Álvaro Bautista is having superlative sensations with the 2023 version of the Ducati Panigale V4 R. If in Jerez the man from Talavera was already amazed by his connection with the Italian superbike, in Portimao he confirmed that both he and his bike are ready to attack this year the defense of the WorldSBK title, and this was verified by Álvaro lapping six tenths below the Superbike record in Portugalstaying three tenths of the fastest lap ever completed here by a MotoGP.
Despite the fact that, on paper, the Bautista-Ducati pairing seems stronger than ever, the Spanish pilot was prudent at the end of the Portimao testremembering that in this type of private practice, laps are always achieved much faster than in a normal racing weekend.
“In the winter tests you can do very good laps, but in the end the important thing is the feeling you have with the bike“, Bautista assessed before leaving Portugal. “I think we’ve worked well these days, especially on Wednesday. We’ve gained grip at the rear, especially leaning as far as possible and coming out of the turn, and I’m happy.”
If we pay attention to the timing table for Jerez and Portimao, it seems that in 2023 we will see a three-way duel between Bautista, Jonathan Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglua fight that Bautista’s Ducati teammate, Michael Rinaldi, who has also been consistently at the top of both tests, could get into.
Regarding what he expects in 2023, the 38-year-old pilot recalled that “the times of the pre-season tests are not real, you have to wait for the first race to see everyone’s level. Now everything is relative, because it depends on many things, how you feel on the track at that moment, the conditions… but hey, I’m very happy with my feelings and with the work we’ve done”.
In any case, seeing Rea separated from his best lap in Portimao by only 9 thousandths of a second already anticipates a very tight year: “It could be an even more interesting season than last year, we’ll see what happens in the first race. Everyone has been very fast in this test, and I was a second faster than last year. I think we are ready to start the season, the set-up of the new bike is very good, because the work we have done is very good”.
Bautista’s test in Portimao was not without its scares; the Spaniard was involved in a spectacular crash at turn seven on Wednesday morning, an incident that led to the appearance of a red flag and from which Álvaro escaped unharmed. He thus explained what happened: “I just found the limit in that curve (laughs). I was going too fast. On Tuesday I crashed at turn 5, but it was a clean crash. The level is still high, so it is difficult to find ways to improve, in the end it all lies in small details. Better to fall now than in the race.”
With the pre-season homework done, the WorldSBK paddock is already packing up all the material to start the season in Australia on the weekend of February 25 and 26, a round that will be preceded by for a final two-day official test on the same Phillip Island track.
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Bautista is confident that this essay will help him finish off the settings of his Panigale on a track where he has already won two races in 2022: “Now we go to Australia. There I will try to give the technicians good feedback in the test ahead of the race. Phillip Island is not an easy circuit, my goal will be to enjoy and, as a consequence of that, the results will come“, states number #1.