P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Ahead of double World Superbike champion’s Alvaro Bautista much anticipated return to MotoGP as a wild-card at Sepang this weekend, here are the occasions when a one-off ride has resulted in a surprise podium finish.
Alvaro Bautista, a wild-card entry for Ducati in Malaysia, will be joining a list of riders who stepped in as replacements during the MotoGP era, including the famous Troy Bayliss. Bayliss, a Ducati WorldSBK champion, won a sensational race in 2006 after being called up to replace the injured Sete Gibernau. Despite not winning a race during his full-time MotoGP career, Bayliss took the opportunity to finish the Desmosedici project with a victory at the last 990 race. Bautista, the 2006 125GP champion, later raced in MotoGP before switching to WorldSBK and winning the title in 2022 and 2023. In the first-ever race of the new MotoGP era, Valentino Rossi’s closest rival for victory was local Suzuki wild-card Akira Ryo, who led for 15 laps. Katsuyuki Nakasuga, a Yamaha stand-in for the injured Ben Spies, surprised everyone by finishing second at the 2012 Valencia finale.
Forrás: Crash
