Alvaro Bautista: ‘Maybe I win because I’m a good rider’ - Exclusive

Alvaro Bautista says his dominance at the top of WorldSBK is underestimated and that the complaints made prior to the new weight limit ruꦏle indicate that.

Alvaro Bautista, MotoGP race, Malaysia MotoGP, 12 November
Alvaro Bautista, MotoGP race, Malaysia MotoGP, 12 November

A new minimum weight limit rule for rider and bike will debut in WorldSBK this season and it should bring the field closer t♔ogether.

But it’s come at a cost for 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Alvaro Bautista as the two-time wor𝔍ld champion has had to adjust more than aꩲny other rider.

It’s clear that Bautista feels as though the new rule has brought his level of performance down, 🃏r📖ather than aid other riders and teams to get closer.

Bautista put together the💛 most dominant season ever in WorldSBK last year, but when he was riding for Honda and struggling for success, the former MotoGP rider felt as though nothing was done to bring the grid closer.

Instead, Bautista be🌃lieves the new rule has been created without realising that maybe his success is because he’s riding💧 better than his competitors.

Speaking exclusively to Crash, Bautista said: “When I was riding for Honda nobody complained about the weight. But when we started winning a lot they began complaining about the bike’s 🃏performance and saying it was too high, that Ducati is too good a bike and that it was impossible to fight🦩 against Ducati, they have to cut their RPM’s.

“Then they said, ‘ok but the💦 onlꦫy Ducati winning is Alvaro’ and that I’m too light. But it’s just an excuse.

“It’s lik𝄹e they don’t think I can be a good rider as well. So not because of the weight or the bike, but maybe I can win because I’m a♉ good rider.

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“I won in 125cc and fought for the podium in MotoGP. Maybe I’m a good rider as well. It’s like they try to find an excuse instead of me maybe being a better rider than them. If you see, more-or-less the average weight and height for every rider isꦉ not too big,ജ not too strong.

“There are strange cases like Valentino [Rossi] who is tall but in the normal rider configuration we are not too big or too strong. The problem in WorldSBK is that there are a lot 🔯of tall riders who are very strong.

“If💟 you wa🐟nt to be a rider you have to work to be a rider. For example, Aleix Espargaro in MotoGP is a tall rider but he works to be a rider and does a lot of training to be fit.

“But the problem like I said is, instead of the rider൲ working on themselves to be a better rider or more in shape, they penalise ꦺa rider that makes that worth.

༺“For me, it is not fair and it’s an excuse to say I can ꦐnot be good.”

What is likely to happen as aꩵ result of the ne🍎w rule is a closer world championship in 2024.

Bautista expects rivals such as To𒀰prak Razgatli🌼oglu and Jonathan Rea to be very strong, despite both men changing manufacturers.

But when I asked if his team-mate Nicolo Bulega should be considered, the Spaniard said: “For sure, in fact, I remember last year when many journalists asked me abou♔t the rivals - Toprak to BMW and Jonathan switching to Yamaha - but no one asked me but I always said Nicolo.

“I said be careful because Nicolo 🃏is a really good rider, very young and a very talented rider.

“His approach every weekend in Supersport was very professional an𒈔d the way to൲ work is very similar to mine.

“I put him as one of the nam🐈es fighting for the championship. For me it is not a surprise.

“I expect him to be fighting from the first race even if he is a rookie rider, I think he can fight for the title in his first 🍨year.”

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