Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) worked his way from 13th position to third with in Race 1 for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship on Saturday but at two thirds race distance the race was red flagged, resulting in a Ducati podium lockout, and Bautista finishing on the rostrum in third position.

It was an unexpected result for the 39-year-old at the Acerbis Italian Round after starting from 13^th on the grid after the morning Tissot Superpole session. Bautista is making a bit of a habit, one he won’t want to keep, of recovering from poor Superpole results to claim strong race finishes.

Progress was initially slow for the reigning Champion but he slowely moved his way up the field. He was inside the top ten on Lap 7, before picking up Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), Xavi Vierge (Team HRC), Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) and Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) to claim third.

“It was a difficult Saturday,” began Bautista. “When I pushed more, I felt I was missing some strength in my ribs. In the first few laps I felt pain so could not fight other riders and just tried to stay on bike. So I said after 5 or 6 laps if I still have this feeling I have to retire. Lap after lap, I started to feel less pain and felt I could move better so could be more aggressive, improve my pace. I could start overtaking. I didn't expect to finish on the podium, so am really happy. I didn't even know if I could race this weekend, so to finish on the podium after starting at the back is a really nice feeling. Now I have to recover for tomorrow.”

Bautista’s pain comes off the back of a Tissot Superpole Race crash in France where he fractured the eighth rib on the left side of his body. He was declared fit on Friday after being reviewed following Free Practice 1 but the #1 admitted he’s still not at 100% following the crash, even though he was able to claim a podium he didn’t expect on Saturday.

Discussing what he can expect from Sunday, the Spaniard said: “The feeling’s back from some races ago. Maybe the results don’t show our real potential. We missed Race 2 at Most and also Portimao, Magny-Cours in the dry I think we were competitive as well and here I’m injured. I’m not 100 percent. For one reason or another, we can’t show our real potential. In any case, I’m happy because me and the team are working the best we can and we are trying to do our best. I hope, tomorrow, I don’t feel worse than today and I can have more performance.”

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