Alvaro Bautista shared his visible delight with the day’s work after completing Day 1 of the Phillip Island WorldSBK test.
After a difficult 2024 season where the two-time WorldSBK champion picked up only four race wins, the Spaniard has taken another step in rediscovering his form and confidence.
Bautista relied on favourable weather conditions at Phillip Island after suffering a highside crash and having limited testing time due to weather at the Portimao test.
The Spaniard finished fourth and fifth following the two Free Practice sessions as his teammate Nicolo Bulega topped the charts on both occasions.
Despite finishing a second adrift in the second session, the 40-year-old is in a positive frame of mind.
“I’m really happy with the first day at Phillip Island because I started to recover a good feeling with the bike with confidence, he told WorldSBK.
“We worked just a little bit on the bike and the setup for the race, no big change, but all the change we did a step forward so I’m really happy with confidence.
“Also, I have to congratulate to Pirelli because they brought two different tyres from last year we had some problems. This year, in the test we did a lot of laps, good performance [and] no problems so I can say that today has been a positive first day.
“More better than 12 [months ago] but also from the last race in Jerez and the last test. Because today I felt like I rode the bike, not that the bike rode me, so I have more confidence.
“So basically, today I enjoyed the track.”
Bautista’s future beyond 2025 will depend on ‘how the first three or four races go’ – Ducati
Despite the recent struggles on track, Bautista put pen to paper on a one-year extension, meaning his contract expires at the end of 2025.
Ducati team boss Serafino Foti revealed ahead of the week down under that the future of Bautista’s career will depend on the first third of the season.
He believes the key to regaining Bautista’s confidence is to get his season off to the best possible start.
“The important thing is to get off to a good start, because I think if he can do that then he will be able to find the feeling again,” he said to GPOne.
“Since even last year he was very strong in some races like Aragon, where he had an incredible feeling.
“He has not forgotten, but it is clear we have to be the ones to help him find those sensations he had in 2022 and 2023.
“Knowing him, he races because he has fun and to perform, and in my opinion he himself would be the one to say enough if he doesn’t have the performance.
“I don’t think that will happen, though, because Alvaro can still give so much. He looks like a kid even though he is 40 years old.
“I hope to continue with him, but rightly we will see how the first 3 or 4 races go, and then he will be the first to decide his future.”
READ MORE – Alvaro Bautista rues ‘poor’ WorldSBK testing amid highside crash
