Alvaro Baut👍ista endured one of his toughest Fridays of 2024 in Jerez, ending the first day of the final round of the season in 1༒1th place on the timesheets.

Theꦯ two-times champion, who was eliminated from title contention in last weekend’s Estoril Round, struggled in general with rear grip in Andalucia.

“For sure, it hasn’t been my best Friday so far because the feeling with the bike was very difficult,” Baut꧒ista told WorldSBK.com in Jerez.

“I struggled already from the morning with the rear grip. We tried both tyres, and we ꩵdidn’t find a big advantage, so, in the end, we tried to work a bit with the bike.

“We ♊made some steps [forward], but not enough. Now we have some data.

“Compared to last year, I’m struggling more; last🎉 year it was easier to ride the bike with the gas, and [I had] more grip in the middle and exiting the corner.

“But, this year, we’re struggling mo🍎re, so we have data to work f🧸or tomorrow and try to improve my feeling and my confidence on the bike.

“Basically, today we struggled more with the rear grip; a little bit on entry, but especially mid-corner and exit the bike seems like it’s difficult to manage tᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚhe grip and it became very nervous. We have to improve, basically, in this area.”

After winning both Sunday races in Aragon, both ꦺEstoril and now Jerez have seen Bautista struggle in comparison, especially this weekend in Jerez, where Bautista was out-paced on Friday by several other Ducati riders

“I think, in Arag༺on, with that amount of grip in the track it was easier for m⛄e,” Bautista said.

“🦹In Estoril, we struggled a little bit more, but, at the end, we were the best Ducati, with Nicolo [Bulega].

“Here, to be Friday, the difference in time is not too much because we are like 0.5 seconds off the best lap. But the feeling, especially, is not the best, so we have to work on the feeling, and then, when I can force and I can ride the bike like🍌 I want, we will see the performanc꧙e.”

In Estoril, Bautista andℱ the factory Ducati team began working on settings for 2025, but Bautista said the starting point for him on Fr𓄧iday in Jerez was the setting he used in 2023.

“Basically, we started today with exactly the same setup as last year — with more weight and the new fuel [flow] regulation — but the fee✅ling was not the same,” he said.

“So, now we have to make the normal change to the setup, li🌳ke we did during all the season so far, to adapt to the new regula⭕tion.

“Tomorrow, I think we c🐷an make a step forward, and i🍰mprove the feeling.”