After not finishing the first lap of WorldSBK Race 1 at Portimao, Alvaro Bautist was able to start on the front in Race 2 following a strong ride from ninth to third in the𒁏 Superpole Race, but he ultimately couldn’t match the pace of the leading pair.

The ride to third in the Superpole Race came despite missing laps on compared to his rivals after the aforementioned Race 1 retirement, and so it took some time for Bautista to find his rhythm while trying to fight through the front half of the 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:World Superbike field.

“I think it has been a very positive Sunday, especially because in the Superpole Race we were aꦰble to recover a lot of positions for Race 2,” Bautista said, speaking to WorldSBK.com after Race 2 in Portimao.

“In the first laps of the Superpole Race I missed the laps from yesterday because I need to get used to the race ♏pace. But, after that, I can keep my pace, my confidence.

“It was really nice to finish on the podium and have a gꦏood position for Race 2.”

From third on the grid, Bautista had a chance to prove his race pace a🐷gainst Toprak Razgatlioglu and Nicolo Bulega in Race 2,ಌ but ultimately he showed to be lacking some longevity compared to the leading duo.

“In the afternoon I did a good start, I stayed w👍ith Nico [Nicolo Bulega] and Toprak [Razgatlioglu], but after a few laps I started to drop a little bit – they were faster than yeste🌱rday, so the pace I could keep was the same as they did yesterday, but they increased the pace,” he explained.

“So I just tried to stay there and not lose too much but then the race was stopped and when it restarted I had a better feeling, because maybe there was♌ less fuel [so] less weight on the bike and I felt easier – like all the riders, but maybe I felt more difference because of my height.

“I was able to make a good lap time, but they went even faster, so we were in the same sitꦇuation.”

Summ🦩arily, though, Bautista’s conclusions were positive after Sunday in Portimao, especially ౠhaving tried something different with the front tyre.

“Overall I think we have to be happy,” he said.

“Also, we used the hard compound on the front and basically we were discovering because in th꧂e morning when the track had gri🌳p it was working really well but in the afternoon I missed some grip, especially mid-corner and also missed some confidence.

“We found some positives on this tyre, but we discovered also some negatives, so now we have to analyse the data and try to improve for the future, and try to gain those small things that maybe a🎶llow me to have more confidence and to push for the couple of tenths that I missed [in Race 2] to be with [Bulega and Razgatlioglu].”

Bautista pinpointed corner entry as the area he most needs to improve in – somewher𓄧e he felt strong in the past, but which has become more difficult since the minimum rider weight rules were ♓introduced last year.

“Fortunately, now I feel much better than last year, so I have more confidence on the bike, I can ride the bꦗike much better, esp𝔍ecially when the conditions are good I’m able to push to the limit,” he said.

“So, it’s just a matter of having more confidence especially in braking and going into the corner – it’s the place that I had a lot of confidence in the ⛦past but now the bike is a bit heavier so the bike is not stopping the🃏 same and is not turning the same as before.

“So, it’s just a matter of time until w🔯e find ꦉthis.

“We did a reꦰally important step from last year, not only in confidence but also in performance and it’s like we’re less close to the limit, so we have moꦿre space to push harder.”