Bautista struggling to ‘feel the tyres’, track knowledge ‘a benefit’ for Haslam

Alvaro Bautista’ tough start to the 2021 WorldSBK championship continued on day-one at Donington Park. 

The 2019 series runner-up was two seconds off the fastest times set by Jonathan Rea and Garrett Gerloff in FP1 and FP2. 

Most of Bautista’s issues with the 2021 Honda Fireblade have been electronically, but today ‘I have been struggling to feel the tyres’.

"Today was an objectively difficult day and our position reflects this, because normally we are quite closer to the front group in terms of performance," added Bautista. 

"We need to keep working on the set-up because right from the first few laps this morning I have been struggling to 'feel' the tyres. With this problem I can't push hard and exploit the potential of the bike. 

"The changes we have tried haven't solved the issue yet, but at least we have done some exploratory work and now we will analyse the data and try to find a solution tomorrow."

Haslam has encountered many of the same electronics issues as his Spanish team-mate this season, however, it was a smoother day for the Brit who used his extensive track knowledge from BSB to good effect - finished P8 overall.

Haslam said: "Obviously I know this track very well, which is a benefit. We’ve not been here on the Honda, but my experience with different bikes here means I know where and how the bike should be turning and so I think we’ve highlighted a few areas where we need to improve. 

"There’s no one specific thing we need to work on, it’s more a case of putting it all together to find a solid overall package. 

"It’s been a tough day but also a very useful one, and now we have more ideas as to how to move forward."