HUNGARIAN ROUND | SUNDAY
May 3, 2026
Friday at Most opened under cold and changeable weather conditions for the fifth round of the WorldSBK, with overcast skies and threatening clouds. Rain eventually arrived only after the end of FP2.
In FP1, the Barni Spark Racing Team rider Alvaro showed strong pace from the very first runs, finishing tenth with a 1:32.032 (+0.902), focusing mainly on bike setup ahead of the afternoon session.
The session was interrupted by a red flag caused by a crash at Turn 20 due to track conditions, before resuming normally after a short stoppage.
During FP2, the Barni rider continued working on race pace and setup refinement, ending the session in thirteenth place with 1:31.638 (+0.847).
Both sessions confirmed an extremely tight field, with very small gaps across the entire classification.
Alvaro will need to improve direction changes, in order to avoid arriving slightly late in transitions. Work will now focus on data analysis to identify the final details needed to improve single-lap performance ahead of Superpole and Race 1.
#THERECONQUEST
ALVARO BAUTISTA
“Today we mainly worked in the morning session to adapt to the track and improve the overall feeling. We found some things I liked and others less so. In the afternoon we focused on the positive aspects, trying to build references and consolidate the work done. I struggled a bit, especially with getting the bike to turn quickly; in direction changes I’m always slightly late, which forces me to cover extra distance. We need to find something that helps me make the bike turn better, so I can be more efficient and less tired in direction changes. The feeling with the bike was not bad overall and, if we improve in this area, we can make a big step forward. Here the first corner is crucial; it’s a continuous section and if you get it wrong, you can’t really recover for the rest of the lap. Let’s see if tomorrow we can make another step forward.”
