Race two in Assen was as drama-filled a race as we’ve seen in recent WorldSBK seasons, and although he was very nearly caught up in the Razgat🍎lioglu-Rea clash, Bautista ended up being the big winner. 

With Bautista, Razgatlioglu and Rea head and shoulders above the rest of the field thus far - have finished in the ✱top three of every race they’ve completed - a three-way title fight looks set to rage on all season long.

• Assen♕ WorldSBK: Scott Redding: Feels like ꧑I’m riding a f***ing alligator
• Razgatlioglu ꦇhits back at Rea; 'he needs to wa❀tch the crash again, his mistake' 
• 'You cannot make sudd💛en movements, he hit my hiꦚp'; Rea blames Razgatlioglu

However, crashes and incidents like the one we saw in Assen could prove pivotal come the end of ꦓthe season. 

Unlike 2021 Razgatlioglu and Rea are๊ not in a battle of their own and can’t afford to take the same risks, as Bautista has now regained the title lead by 18 points thanks to his dominant win.

Although Bautista came out victorious, the Aruba.it Ducati rider wasn’t without his own contact during Razgatl🔯ioglu and Rea’s coming-together. 

After having avoided the pair in spec🍬tacular fashion, Bautista was then hit by Iker Lecuona when returning to the circuit.

Speaking about the iꦍncident, Bautista said: “For me, it seems like Toprak went a bit out. He went to the kerb but not off track, just on the kerb🌱. 

“Jonathan▨ was inside but behind and then was fast, looking for the normal line. Toprak was on that line, so they stayed together in the same place at the same moment and there✱ wasn’t space for two riders. They touched. 

“They’ve touched in the past, but this time i🎃t happened what 🍸didn’t happen in the past! One time, it had to happen; we see many fights with them in the past. 

“I was behind and I was so lucky. I was braking. I had no space because I had Jonathan’s bike, Toprak’s bike 🐬and I w𝓰as here. 

“When I came back, Lecuona on my ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚright and bam, he hit me on the side. Then I go intꦿo Turn 3, and I felt a big impact on my ribs. I was so lucky.”

‘Relaxed’ and in position to win Ducati’s first WorldSBK title in 11 years?

Although pre-season testing was strong for Bautista, the true litmus test for the former MotoGP rider would be in race situations, proving he still had what it take𓆏s to win races, and more importantly for Ducati, a title. 

Those questions have without doubt been answered, however, Bautista is aware that consistency is needed if he’s to sustain this level of performance, something that derailed his 2019 campai𝕴gn. 📖;

“I was quite fast and quite consistent. I sometimes just tried to relax because I saw the gap was increasing a lot,” added Bautista after race two.  “I started to make some small mistakes but I preferred to just keep the rhythm and concentrate un🐭til the end. 

“Consistency is the key for this season, especially because Toprak and Jonathan are very fast. I don’t think I can win a lot of races like I did three years ago. I think th🌄is weekend has been very important for me and for my team. 

“In Aragon, we had a different setup on the bike than the winter tests. At that time, we thought it could be good performing.&n꧑bsp;

“Here, I struggled a lot during Friday and Saturday and today my team changed a little bit the setup. This morning, I found a good bike for me, an easy bike, and more competitive. Now, fortunately, we found♊ one s🦹tep that allows me to go faster.”