SBK – Is anyone able to stop Bautista?

Bruno Gomes

February 19, 2019

Photo credits: Tribunnews

Second day of official World Superbike test in Phillip Island, and for the second day Alvaro Bautista was the fastest rider on track, showing just how well he’s been adapting to the new championship and to his new Ducati Panigale V4 R of the Aruba.it Ducati team. The Spaniard was able to set another fantastic lap time, well clear of the lap record and over 4 tenths of a second faster than his previous best lap set yesterday.

Bautista was again in an impressive form today at the Australian circuit, again lapping Phillip Island under the 1m31s, but this time the new Ducati rider set the fastest time with a 1m30.303s, 0.440s faster than his best time of yesterday, sending a clear sign that this season he is one of the championship contenders, probably the most dangerous rider that Jonathan Rea and his Kawasaki will need to face on track.

What’s more impressive is that Alvaro Bautista has been getting these fast lap times, and even though the bike is new, needing to be setup correctly, he hasn’t suffered any crash, showing just how confident he is on that Ducati.

With the second and third fastest times of the test in Phillip Island, Tom Sykes and Leon Haslam, respectively BMW Motorrad WorldSBK and Kawasaki Racing Team, both showed that they also have what it takes to fight for the top spot. Sykes only conceded 2 tenths to Bautista, while Haslam, returning this season to the World Superbike championship, conceded 3 tenths.

Jonathan Rea worked on the race setup on his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR, finishing the test with the fourth best lap time, four tenths slower than Alvaro Bautista, leaving Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha) in fifth, with the Italian getting more and more comfortable with the Yamaha YZF-R1.

For another title contender, Chaz Davies, this official Phillip Island test wasn’t at all what he was hoping for. The Ducati rider is still suffering from injuries sustained last season, on his back, and couldn’t do all the work and get as much track time as his rivals. Davies ends the test with the 14th best time, around 1,5 seconds slower than his teammate Bautista.

Next Friday the real action begins, with the first free practice sessions of the World Superbike season, set to begin precisely in Phillip Island. And the question remains: Is anyone able of

Here’s the final lap times of the World Superbike test session in Phillip Island