Alvaro Bautista, from a simple mistake to his first podium with Barni: "I survived"

Bautista’s first podium as an independent Superbike rider: the result at Phillip Island gives him confidence for the future.

Alvaro Bautista ended his weekend in Australia on a high. After a disappointing Superpole and a crash in Race 1, he took seventh in the Superpole Race and third in Race 2. A few crashes ahead helped him, including that of his teammate Yari Montella (who was comfortably second), but the two-time WorldSBK champion did well not to make mistakes in the wet and deserved the bronze medal. His first with the Barni Spark Racing Team, and his first as a rider for an independent outfit, given that in the past he raced only with factory structures (Ducati and Honda) in the production-based championship.

The Spanish rider can only be satisfied with how he finished this first Superbike round of 2026, even if there’s a bit of regret for the silly crash in the first race on Saturday: "A positive Sunday. Yesterday for Race 1 we worked a bit on the electronics, because before we had focused on the bike’s setup and maybe we had neglected the electronics a bit. We realized it could have helped a lot, but unfortunately in Race 1 I made a mistake: in turn 11 I touched the lever and shifted up a gear, the bike threw me to the ground. It shouldn’t happen, but it did. Today I tried that setup again and it helped me, I felt more comfortable, I had the bike more in my hands."

The work done by the Barni Spark Racing Team helped Bautista find better feeling and more speed on the Ducati Panigale V4 R; today’s performances were no fluke: "The Superpole Race was positive. I started from P12 and finished seventh, but my pace was good enough to fight for the podium. I caught the group in front, but it was a short race. Anyway, I was happy with the feeling and the rhythm. In Race 2 with the rain it was a lottery. I tried to understand the conditions and find the feeling with the bike. In the first laps I struggled, I had several riders ahead of me and in some places I couldn’t see anything because of the spray they were kicking up. After a while I started to feel better and had some references, I could run my pace. I tried to survive and not push too hard. I didn’t risk more than necessary, I’m happy: being third is a good way to close the weekend."

With pre-season hindered by bad weather, there was no way to arrive fully prepared for the first round of the 2026 calendar. The two-time WSBK champion would have liked to ride more, something surely shared by his colleagues: "This season is not easy. We barely did any testing and it’s a completely new project for me—new team and new bike. We tried to work on the bike and I also worked on myself. We improved every time I went out on track, which is positive."

Finally, he spoke about his expectations for the next round at Portimao (March 27–29), where the Spaniard hopes to be more competitive with the new Ducati Panigale V4 R: "We have more data, I have more feeling with the bike and with the team. We won’t be starting from zero like at Phillip Island; we’ll have a base to work from and that’s positive. I’m quite motivated and confident, but there’s a lot of work to do and I hope at Portimao we’ll take further steps forward."