Injuries devastate the paddock Superbike World Cup these days. The clearest example is that of the general leader, Toprak Razgatlioğluwho did not race two weeks ago at Magny-Cours due to the pneumothorax he suffered following a serious accident during free practice, and which prevented him from also competing this weekendduring the visit of the series-derived motorcycle championship to Cremona, jeopardizing their leadership in the general classification.
But other drivers are also affected in Italy, such as the Spanish reference on the grid, Alvaro Bautista. The current world champion crashed during the French Superpole race and was left with a fracture of the eighth rib on his left side.which prevented him from running Race 2.
On Thursday, upon his arrival in the transalpine country, the man from Talavera de la Reina received the doctors' order to ride the Panigale, at the cost of a new examination after the FP1, which he passed. And this Friday, the Castilian-La Mancha passed the test with flying colors, regaining better sensations and finishing sixth during the second free practice session, with a time of 1:30.020.3 tenths from the best of the day, Alex Lowes.
Bautista explained his feelings after getting off the bike: “The truth is that I am very happy to be able to return only 12 days after my injury. We worked very well at home to recover as much as possible, but of course the real test was getting on the bike. This morning it was very good for me that the track was half wet, because we passed less and more. “I was able to start finding the 'feeling' without having to push too hard.”
“In the first laps I felt a little discomfort, especially when braking on the left, but then I started to feel better and better. I finished FP1 quite happy, with good feelings . In EL2, in the dry, you have to push harder, and it was another test of fire. The good news is that, even in these conditions, I didn't feel worse than in the morning, in the rain. It has been positive. I pushed harder, little by little, during training, and the sensations lap after lap even got better. Let’s see how I recover for tomorrow and how I get up,” he continued.
So, #1 doesn't set expectations, but the good 'feeling' will remain there after a remarkable Friday in his circumstances: “We don't have anything in mind, just take it day by day, workout by workout, and as I find myself, try to do as much as possible. But I think it was a very good day. “I'm happy to have ridden the bike again and see if tomorrow I can feel even more comfortable than today,” he concluded.
