Bautista salvages best result of the year, but repeated crashes ‘annoy’ me

Alvaro Bautista endured another inconsistent WorldSBK round at Assen after a double DNF due to early race crashes was followed up by fifth place - his best result of the season. 

Performance-wise it was one of Bautista’s better rounds of the year as the Honda rider was quick during all three days. 

But a race one crash at the final corner (Geert Timmer Chicane) and another early fall in Sunday’s Superpole race, hampered what could have been similar race results as the one he achieved in race two. 

Bautista carved his way through the field before a lengthy battle with Michael Rinaldi and Alex Lowes for fifth. Once Bautista got past the pair, the Spaniard started to reel in Chaz Davies who was fourth, but eventually ran out of laps. 

"It has been a challenging weekend for us with two crashes in the first two races, something that quite annoys me honestly, because I think that our performance in those races could have been similar to what we did in race 2," added Bautista. 

"For now, when I try to ride more naturally, I fall. Having said that, we finished the weekend with a positive result, a hard-fought top five, with some nice passes, and I think that this stems from the work we are doing. 

"During the weekend we improved a lot on the electronics side, especially on the lower area of the throttle which gives me more confidence now. 

"Maybe it’s not so apparent yet, but I hope it’s just a starting point for the upcoming races."