With the opening race of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s EICMA Estoril Round, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) got back on the podium for what is now three podiums in the last two rounds. The two-time World Champion Bautista has had a season of ups and downs; he is still in the midst of his longest win drought on Ducati machinery; however, he has landed the third most podiums of any rider aside from teammate Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team). Race 1 at the Circuito Estoril marked his 16^th podium of the season’s 31 races so far, a very strong podium placement percentage of 52% for the veteran rider.

LOCKING DOWN POINTS: “Many times I’ve had chances to reduce the points gap, but something happens, and I end up losing more points than I gain”

Bautista’s Saturday success started in the morning with the Superpole session, an aspect of the round weekend that Bautista has struggled with since 2023. His return to the front row paved the way for his podium triumph for his 16^th of the season and his 123^rd of his career. The 16 points that come with P3 are more beneficial to him than ever, as his main rival for third place in the Riders’ Championship, Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) has been ruled out of competition at Estoril due to an injury suffered in training.

On his triumphant return to the front row, Bautista said: “Better late than never! It’s been more than a year since I was on the front row, so I was quite happy. In the race, I know that I struggle a lot in the first laps, so it was really difficult to stay with the pace of Toprak and Nicolo. I started well, but it’s always difficult in the first laps; I feel like a passenger more than a rider on the bike. I tried just to stay calm and think clearly. I was telling myself, ‘Don’t make a mistake. ’ Many times before I have had chances to reduce the gap in the Championship, but something happens, and I end up losing more points than I gain. Today was a day to just get as many points as possible without going past our limits. When I was in third, I could feel some bikes behind me, but as the race went on and the bike allowed me to, I started to push more. I had to push to regain the gap I had lost after an issue with my front brake cost me my gap.”

OLD RIVALS CLASH ONCE AGAIN: “I know in many places here he’s stronger than me, so I tried to pay lots of attention to prevent him from overtaking me”

Two-thirds of WorldSBK’s vaunted titanic trio, Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) and Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati), put on a show in Race 1, locking horns in a way fans have seldom gotten to see in recent seasons. Estoril is a circuit that both riders have won at. Without contenders like Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) and Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) competing in the round, further clashes between the two legends of the Championship may be on the cards this weekend.

On his fight with Rea as the #19 clung to his podium position, Bautista said: “It was nice to have Jonathan here close behind, he’s very strong here at this track, he’s won here in the past. Even with the long straight, it seems like the Yamaha works well here because there are many corners at this track where you need the bike to turn. I know in many places here he was stronger than me, so I tried to pay lots of attention to prevent him from overtaking me, as I knew if we started to battle, I might make more mistakes. So, I tried to keep third position the whole race, and at the end I was able to separate from him.”

Catch Bautista in the final day of their Estoril weekend, kicking off at 11:00 local time (UTC +1)! Tune in with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now just €9.99!