Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) finished third on Day 2 of MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship testing at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve but it wasn’t a day without drama for the two-time Champion. A crash at Turn 9 interrupted his running and effectively ended any meaningful running he might have had planned in the wet conditions, although Bautista was able to get back on the bike after the fall.

The crash happened at the fast left-hander of Turn 9 in wet conditions as Bautista tried to build some confidence on the Panigale V4 R machine on the final day of testing in Europe before the field heads to Australia for the Official Test and season-opening round. Despite a heavy impact after he highsided off his Ducati machine, the 63-time WorldSBK race winner returned to the track later on in the day to complete a few more installation laps although, with more rain falling, didn’t improve his lap time.

Discussing what happened with the crash and saying that he felt pain when returning to the circuit for his installation laps, Bautista said: “I tried to start an exit on the wet. The track was slippery and entering into Turn 9, I lost the rear without any warning. I had a big highside because that corner is quite fast. I have a big impact against the ground, with my left arm and hand. I think nothing is broken but, for sure, the hand is peeling a bit. In any case, I was lucky. We have two weeks to recover but basically, I could do a couple of laps after the crash to check my position on the bike. I felt pain but the normal pain after a big crash like that. I hope to be without any problem for Phillip Island.”

It's been a tricky pre-season for the entire WorldSBK field with poor weather impacting the action at both Jerez and Portimao. Wind and rain were present in Spain, and it seemed to follow the paddock west into Portugal, with the same conditions at Portimao. Day 1 at the rollercoaster venue was the day with the most action, although some riders ventured out on track on Day 2 when the circuit was wetter. Bautista posted a 1’43.061s on his sixth lap to secure third place although he was almost a second down on pacesetters Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team).

Reflecting on his two January tests so far and his goals for the Official Test at Phillip Island ahead of the round, the #19 stated: “It’s been very short and poor because we didn’t spend time on track with good conditions. At Jerez, we had one day with strong wind that was difficult for the first day after three months. The confidence with the bike wasn’t the best. The second day was raining, so we got no laps on track. Here at Portimao, it was basically the same. The first day was wet in the morning and in the afternoon, the track had some wet patches and stronger wind than Jerez; so not the best conditions to see something. Today, with the rain again. We’ve not had a good pre-season, the same as everybody. I hope to use the two-day test before the race in Australia better and start to get some confidence. We made some tests with the bike, but we didn’t spend a lot of time in any one of the setups, so I don’t have good confidence with the bike, so I hope to build that in Australia and try to prepare well for the weekend.”

Can Bautista bounce back in 2025? Find out using the comprehensive WorldSBK VideoPass!