Alvaro Bautista had a stunning Sepang test first time out in 2017 as he continued getting to grips with his new GP16 Ducati, but the Spaniard found the Phillip Island test more of a struggle to find feeling – until turning a corner near the end of the track time.
The only rider in the top group to not improve on Day 3, Bautista’s best was a 1:29.983 set on the second day of action – putting him P11 on combined timesheets, just ahead of Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi.
“In general we have not found the best feeling over the last three days here. Today we went back to the set-up from the start of the test to compare the data we have gathered since then and the truth is we have made some steps forward to improve my confidence.” Said the Spaniard
“We also had the intention of completing a long run today but on the first attempt we had a problem with the front tyre and after fifteen laps it was virtually destroyed. I had to put a fresh front tyre in, which had a longer life but I didn’t have the same feeling.”
It was difficult because the tyre was more aggressive and in the end the performance also dropped off with this one. At the end of the day we tried a quite different setting with the second bike and after just three laps I felt more comfortable than I have done over the last three days.” He added
“We needed a little more time to work in this direction but we have gathered some data that could be useful in the future.”
