Bautista: WorldSBK title win ‘Incredible, so difficult to beat Toprak, Rea’

Bautista managed to fight the Yamaha rider for much of the race before Razgatlioglu produced back-to-back fastest laps late on that resulted in a one second gap separating the two. 

Although the Indonesian round is only the second this season where Bautista failed to win a race, the Spaniard showed impressive consistently to again be a contender before wrapping up the title. 

• Razgatlioglu sends message to Yamaha: ‘I couldn’t do more, we need more power’
• Mandalika Race 2: Razgatlioglu wins but Bautista crowned WorldSBK Champion

Speaking about his championship win, but also about how hard it’s been to achieve his title win due to the level of rivals Razgatlioglu and Jonathan Rea, Bautista said: "Incredible! I want to say thanks to everyone that trusted in me. To give me this chance to fight for good places, for races, and we got the championship. 

"Thanks to Ducati and thanks to my bike. Today was the first time I felt a bit nervous or stressed, which was in Race 2 on the grid. I tried to manage the emotions and when I was first I was doing a lot of mistakes because there was too much thinking in my head. 

"I just preferred to stay second behind Toprak and he was very strong so I couldn’t follow him. I just tried to finish the race. 

"Congrats to Toprak and Jonathan because it has been an amazing performance during all the season. It’s really, really, really difficult to beat them."

Bautista’s championship win sees him bring glory back to Ducati for the first time since 2011 in the Superbike class.

It also comes seven days after Francesco Bagnaia secured the MotoGP title for the Italian manufacturer, making 2022 their most successful season ever. 

After two difficult seasons with Honda, Bautista’s return to Ducati was always expected to bring with it good results, however, to beat Razgatlioglu and Rea in the fashion he has speaks volumes about how good Bautista and the Panigale V4 R have been together.

Detailing his journey to this stage, Bautista added: "I feel so happy. I started this championship four years ago and I felt really good on the bike. We did a great start to the season and then for sure, I missed some experience in the category. 

"I didn’t know very well the tyres and some tracks were new for me and we did some mistakes. Also for Ducati it was the first season with a completely new bike and they made a great bike but still we needed to work. 

"Then I spent two years with another manufacturer, two very difficult years for me because I never felt the same feeling that I did with Ducati, but it was positive for me because I learned a lot. 

"I got a lot of experience in the championship, with tyres and I always tried to find something to help us, to help me go fast. 

"In my second year [with Honda] I met with Ducati - there was no management just myself - I wanted to speak directly with them. I felt that I still had something on my inside to fight for wins and I felt I had enough experience and I needed a bike that could win. 

"Then we restarted and I found the same team. The team is perfect and is one of the best teams I’ve been with in my career. But also I found a better bike. The bike was amazing, the feeling when I rode the bike again was incredible."

Bautista, who tested the 2022 bike for the first time during a test at Jerez last November, immediately remembered why he loved the Ducati. 

"I remember the first lap I did in November with the rain tyre and I said ‘Ohh, this is my bike’," said the former MotoGP rider. "I’m so happy to win the title because we did an amazing season, the bike was perfect in all the races. Ducati supported us 100%. 

"I tried to do my best every time I jumped on the bike. This is the consequence of all the work behind the door. I felt stronger than ever physically but also mentally."