Bautista: Imola ‘too dangerous, no mistakes’

Having conquered Donington Park for the first time as a World Superbike rider, courtesy of victories in both main races, Alvaro Bautista will now try to tick Imola off his win list later this month.

Peter McLaren

03 Jul 2023

Alvaro Bautista bike, British WorlldSBK, 30 June

The reigning champion’s only previous experience of the track came during his rookie 2019 WorldSBK season, when he finished second and third before the cancellation of the final race due to extreme weather.

Speaking after extending his 2023 title lead to 93 points, the reigning world champion admitted he has serious safety concerns about returning to the historic Italian venue, branding it ‘too dangerous’.

“I’ve raced once at Imola, well ‘half’ because we didn't make all the weekend in 2019,” Bautista said.

“It's not an easy track, but especially for me it's not the safest track in the calendar. Because the wall is around all the track, we have not much space for run-off and for me it’s too dangerous.

“But at the end we will be there, try to not make mistakes because in that track a mistake will be very dangerous. So we’ll just take it easy and do our best without any expectation.

"Just go there, work and have fun.”

The Imola weekend, from July 14-16, will open the second half of the 12-round WorldSBK season.

Bautista: Imola ‘too dangerous, no mistakes’

Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.