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While the Superbike World Championship is still stopped due to the coronavirus crisis, Álvaro Bautista has given a very interesting interview to Radio Marca, in which he has assessed his current situation as a Honda rider, how he sees the World Superbike Championship and how the coronavirus quarantine is passing.
The most interesting thing is that Bautista has acknowledged that he does not have any kind of clause with Honda. He is simply an official HRC driver, and it is the Japanese brand that can decide where to race. In other words, if Honda chooses that Bautista return to MotoGP in the 2021 season, the Talaverano would have to accept.
Bautista thinks Phillip Island round was bad for Honda
"There is no clause. I am an official Honda rider and if Honda tells me to go to MotoGP, I'm going to MotoGP"Explains Bautista. Of course, the Spanish pilot clarifies that" I see it complicated because everything is late as the year has started. The truth is that I don't think about it, only about making the bike competitive in Superbikes and giving Honda back the victory in this championship."
This rumor about a possible arrival of Bautista to MotoGP at the hands of Honda is due to the fact that Álex Márquez concludes contract at the end of this season. But, obviously, without the Moto2 champion having even debuted in MotoGP yet, it is difficult to decide whether he will end up renewing. The logical thing is that, barring disaster, Honda bet on him one more season.
In addition, Bautista's bond with HRC is clearly focused on winning again in Superbikes. In this regard, Bautista reviewed his Honda CBR1000RR-R debut at Phillip Island, a round about which he without mincing words explains that "if we compare it with last year, we did not do well. That is the situation."
Although the Talaverano clarifies that the comparison is with himself, not with what Honda did in Australia in 2019: "It really is a very new project, where the team is done in four days, the bike is still in its early stages of evolution." Bautista scored two sixth points at Phillip Island, about five seconds from the winner. But in 2019 he made a triplet with the Ducati Panigale V4 R.
"In the preseason tests we were very far, and even on the weekend of the first race. But we were improving day by day although not much less to be among the first. More than the position in the head, to four seconds. In addition, he was very far behind due to the fall in the superpole, "adds Bautista.
However, the Spaniard remains optimistic and adds that "we are closing the gap and I think it is positive because it is the beginning of a very important project in which Honda is putting all the meat on the grill and we are sure to get there. It's a shame because now we are on our feet again and we have a lot of work to do".
Already analyzing a little the situation of the World Cup, Bautista invites not to give too much importance to Phillip Island because "we have done tests there a few days before and the riders have had time to get the bike ready. We had many riders fighting for victory. It was a bit misleading to have so many riders fighting for victory."
Bautista believes that the current leader, Alex Lowes, will not reach the end fighting for the title against his Kawasaki teammate, Jonathan Rea. And also, on Toprak Razgatlioglu adds that "he has to calm down a bit. He makes a lot of mistakes and last year I paid two, in Laguna Seca and Magny-Cours. He is a very aggressive rider, if Yamaha calms him down, I do see him. fighting for the title until the end."
