Julius Caesar famous words, Veni, Vidi, Vinci, perfectly encapsulate this weekend’s performance by Alvaro Bautista (Ducati) at the Phillip Island Circuit in Australia. The Spaniard driver arrived, saw and conquered the inaugural event of the 2019 World Superbike Calendar.
In his debut, the Bautista has shown an overwhelming superiority, winning the three races disputed between Saturday (Race 1) and Sunday (Superpole and Race 2).
Bautista has made it clear he is here to take the title from reigning world champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki). Rea, the season’s favourite, has minimized the damage by finishing second in all of the weekend’s races. The champion from Northern Ireland is going to have to sweat out his fifth consecutive title. Both of them want to see the first checkered flag.
Two wins of Alvaro Bautista on Sunday races
Let’s start on the last day. On Sunday Alvaro Bautista used his magic to triumph in the two events of the day on the Australian asphalt, just as he had done the day before on board his Ducati. Two long races and one short (Superpole). Different formats, same winner.
On Sunday, the newcomer sealed his three-race sweep by winning the first ever Superpole Race (sprint race format) where he defeated Rea after a vibrant duel. Alvaro Bautista wanted to put the icing on the cake of his legendary debut at the World Superbikes, and so he did.
The Spaniard was determined to win Sunday’s race and defend his first place on the grid. Behind him, Leon Haslam was taking advantage of a small mistake made by his teammate Rea to get into second position.
The Briton from Kawasaki wanted to prevent Bautista from breaking away at all costs. But the Spaniard was quick to react and soon imposed an unattainable rhythm (setting a new circuit record at the same time) and distancing himself from Haslam. It was a memorable exhibition.
His pursuer and current British Superbikes champion was also opening ground with the green bike of Rea, who was third. One second behind, Marco Melandri and Michael Van Der Mark were settling a battle of their own. In the end, the Italian pilot, who feels very comfortable in Phillip Island, managed to pass the Dutchman.
After a few laps and with the fight for the podium in sight, another fratricidal struggle was approaching. Rea was getting closer to Haslam and soon had him within shooting range. It was a matter of time before the defending champion would eat his teammate.
With eight laps remaining, the shark from Ballymena used a magnificent braking manoeuvre to take Haslam over at the end of a straight line. The Briton however, returned the blow in the middle of the next lap.
Aware of Melandri’s and Van Der Mark’s proximity, Rea decided to charge again. He recovered the second position from Haslam but the civil war did not end there. The exchange of blows between the two Kawasaki bikes continued until the end.
With five laps to go, Haslam regained the second place at the same exact point where he had lost it before. Also then, the Dutchman caught up with the group but then Rea’s notorious skill prevailed and he managed to get rid of Haslam.
Bautista rode alone to victory, amused by the bloodshed behind. The Spaniard celebrated his memorable success. Both Kawasaki of Rea and Haslam took second and third places. Van Der Mark wound up fourth and, to everyone’s surprise, Lowes snatched the fifth place from Melandri.
An unforgettable Saturday for rookie Bautista
Alvaro Bautista had made his intentions clear during the last preseason tests at Phillip Island, where he scored the best times in all of the sessions. With such sensations, he got himself the third position of the Australian grid.
After the green light, it only took the Spaniard a handful of bends to overtake poleman Jonathan Rea and his teammate Leon Haslam. From that moment on he escaped towards glory. None of his rivals could catch up with his brutal rhythm. He crossed the finish line a full 14.9 seconds ahead of Rea.
With his victory, Alvaro Bautista became the first rookie to win a World Superbikes event in the last nineteen years after Max Biaggi’s win at the Losail circuit in Qatar. Bautista is also Ducati’s first pilot to climb to the top of the podium on his debut since John Kocinski at Misano in 1996.
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