Bautista: I took many risks, our pace was worth top-five finish

Alvaro Bautista put three crashes on day-one behind him in Portugal to finish round two of the 2021 WorldSBK championship with a tenth and seventh in Sunday’s races. 

Bautista had two crashes in FP1, before a third at the very beginning of FP2, however, the Spaniard recovered from 18th on the grid to salvage valuable points. 

Bautista was one of a few riders caught out in qualifying and therefore out of position in all three races. 

After another difficult weekend for Honda, Bautista said: "Another hard-fought race because I had to start eighteenth again, after just missing out on securing a better grid position with my tenth-place finish in the sprint race. 

"In the end, the afternoon’s race was trickier than yesterday’s, as the temperature was different and the track was more slippery. I took many risks with the front and was very close to the limit. 

"Our pace was not bad though and I think that was worth a top-five finish. But starting from the back and lapping with similar pace to the frontrunners, it was tough to close the gap. 

"A pity really, because when they cancelled my qualifying lap, they basically eliminated any chance for me to fight for better positions. 

"The positive is that we were able to rebuild confidence with the bike after a difficult start to the weekend and I can head into the next round with a good feeling again. Now we must take another step forward."

Next up for Bautista is Misano, a track where he took a third and a win his 2019 debut season, while he also has a podium from his time in MotoGP at the Italian venue which came in 2012.