Bautista: Rea had chance to end losing streak in Argentina

Rea had put himself in a strong position to claim a first WSBK win since the Estoril weekend in May in Sunday morning's race when he sent his Kawasaki up the inside of pole-sitter Alvaro Bautista into Turn 7 on lap 3.

Neither Razgatloglu nor Bautista in third were able to able to challenge Rea for the lead in the next few laps, with the Northern Irishman doing enough to hold on to the lead from the duo.

However, it all went wrong for Rea at the start of the seventh tour when he ran wide at Turn 1 and  dropped to third before Razgatlioglu and Bautista, who subsequently engaged in a thrilling scrap for victory.

Rea could never fully recover from the error and had to settle for third position, just under a second away from race winner Razgatlioglu.

Having closely followed Rea’s pace at the front of the field while running in third behind him and Razgatlioglu, Ducati’s Bautista felt the six-time WSBK champion would have likely won the race if he had made it cleanly through Turn 1.

“All weekend it was difficult to beat Toprak because he was very strong here,” Bautista told the official WSBK website.

“But also on Sunday morning with Jonathan he was much better than Toprak and me. If he didn't make the mistake in Turn 1, I think he could have won the race.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu, Pata Yamaha WorldSBK, Alvaro Bautista, Aruba.it Racing Ducati, Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Racing Team WSBK

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Rea is currently enduring his longest winless run since joining Kawasaki at the start of 2015, with Sunday’s final contest marking 21 races since he last stood on the top step of the podium.

The 35-year-old revealed that he somehow ended up engaging a false neutral gear while braking for the downhill Turn 1, which caused him to run wide and lose places to both Razgatlioglu and Bautista.

“In the Superpole race it was incredible - my pace, good feeling on the bike and grip,” he explained.

“I wanted to go to the front because I felt that I could go away but unfortunately when I went down the hill into T1 I didn’t find first gear, I found a false neutral. 

“I was really frustrated because I felt like I could have fought for a victory. We are not getting too many chances and I saw that as a chance.”

Rea again enjoyed a brief stint at the front in the final race in Argentina, shooting to the lead with a rapid getaway from third on the grid.

However, he would lose the position at the start of lap 2 to Michael Ruben Rinaldi and then made two errors at either end of the back straight, dropping to sixth.

Rea did manage to stage a strong recovery to finish third ahead of teammate Alex Lowes, but could do nothing about Bautista and Razgatlioglu as they finished a long way ahead of the field in first and second respectively.

Rea felt his pace in the second race was in stark contrast to what he showed in the Superpole contest earlier on Sunday, saying he “felt like a passenger” due to a lack of grip.

“In Race 2 I was really motivated after having such a good feeling in the Superpole Race but right from the get-go I had zero grip," he explained.

“I could tell when I tipped into T2 the bike didn’t hook up like normal. I felt like a passenger the whole race. So I got beat up a little bit. Going into T10 I couldn’t stop the bike, from the rear, so that sort of decided my race. 

“I was with Xavi Vierge for a bit and couldn’t pass him anywhere. I had to grind him down, then same with Rinaldi, but Alex was keeping me honest. I had to dig deep to go with Alex. 

“It was frustrating because I felt the bike was behaving itself but I also felt I had zero traction from the rear, which is something I have not experienced all weekend. 

“Another podium, though, and a lot of points, so we have to take the positives. It was a tough race but we managed to stand on the box again.”

Bautista not thinking about title

Bautista has stretched out a hefty 82-point lead in the championship with victories in both the full-distance races in Argentina, aided by Razgatlioglu crashing at the start of Saturday’s opening race while trying to retake the lead from the Ducati rider.

The Spaniard can theoretically wrap up his maiden title at the next round of the season in Indonesia, provided Razgatlioglu doesn’t outscore him by more than 20 points.

Bautista said his main focus isn’t on the championship right now, but equally he warned against ‘relaxing’ too much during the title run-in.

“Believe me when I say I’m not thinking about the championship,” he said. “I didn’t think about in the first round and I’m not now. 

“Why think about the future if I’m enjoying the present? I’m enjoying every race, every corner, every lap and every battle, so, for me, it’s not necessary to think about points. 

“I just want to have fun with Toprak, Jonathan and the rest of the riders. Try to get the maximum out of my Ducati, try to get the maximum out of myself. We will see. 

“For sure, if you relax, it’s worse because you cannot enjoy the present and can’t do your best. The result of the championship, we will see after Race 2 in Phillip Island.”