Ducati accepted disadvantages for Alvaro Bautista for its own benefit

14th in qualifying, 14th in the first race, 15th in the sprint on Sunday morning and then suddenly sixth in the second main race: keen observers were surprised by this improvement in Alvaro Bautista’s performance in central France and wondered how it was possible. The Spaniard shed some light on the matter during a meeting with SPEEDWEEK.com.

“I don’t know why, but I couldn’t make the most of the potential of the qualifying rear tyre,” Bautista explained. “At first, it offered a bit of extra grip, but afterwards the bike was less stable with it. The bike became very twitchy and I couldn’t apply any pressure.”

The veteran rider used the SCQ rear tyre not only in qualifying but also in the sprint – the poor results speak for themselves. In the first main race, he finished only 14th on the SCX race tyre – but he’d crashed! “My pace would have been good enough for seventh place,” Alvaro noted. “Then I had problems with the gearbox; at one point I couldn’t find the gear and slipped out. In the second race, I managed to overtake eight riders and finished sixth. If you can’t make perfect use of the right tyre, it affects your whole weekend. Starting from the back of the grid, even with good pace, you won’t get any further forward than sixth or seventh.”

Willkommen zum Rennen in Magny-Cours

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Nicolò Bulega

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Axel Bassani

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Boxengasse

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Garrett Gerloff

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Fans

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Xavier Vierge

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Sam Lowes

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Iker Lecuona

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Álvaro Bautista

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Start des Rennens

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Lorenzo Baldassarri

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Axel Bassani

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Sam Lowes

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Nicolò Bulega

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Iker Lecuona

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Yari Montella

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Nicolò Bulega gewinnt beide Läufe in Frankreich

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Bulega und Lecuona

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Podium Lauf 1 - Iker Lecuona, Nicolò Bulega, Sam Lowes

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Podium Lauf 2 - Iker Lecuona, Nicolò Bulega, Yari Montella

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Sieger Nicolò Bulega

Foto: Gold & Goose

Willkommen zum Rennen in Magny-Cours

© Gold & Goose

Given Ducati’s dominance – we saw triple victories in all races in France too – and the technical regulations for 2027, it’s safe to assume that the V4R will be weaker than the competition. “If that’s the case, I’ll switch manufacturers,” smiled the 41-year-old, who is nearing the end of his career as he is set to lose his place in the Barni Spark Ducati team to Xavi Vierge, who is joining from Yamaha. “It’s true that Ducati is very strong. I personally find this model harder to handle than the previous one; it’s designed for taller riders. The fact that I have to fit extra weights makes it even more difficult.”

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This is the first time I’ve experienced anything like this in the sport.

Alvaro Bautista

There’d be no weight rule without Ducati’s approval

Then he spoke his mind: “In this championship, manufacturers who do a good job are penalised. I find that strange and it’s the first time I’ve experienced anything like this in sport. Instead of congratulating a manufacturer, they’re penalised. But the rules are what they are. Back then, Ducati preferred to have a competitive motorbike and accepted that a rider would be penalised for the weight. If Ducati hadn’t accepted the weight rule, it wouldn’t exist. But they accepted it because they then got a higher rev limit and other things they’d asked for. Perhaps it’s now time to scrap the weight rule and penalise all Ducati riders instead. Because even if that were done, Ducati would still win. I can manage with less fuel or a lower rev limit, and so can the other Ducati riders. But there’s only one rider on the grid who’s affected by the weight rule. I’d like to see a situation where all riders from a single manufacturer have the same chance – then we might just see a surprise.”