WSBK, Sportrik Media – Alvaro Bautista believes he has made a crucial step forward in the area that has consistently limited his performance in WorldSBK, particularly during the opening laps of races. The two-time world champion highlighted improvements following setup changes introduced during the Assen round.
Now racing for Barni Ducati, Bautista has long been associated with a clear race pattern: struggling in the early stages before becoming significantly faster as the race progresses. This trend has been especially pronounced since the introduction of minimum weight regulations in 2024, which he has openly criticised.
The Spaniard, who secured back-to-back titles with Aruba.it Racing Ducati in 2022 and 2023, has not taken a race victory since Aragon 2024. While his late-race pace previously allowed him to recover and win, recent seasons have seen those comebacks fall short of victory contention.
The start of the 2026 campaign offered limited encouragement, with Bautista scoring just one podium in the opening two rounds, finishing third in wet conditions in Australia. However, the Assen weekend delivered signs of progress, as he demonstrated stronger pace in the early laps of both Sunday races, ultimately finishing fourth behind the factory Ducati riders and Sam Lowes.
“We have to be satisfied because, at the end, it was 4-4-4 this weekend, but the important thing is that we were very consistent,” Bautista told WorldSBK.com.
“Today I’m happy because we made a small change to the bike from Saturday, and in the Superpole Race I was able to push hard from the first lap, which is normally where I have the most problems.”
Bautista underlined that the most significant improvement came in the opening phase of the races, where he has historically struggled due to the bike’s behaviour with a full fuel load. At Assen, he was able to maintain competitive pace and engage in battles without losing significant time.
“In Race 2, the feeling in the first laps was much better than Saturday. We were able to fight with other riders without losing too much. So, the modifications we made worked,” he explained.
He also pointed to environmental factors, noting that colder conditions added complexity to tyre warm-up, particularly given his lighter rider weight.
“With the conditions on Sunday, with the cold and a light rider weight, it’s more difficult to get the tyre up to temperature. But I was happy because the feeling improved a lot in the first few laps, even if we were still a bit far from the podium fight.”
Despite missing out on the podium, Bautista emphasised that the team extracted the maximum from the available package, marking the weekend as a constructive step forward.
“In any case, we got the maximum we had, so I’m happy for that,” he concluded.
The improvements in early-race performance could prove decisive as the 2026 WorldSBK season progresses, with Bautista aiming to convert consistency into stronger results in the upcoming rounds.
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