NOW WITH 11 wins from 12 race starts in 2023, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba Ducati) makes it look so easy. His margins of victory in Barcelona were almost at his 2019 levels, but of course it is a complete package deal of bike, team and rider – and the Spaniard has to ride his bike on the very edge to pull it off so convincingly.
No other Ducati except his own teammate could get near him or the podium this weekend, as they cannot ride it the way Bautista does, proving it is not just all about the bike.
That myth was set ablaze in the spring sunshine at Barcelona-Catalunya as Bautista won a long first race in hot conditions, a 10-lap sprint with light rain halfway through and a final 20-lap race in much cooler track conditions than Race 1. Even with 250 revs confiscated off his peak power from Friday’s free practice sessions,
