Having had a round off the podium at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) was back to the top step of the podium in a dramatic opening encounter in San Juan, Argentina. The Spaniard put together a strong race and battled hard with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) throughout the 21-lap race, coming out on top in the end by just over 1.5s.

The race began and immediately, a thrilling battle occurred. Jonathan Rea barged his way into the lead at Turn 1, allowing Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) to join in on the intense action at the front of the field. Soon however, Bautista was able to up his pace and break away from the battle behind him. A return to the podium and to winning ways, Bautista conquered his first ever race at the Circuito San Juan Villicum.

Reviewing a hectic Race 1, Bautista said: “In my first visit here, I have won the race so I am really happy! Already, it is a track I like a lot and on Friday, I already felt quite strong. My bike worked well, even if the condition of the track was not perfect. Fortunately, the track condition improved a lot today but, in the afternoon, the temperature got higher and it became more critical – especially in the Tissot Superpole, where the times were around one second slower than in FP3.”

With the Championship already sown up Jonathan Rea-style, Bautista is confirmed an uncatchable in second position, confirming a strong rookie season. The Spaniard will be eager to improve on this in 2020, when he takes up a new role at the HRC team.

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