Spanish rider was ahead of Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu on Friday’s combined class.
Friday highlights – WorldSBKP1 – Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
- Friday’s fastest Championship leader, Mandalika, set a record time of 1’33.626s.
- He was 0.462 seconds faster than Razgatlioglu, and was the only rider in 1’33s.
- Bautista can win Race 1 if it outscored Razgatlioglu 17 points and Rea by one. He needs to have a 99 point margin to Rea and Razgatlioglu. Only full-length race wins are allowed in cases of a tie.
“Today, basically we tried to understand and have some reference with a Ducati. Also, in FP1, today’s goal was to just put rubber on the track. The track was a bit better in the afternoon. Practice was inconsistent for me because I couldn’t see the corners clearly and I didn’t want to risk it. Although it is better to have more Ducatis on the front, it also means that it may be a track that suits our bike well, but it all depends. Tomorrow will bring us improvements to the track, and we’ll see how each rider performs. Because everything is constantly changing, this kind of weekend can be difficult to grasp. It is important to stay focused and to do your best every time you head out on the track. I have had a positive experience with the bike .”
P2 – Toprak Razgatlioglu – Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK
- Razgatlioglu came in second place with a lap time of 1’34.088s during FP2.
- He was the fastest rider on track, finishing 38 laps. Baz and Bautista were the only ones who did more.
