Alvaro Bautista completes MotoGP Misano Test
World Superbike Champion Alvaro Bautista wrapped up a special two-day MotoGP test session at Misano overnight. An honour promised in return for his capturing the WorldSBK Title for Ducati.
Ducati have stated that no ‘time attack attempts were made’, but that after 49 laps on day two his quickest time was a 1m32.590, set on lap seven of his fourth run. The Desmosedici GP shod with soft tyres and running on a track temperature of 49-degrees.
In the afternoon the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider was back on his Ducati Panigale V4R to reacquaint himself with the bike he will ride in the sixth round of the 2023 WorldSBK season, scheduled at Donington (UK) from 29 June to 2 July.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“It was a good test. I had a lot of fun getting back on the Ducati Desmosedici GP and I’m satisfied with the work we did. Between the first and second day, the feeling improved, also thanks to the team and Ducati, who put me in a position to adjust the bike with some changes that helped me feel even more comfortable. We also worked to find confidence with different tyre solutions and the results were tangible. The time? It’s not important, also because I never pushed for the time: there was no reason to take risks. The future? The future is at Donington and Imola. We have two very close rounds and after this good experience I just have to think about the WorldSBK championship“.
For comparison purposes Jack Miller set pole at Misano last year on the Ducati with a time of 1m31.899 in much cooler conditions. For qualifying at Misano last year the ambient temperature was around ten-degrees cooler and the track temperature 20-degrees cooler that that experienced by Bautista this week. The Spaniard’s time would have been good enough for tenth on the grid at Misano last year.
In last year’s race at Misano the track temperature was closer to that experienced by Bautista this week. In the race last year Enea Bastianini set a new race lap record of 1m31.868 on a track that was 42-degrees.
The outright qualifying lap record at Misano is a 1m31.077 set by Maverick Vinales on a Yamaha in 2020 on a track registering 40-degrees.
