Álvaro Bautista had a major scare during the Superbike World Championship round. On the fourth lap of the Superpole race, the 2022 and 2023 champion suffered a crash at the Tramonto corner, leaving him vulnerable to the riders coming up behind him.
This incident made the Aruba.it Ducati rider fear the worst, as he admitted to Motosan.es: ‘I started sliding nonstop and when I ended up on the inside curb, it was dangerous because several riders passed right in front of me, it was very dangerous. At that moment, I thought if someone hit me, they would have destroyed me’.
Regarding what led to the crash, Bautista explained: ‘I reached that corner and tried to stop the bike. It’s a very tight corner, I braked hard, and when I started to release the brakes a bit, I lost the front tyre and it was impossible to avoid the crash’.
Despite the scare, the two-time world champion managed to get up and continue the race, finishing 17th. He then responded in the best way possible in the second race, securing third place – the same position he holds in the championship behind Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW) and his teammate Nicolò Bulega.