Injury “pain” caused Alvaro Bautista to consider retiring from Cremona WorldSBK Race 1
“In the first few laps I felt pain so could not fight other riders and just tried to stay on bike.”
A third place for Alvaro Bautista came despite pain in the ribs he broke at the French Round two weeks ago.
Starting 13th, reigning champion Bautista climbed his way up to the bottom step of the podium by the end, but it took him five or six laps to get going.
“It was a difficult Saturday,” Bautista explained to WorldSBK.com. “When I pushed more, I felt I was missing some strength in my ribs.
“In the first few laps I felt pain so could not fight other riders and just tried to stay on bike.
“So, I said ‘after five or six laps if I still have this feeling I have to retire’.
“Lap after lap, I started to feel less pain and felt I could move better so could be more aggressive, improve my pace. I could start overtaking.
“I didn't expect to finish on the podium, so I’m really happy. I didn't even know if I could race this weekend, so to finish on the podium after starting at the back is a really nice feeling. Now I have to recover for tomorrow.”
Turning his attention to Sunday, Bautista focused particularly on Race 2, which he has crashed in on each occasion since the UK round at Donington.
“The feeling’s back from some races ago” Bautista said. “Maybe the results don’t show our real potential. We missed Race 2 at Most and also Portimao, Magny-Cours in the dry I think we were competitive as well and here I’m injured. I’m not 100 percent.
“For one reason or another, we can’t show our real potential. In any case, I’m happy because me and the team are working the best we can and we are trying to do our best.
“I hope, tomorrow, I don’t feel worse than today and I can have more performance.”
