Estoril WorldSBK: Bautista: I took many risks, pace was worth top-five finish

Alvaro B﷽autista put three crashes on day-one behind him in Portugal to ꦕfinish round two of the 2021 WorldSBK championship with a tenth and seventh in Sunday’s races.
Bautista had two crashes in FP1, before a third at the very begi꧒nning of FP2, however, the Spaniard recovered from 18th on the grid to salvage🐎 valuable points.
Bautista was one of a few riders caught out in qualifying and therefore out of position in all three 🌱races.
After another difficult weekend for Honda, Bautista said: "Another hard-fought race because I had to start eighteenth again, after just missing 🍷out on securing a better grid position with my tenth-place finish in the sprint race.
"In the end, the afternoon’s race was trickier than yesterday’s, as the temperature was diff🃏erent and the track was more slip𝐆pery. I took many risks with the front and was very close to the limit.
"Our pace was not bad though and I think that was worth a top-five finish. But starting from the back and lapping with similar pace to the frontrunners, it was▨ tough to close the gap.
"A pity really, because when they cancelled my qualifying lap, they basically eliminated any chance for me to fight for 𒆙better positions.
"The positive is that we were able to rebuild confiden𒁏ce with the bike after a difficult start to the weekend and I can head into the next round with a good feeling again🃏. Now we must take another step forward."
Next up for Bautista is Misano, a track where he took a third and a win his 2019 debut season, while he also ha🌄s a podium from his time in MotoGP at the Italian venue which came in 2012.