauled his teammate, Michael Ruben Rinaldi, to take top spot on Friday as he looks to extend his winning run in Catalunya.

Bautista spent Free Practice 1 working on race pace using the standard SCX tyre and also Pirelli’s new soft compound SC0 front tyre, making its race debut at the Catalunya Round. In FP1, Bautista completed a stint of 17 laps with the vast majority of his laps in the 1’42s bracket, although he dipped into the 1’43s and 1’44s at the end. His best time was a 1’41.779s in the morning 45-minute session.

In Free Practice 2, as the temperatures soared in Spain, Bautista once again did a long stint but this time on Pirelli’s B0800 SCX development tyre and the medium compound SC1 tyre. He did 15 laps and, again, showed incredible consistency as he posted several lap times in the 1’42s bracket with only two, in the middle of his stint, dropping into the 1’43s. His best time in this session actually came in a shorter second and final five-lap stint when he posted a 1’41.486s which was enough to give him top spot in the combined classification.

Reviewing Friday, Bautista said: “For sure, I think it has been very positive especially because we were focused on race pace. In the morning, I tried the new spec that Pirelli brought here on the front. I didn’t have really good feedback on the tyre, but the bike was working more or less like normal. We decided to use it for the race distance to see how it was at the end. It was quite consistent, but the feeling was not too good from the beginning. Also, on the rear with the SCX tyre, it was maybe not the best moment to use it, but we wanted to use it just to see how it was for the race distance. I felt a big drop this morning so, in the afternoon, we used the SC1 on the front; I like this tyre. Suddenly, I found a good feeling with the bike and the bike worked like it did in the test or the other rounds. In the rear, with the 800, we did 16 laps and it was better than the SCX in the morning. The grip was not very different, but I think the tyre life was a bit better, I could be more consistent with the lap times. I was able to do many mid-1’42s, which is a good pace especially because this afternoon the conditions were a bit difficult. With this heat, the grip is very low, and you have to be very precise.”

Despite his strong pace and stunning consistency, Bautista believed as many as five riders could be in the hunt for victory come Saturday’s Race 1 and Sunday’s Tissot Superpole Race and Race 2. He namechecked Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), as well as teammate Rinaldi, plus adding two names who showed strong pace on Friday: Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Iker Lecuona (Team HRC).

Discussing the potential for hard-fought races, Bautista said: “I saw the lap times from the other riders, and I think my teammate, Rinaldi, can fight for victory. We can’t forget Toprak and Jonathan. Maybe today they were not super-fast in race pace but tomorrow and on Sunday they will be there. We have to pay attention to Aegerter. He had a really impressive pace and also Lecuona. They are two riders who can fight, at least, for a podium.”

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