The MotoGP World Championship circus travels directly from Japan to Jerez de la Frontera this weekend for the first of three races on Spanish soil in 2009. The first back-to-back sequence of races sees the series return from Asia to the ‘old-continent’ for a two-month Euro road trip that takes in five races before the premier-class teams and riders head for Laguna Seca. The opening two rounds of the 250cc season have both been won by Spanish riders, whetting the appetite for a home battle in front of the partisan crowd in Andalucia this weekend.

Mapfre Team rider Álvaro Bautista travels to Jerez as the championship leader, looking to continue his good early season form. After making a disappointing start to the last campaign, Álvaro has started out in determined fashion this time around and is making good use of a productive preseason. His team-mate Mike Di Meglio is also hoping to reap the fruit of the seeds sown at the Spanish circuit during winter testing as he continues to put into practice each valuable new lesson learnt during his rookie campaign. It has been a mixed start for the Frenchman, who took a podium on his debut in Qatar before an unlucky crash in Japan, but the Mapfre man will be aiming for a return to his best form on Sunday.

Álvaro Bautista: “After the win in Japan I’m feeling happy, strong and confident about going to Jerez this weekend and picking up another good result. I hope that there can be a group of Spanish riders running at the front and putting on a good show for the home supporters. Discounting Qatar, where our performance was severely affected by the conditions, I think we’ve started the championship well and I’m convinced that all the set-up work we did in the winter will help us be competitive from Friday. Whatever happens, racing at Jerez is always special, I don’t know why but feeling the support from the fans in every corner somehow brings out the best in a rider and helps you to win.”