Bautista dominated the first day ahead of Razgatlioglu

Álvaro Bautista led the free practice Friday of the Indonesian round in Mandalika where this Saturday (6.30 am) in Race 1 he will be proclaimed Superbike World Champion, the second Spaniard to achieve this after Carlos Checa in 2011.

The rider from Talavera was the only rider capable of riding under 1’34 (1’33″628) in a massive event due to the low grip conditions and high asphalt temperature (around 60ºc) and where Valencian Iker Lecuona, pilot of Team HRC, suffered a serious accident and after a very difficult highside in turn 3 after losing the rear axle, he was evacuated by helicopter to RSUD Provinsi NTB Hospital in Mataram where he was diagnosed with a stable fracture of the T12 vertebra (no neurological damage), as well as a fracture on the side sacral left. Both injuries do not require surgical intervention but you should rest.

Bautista, champion this Saturday if…

1. Finish first and Razgatlioglu is eighth or worse
2. Finishes second and Razgatlioglu finishes 13th or worse
3. If Bautista does not finish in the top two, the resolution of the Championship will go through what happens on Sunday in Indonesia. Rea will fall out of contention if Bautista finishes the points and gets ahead of Rea in Race 1.

Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) took the top spot in the table with a last-minute attack on the times in FP2, signing his time on his penultimate fastest lap and consolidating a 0″462 lead over Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK), who led FP1, with the result of Friday the Turkish title defender will delay Bautista’s wing until Sunday.

After the two strong men of the championship, Baustita’s teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi followed and four Ducatis finished in the top-9, including Xavi Fores, sixth on 1″245, and Bassani8, ninth on 1″ 513.

Fourth was Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 0″969 behind Bautista. Vierge finished eighth at 1″396 and Lecuona, before his unfortunate crash, set a time of 2″140 behind the FP2 leader.

“Today, really, we tried to understand the track to have a reference to a Ducati and then, in FP1, our goal today was just to put rubber on the track. In the afternoon, the track improved a bit. I had a bit of an inconsistent time practice because, when I didn’t really see when I was safe in the corner, I just rode and didn’t take any risks”, explained ‘Bati’.

“It’s better to have more Ducatis up front because it means that maybe the track is not suitable for our bike but, at the same time, it really depends. Tomorrow we will see the improvement of the track. we’ll see the performance of each rider. This guy It was hard to understand on the first day because there was a big change in everything. You have to be focused and try to get the most out of every time you go out on the track. My feelings on the bike are positive.”