The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season is off and running as the field returns home after a Pirelli Dutch Round for the ages. Dominant performances from Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) and the beginnings of what might be a title fight between him and his Spanish teammate Iker Lecuona were on full display, but among the main takeaways were Alvaro Bautista's (Barni Spark Racing Team) re-emergence as a consistent podium contender as he settles in with his new Barni Ducati independent team.

The two-time World Championship rider took a podium in a rainy Race 2 Down Under to kick off the season, but aside from that contest, his best placement was a P7 at that same round’s Tissot Superpole Race. He found another gear at the TT Assen Circuit as he was unable to climb onto the podium but enjoyed his best points haul of the season by far as he netted a trio of P4s.

 It all started with a 1’32.567s Tissot Superpole effort, which saw him to an ignominious P7, but he got to work early, jumping up to P5 on the first lap past Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha). He then kicked off a race-long battle with a thrilling sequence in which he passed Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) for P4 on Turn 11 of the opening lap, before Lowes struck back in the Geert Timmer chicane just before the end of the lap, setting up Bautista to charge past him on the main straight on the dive into Turn 1. That move stuck, and while the Bimota rider was able to hold him to within six tenths for the majority of the race, when an afternoon shower arrived to the circuit, Bautista kept the hammer down and finished the race five seconds clear.

MAKING STRIDES: “We made a small change on the bike from Saturday, and it to push hard on the first lap, somewhere I normally struggle”

Sunday saw the Spaniard’s improved form continue as while he was only able to make up a single spot on the opening lap past the #9, he slowly reeled in Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team). Seven tenths behind the Englishman to start Lap 2, he had cut that deficit to one tenth by Lap 7. At the outset of Lap 8, he closed within a mere seven hundredths, and moments later he pulled out from behind and passed the Brit into Turn 1. With just a lap to go, Lowes couldn’t mount a counterattack, earning Bautista his second P4 of the weekend. Race 2 featured the same progression as he had enjoyed earlier on, passing the #9 and the #97 across the first two laps. On Lap 4 he moved past the #22, and later, while his sophomore teammate Yari Montella gave him a fun for his money, hanging within four tenths with four laps to go, Bautista made haste and finished nearly a second ahead of the #5.

On the feeling from his weekend, Bautista said: “We have to be satisfied, in the end three fourth places this weekend. The important thing to me is that we were very consistent. On Sunday, we made a small change on the bike from Saturday, and it allowed me to push hard in the Superpole Race and to push hard on the first lap, somewhere I normally struggle. In Race 2 as well, the feeling was much better; we were able to fight much better without losing too much time, showing us that the modification to the bike worked, even in the cold conditions and rain. It’s hard to warm up the tyre like this, but the feeling improved across the first few laps. We still were quite far from the podium but in any case, we did the maximum that we had.”

ONWARDS AND UPWARDS: “We’re getting more and more confidence as the feeling increases with the bike”

With Bautista back in the fight up near the front, it has to bring a sigh of relief to Team Principal Marco Barnabo after what hasn’t been a flawless start to his team’s season. While both riders scored podiums at Phillip Island, they also had two DNFs in the six races prior to this round. Particularly for Bautista however, it is a welcome sight to see the #19 back in the fight at the front, and his next challenge from here if he can keep the positive trajectory is to find the pace to battle with Alex Lowes' brother, Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) whose independent Ducati Panigale V4R has so far been a cut above.

On his and his teammates' accomplishments at Assen, Bautista said: “Marco is for sure happy that we both finished the race; it was a very positive weekend for the team. Yari had a small issue in the Superpole, which made him come back from behind. He started Race 2 from the third row, which makes life a bit easier, and we showed a similar pace which shows that the team is working well. We’re getting more and more confident as the feeling on the bike increases. I think it’s been positive overall, and I hope we can keep this feeling in the next rounds.”

Next round, the field returns to Balaton Park Circuit! Tune in with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 30% off!