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SBK 2024. Czech GP in Most. Bautista: “It wasn’t fair to punish me and it wouldn’t be fair to punish Toprak” – Superbike – Moto.it

After Race 1, Alvaro Bautista explained to us the problems of starting from the fourth row. He also touched on the tricky issue of penalties and the new weight rule that effectively only penalizes him.

How much influence did your starting position have on the outcome of the race?

The penalty I received in Superpole dropped me back three positions on the grid and I was worried about starting from tenth, because here in Most the first corner and the following turn are often the scene of contacts and crashes. Maybe if I had started further forward I wouldn’t have hit Petrucci and broken one of the two wings of my Panigale. Before the penalty I was confident about the race, because I knew I had good pace. I certainly wouldn’t have been able to keep up with Toprak, but I could have fought for the podium.

What attitude do you bring to the competition?

We have to be realistic and understand that our situation is different from last year. The victories and everything we did don’t matter anymore. We have to face the current situation, use what we have at our disposal and try to find a good feeling with the bike. Of course it would be better if we could win like in the past, but it is still a new challenge that must be faced with courage and the right determination. At the moment I am no longer world champion and I have to behave accordingly.

Last year you won a lot and Ducati was penalized in engine revs. This year it is Toprak who wins everything and is already on eight consecutive wins. Do you expect BMW to be penalized?

To be honest, I don’t expect anything from anyone. I’ve always said that it’s not fair to punish people who are doing great. I said it last year for myself and now it’s also true for Toprak and BMW. If they have worked better than us and are faster than us, we can only congratulate them. On the other hand, I don’t think it’s fair that they punish me for my weight. Light riders are punished in their riding from many points of view. If we compare ourselves with physically “normal” riders like Toprak, who is tall but thin, they can use their bodies better in the corners. I understand that for a rider who is not light and small like me, it is difficult to understand that we have more trouble in many corners, where we have to throw ourselves completely off the bike to compensate for gravity, while they can move less. In one of those cases, a very light rider like me has a much harder time than a rider with a greater weight who is not forced to “jump” from one side to the other. I don’t think it’s fair that they punish us even more, just like it’s not fair to punish those who do better than others. I think it’s fair to help those who are in trouble, while I don’t think it’s fair to punish those who do well.

Is the bad feeling you have about your bike this year solely due to the weight you had to add?

Yes, the bike is the same as last season. Last year I was winning races with a lead of seven or eight seconds, but from the middle of the race I made the difference. Until about the middle of the race, after 10 or 11 laps, I could make the difference. I gave 100% in all 22/23 laps, but in the first part of the race, with a full tank, I could only use eighty percent of the potential of my bike. From about the tenth lap, with the lighter bike, I could use 100% and make the difference. Now, if things go well, I can only increase my pace in the last four or five laps. Also this year, with a heavier bike, I struggle more in the first laps than in previous seasons.

How many revs should you add to the bike right now?

At the beginning of the season I tried to gain a kilo, but I realized that this could hinder my riding ability. So we decided to put all the kilos of the penalty on the bike. At the moment we are at seven kilos.

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