The week after the Malaysian MotoGP Grand Prix, Álvaro Bautista underwent tests carried out by Dr. Angel Villamor in Madrid.

After consulting with the specialist and analyzing the cervical MRI performed due to the loss of strength and numbness in the left upper limb that arose after the crash at the Jerez test and during the Malaysian MotoGP Grand Prix, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider was diagnosed with a C6-C7 cervical hernia and C5-C6 disc protrusion.

Further specialized tests are scheduled for the next few days to determine any damage due to nerve compression at cervical level.

At the moment, however, no surgical intervention is planned for the Spanish rider and current WSBK world champion.

O conteúdo Álvaro Bautista with cervical hernia and disc protrusion after MotoGP wild card in Malaysia aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The return of Alvaro Bautista to MotoGP, despite briefly as a wilcard, didn’t go in the best way due to… WSBK Tests. The spaniard was prior to this GP works on his bike testing at erez and got injured, resulting in lack of strength on one of his arms, messing up his ability to perform.

After sunday’s race, Bautista revelead he wasn’t at his best shape: ‘You know we are a bit stubborn and we try to fight against everything. In the Jerez test I had a bit of a nasty crash. I hit my neck and I haven’t had any symptoms of pain or anything special. Since I got on the bike on Friday I had no strength in my arm and the problem is that it hasn’t gone any better’.

This led the two time Superbike champion not to enjoy at Sepang as much as he would have wanted, and planned, as it messed his performance on the bike: ‘I feel bad because I didn’t enjoy the weekend as much as I could have. In fact, if you look at my telemetry data compared to other riders I was no longer at their level in the left-hand corners and I got at least six 7, 10 tenths under braking’.

And concluded: ‘Bad weekend. Not because of the result, far from it, but because I could not enjoy at any time or ride at ease. Although I’ve been saying yes, the reality was that I was fucked up’.

O conteúdo Injury before Malaysian GP, at WSBK Tests, «ruined» the return of Alvaro Bautista to MotoGP aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Tyre pressure caused issues for several riders in the MotoGP Malaysian GP race, resulting in a series of warnings for the respective infractions, including the race winner.

The rules introduced in the British GP in August specify a minimum pressure to the front tyre. The first infraction results in a warning, and thereafter, time penalties are awarded incrementally – three seconds for the second infraction, six seconds for the third infraction, and 12 seconds for the fourth.

In Sepang, the stewards warned five riders for violating the minimum pressure limit. The winner, Enea Bastianini (Ducati), was one of them, as well as his teammate and championship leader Francesco Bagnaia, who finished third.

The other warnings were issued to Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team/Ducati), Iker Lecuona (LCR Honda), and wildcard Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati).

The rule was introduced midway through the season, and in just 12 rounds, 13 riders have been warned for an infraction, with Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia) already being penalized. Thus, if nothing is changed, there may be several penalties and consequences for the quality of the races – especially because the idea is for disqualification to be the sanction in the future.

O conteúdo Enea Bastianini, Francesco Bagnaia among several riders warned about tyre pressure in the Malaysian GP aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Álvaro Bautista returns to MotoGP this weekend as a wildcard for Ducati in the Malaysian GP. The World Superbike rider will be riding the Desmosedici GP23 in Sepang, a circuit he likes, and there is some expectation surrounding him.

The two-time Superbike world champion emphasized that his goal is, above all, to have fun, without focusing on results: ‘The expectations… nothing about the results, I’ll just try to have some fun, I’ll try to have a good feeling with the bike. Because it’s not the same to do a test, where you can try and you can get the pace step by step. But here it’s a really difficult track – I like a lot. The important thing is to have the feeling with the bike as soon as possible to get a good pace and try to have fun. About the result I don’t have expectations; I’ll just try to get the best feeling with the bike and try to do my best. And for sure to have fun, that’s the target’.

This season, Dani Pedrosa was in the fight for the podium at the San Marino GP in one of his two wildcards for KTM, but Bautista emphasized that their situations are opposite: ‘Especially for everybody is like to put more pressure on me, because they say: «If Dani can do it…». But we are in a different situation, because Dani has a lot of kilometers on KTM and he is really fast in Misano. For sure he missed some racing pace and I think he even can do better because missing the races it’s always more difficult when you have to race with other riders. In my case it’s the opposite: I have race pace, but I miss some experience with this bike. For that it’s importante to get the feeling with the bike as soon as possible and the rest we’ll see. For sure it’s good to see Dani fighting for those positions, but in this case for me maybe it’s not too good, because it’s like «if Dani can do it, maybe you can do it too». But we are in different situations for sure’.

In 2006, Troy Bayliss came from WSBK for a wildcard in MotoGP and achieved victory. Another comparison that Bautista considers not to be possible: ‘That time was so different from now. In that time it wasn’t the same tyre for everybody, they were using different tyres. It was a different situation and for sure I think now it’s quite impossible to do what Troy did in 2006. Also the level of the category is very, very close. Even if you are close about the lap time, maybe in the position you are too far, because there are 20 riders in one second. To be maybe 0.7s away from the first it’s a really nice time, but in the position is very back. So I don’t want to see the position, for me the performance that I can do this weekend it’s the important thing’.

O conteúdo Álvaro Bautista doesn’t expect results in Sepang and rejects comparisons with Dani Pedrosa and Troy Bayliss aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Alvaro Bautista will return this weekend at MotoGP as a wildcard for Ducati in the Malaysia GP. The spaniard who was the main face of the manufacturer’s Triple Crown in the Superbikes is out of the category since the last race of 2018, and will have the chance to ride at one of his most ‘favorite circuits’, and wants to have the best time possible and enjoy.

‘I am happy to be back racing in Malaysia also because Sepang is definitely one of my favorite circuits. Having the opportunity to ride the Desmosedici GP again after a few years means a lot to me: it is a great emotion. I’m sure it will be a good weekend, also because we arrive in Malaysia with no expectations but only with the desire to do a good job with the team from Friday’, he said before speaking of his goals:

– The aim is to find a good feeling with the bike as soon as possible, as in the light of the new format, the time available is not much. It won’t be easy, but I’ll try my best and have fun. This is a bonus that Ducati and Aruba.it have given me for the results obtained in WorldSBK and I’d like to make the most of it.

O conteúdo Alvaro Bautista ready to make his return to MotoGP: ‘The aim is to find a good feeling and I’d like to make the most of it’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Álvaro Bautista returns to MotoGP next week as a Ducati wildcard in the Malaysian GP. The rider has dominated the World Superbike Championship, but he will find a premier class very different from the one he knew before leaving at the end of 2018. There are no expectations for results, but that won’t stop him from fighting at the top if he has the chance.

In an interview with GPOne.com, the Spanish rider reiterated that this will be a race to have fun and do the best possible job: ‘Sepang is a bonus for me. I hope to have a good feeling with the bike, work well throughout the weekend, and have fun. I have no expectations in terms of results. I will try to do the best I can and enjoy the track, which is beautiful, and I miss it because we haven’t raced there’.

Although he doesn’t expect results, Bautista admitted that he won’t pass up the opportunity to fight at the top if he has a chance: ‘I’m not worried about the idea of being able to be in the group of the best. The level is very high, and I would sign up now to be in that situation! However, I imagine that if I found myself in that situation, the important thing would be not to make a mess. If I could win both races, I would win both; otherwise, no. We’ll see what happens. I’m certainly happy to be in that weekend; they are fighting for the championship, and it will be a very good race to watch’.

O conteúdo ‘If I could win both races in Sepang, I would’ – Álvaro Bautista aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Álvaro Bautista completed the second day of World Superbike Championship testing in Jerez on Wednesday. One of the biggest challenges for him will be adapting to the new mandatory minimum weight combining the bike and the rider, as he is one of the lighter riders on the grid.

The Aruba.it Ducati rider stated in a press release that this was precisely his point of focus during the second day in Jerez, explaining the challenges that the weight issue presents:

– Today, we were focused on the 2024 regulations especially with the weight. We tried many solutions with the weight. Putting some weight on some areas of the bike, also trying inside the engine, and did many tests to understand how the bike’s working. It’s not easy because when the bike’s working well, if you add 7kg, the bike feels different especially in the fast corners. We made some distribution to have more data and we got that data for this winter to try to work and try to see what could be the base for starting 2024.

O conteúdo Álvaro Bautista focused on weight rules on the second day of WSBK testing aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

In about a week and a half, Álvaro Bautista returns to the MotoGP paddock as a wildcard rider for Ducati at the Malaysian GP. This is a sort of reward for his World Superbike titles, and the rider doesn’t approach this participation with the pressure to achieve strong results.

In an interview with the newspaper AS, the Spanish rider explained that the main objective is to enjoy the experience: ‘The goal is to enjoy this wildcard. That’s why I chose Sepang, even though Valencia would have been more convenient for Ducati due to proximity. But Cheste is a smaller circuit, and you don’t get to enjoy MotoGP as much there. I don’t think I would enjoy it there. So, I chose Malaysia, a large circuit that I like, and I have more chances to enjoy it. Many people tell me, «Look at Dani [Pedrosa], who was fighting for the podium…»’.

However, Bautista clarified that he doesn’t see himself as a podium contender in Sepang: ‘Dani has many more kilometers on the MotoGP bike than me, he did many tests in Misano, and the situation is different. At most, I have more race pace, which is what he lacked to get on the podium. I emphasize that he was fighting for it. These are two different situations, and the results he achieved don’t add or take away pressure for me’.

O conteúdo Álvaro Bautista feels no pressure for the Malaysian GP: ‘The Goal is to enjoy’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Starting next year, World Superbike Championship bikes will have to carry ballast to meet the minimum bike + rider weight, which will be 80kg. Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati) is one of the lightest riders on the grid and disagrees with these rules – not for competitiveness reasons, but for the safety of the bike and the ability to gain weight naturally without severely affecting his performance.

In statements to GPOne.com, the Spanish rider emphasized that he disagrees with this measure for safety reasons and even hinted at retirement: ‘I don’t think adding more weight to the bike is correct or safe. I wouldn’t be able to gain a lot of weight myself. I will try it with more weight on the bike, but honestly, I’m here competing because I enjoy it, and I feel safe on the bike. But if I try these rules and feel that the bike becomes more dangerous than necessary, for me, it’s clear, I’ll stay at home. I don’t want to risk my life more than necessary. I will try, but it will become dangerous for me’.

Bautista also argued that the calculation formula for the average weight of riders should be different: ‘It’s obvious that the average weight is high if you have four riders above 90kg, but 80kg is too much. I think the average weight should be calculated by excluding the three lightest and the three heaviest riders, and then taking the average of the others. The heaviest rider in MotoGP will have around 80kg because you need to be athletic. Some say it’s a matter of height, but Aleix [Espargaró], for example, is very tall but light because he lives the life of a rider and trains like a rider’.

In his case, the two-time world champion explained that despite being light, he is limited in weight gains due to his performance: ‘Our goal is to try to add about 6kg because we can’t put much more weight on the bike now. Of course, I will try to add some muscle mass, but I can’t gain too much weight, otherwise I would lose performance in terms of movement, agility, and speed. Everyone says it would be easy for me to gain weight, but I would lose performance, so I think I can gain a maximum of 2kg or 3kg of muscle, no more. Otherwise, I would be «bulky», slow, and get tired more’.

On the other hand, Bautista stressed that riders must have certain physical characteristics: ‘If you put your belly up, it would be better to stay on the sofa at home instead of being a rider. A rider has to be lean, athletic, and physically well-prepared, not a bodybuilder’.

O conteúdo Álvaro Bautista criticizes minimum weight in WSBK: ‘If the bike becomes more dangerous, I’ll stay at home’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The battle for the win in the final race of the World Superbike Championship season was breath-taking, with a lot of excitement provided by Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha).

Despite the title being secured by the Spaniard the day before, neither of the two riders wanted to end the season without one last victory – especially Razgatlioglu, who bid farewell to his team.

It was the Turkish rider who came out on top in this intense battle. According to the official WSBK social media, from the tenth lap onwards, there were 38 passes between Razgatlioglu and Bautista before everything was decided. These impressive numbers illustrate the competitiveness at the top of the championship and already anticipate new battles in 2024.

O conteúdo Impressive numbers: 38 overtakes in the fight for the win in the last race of the WSBK season aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.