Two-time WorldSBK champion Alvaro Bautista thinks he has found improvements in one area of his racing that has held him back in previous years.

Bautista is third on the all-time winning list for World Superbike, but hasn’t won a race since Aragon 2024.

Throughout his WorldSBK career, especially since returning to Ducati in 2022 after two years at Honda, the Spanish rider has followed a familiar pattern in his races: slow at the start, and fast at the end.

This pattern, at least in its first part, has been amplified since 2024 when the minimum weight rules were introduced that Bautista has so vehemently opposed, especially since the middle of last year.

The usual analysis of his own racing pattern from Bautista is that when the fuel tank is full at the start and the bike is at its heaviest, he cannot ride as he wants, but as the fuel load decreases his confidence does the opposite and he’s able to be faster.

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In 2022 and 2023, the late race pace was enough for him to come from behind and win races and eventually the title in both years, but since 2024 it’s rarely been enough to achieve more than third place. 

The start of 2026, having moved to the Barni Ducati team, did not seem to offer much hope to Bautista, who was on the podium only once in the opening two rounds, that coming in the wet Race 2 in Australia where he was third.

Round three at Assen, however, seems to have brought progress for Bautista, who was able to be fast in the opening laps of both Sunday races, although he ultimately finished fourth, behind the factory Ducati riders and the Marc VDS Ducati of Sam Lowes.

Speaking after Race 2, Bautista explained that he was pleased with his weekend, and in particular noted that he was able to perform better in the opening laps of the races.

“We have to be [satisfied] because, at the end, 4-4-4 this weekend, but the important thing is that we were very consistent through the weekend,” Alvaro Bautista told WorldSBK.com.

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“Today I’m happy as well because we make a small change on the bike from [Saturday] and, in the Superpole Race, I was able to push hard from the first lap that normally is where I have more problems. 

“[In Race 2], also the feeling in the first laps was much better than [Saturday] – in fact, we were able to fight with other riders without losing too much. So, the modifications we did on the bike, it worked. 

“I’m really happy, with the conditions today [Sunday], with the cold, light weight on the rider – it’s more difficult to [make] the tyre warm. 

“I was happy because the feeling improved a lot in the first few laps, but still we were a bit far from the podium fight. 

“In any case, we get the maximum we had, so I’m happy for that.”

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