Rain was the big protagonist in the 250cc Italian Grand Prix as the riders had to do laps in the wet for the first time from the starting grid. Simoncelli was the early leader in the race, with Mapfre rider Álvaro Bautista chasing him down with some storming laps. The controversial Italian gave another dubious display during the battle for the lead, knocking both bikes into the gravel with an overly optimistic move on Bautista. Both returned to the track, but Mattia Pasini had been able to get away to take the home win.

With five race winners from as many Grands Prix, nobody has yet been able to escape in the standings. Bautista leads the way after his spectacular race, which he started from pole. Lap after lap he hunted Simoncelli, then had to do it all over again after the incident between the two. With three laps to go he had a scary wobble on the bike, and had to settle for third. He is now seven points ahead in the series.

3rd Álvaro Bautista: “It started to rain on the grid, and we had to change bikes. The goal was to get more confident in the wet, because we hadn’t practiced in it all weekend. I saw that I could chase Marco, so I got to work and caught him. I couldn’t see anything because of the rain and decided to pass him then. Later in a corner where there wasn’t any space left he touched me and we ran off track which cost me a lot of time and distance. I tried to catch him again, but when I was in passing distance I made a mistake in the chicane and lost my chance of victory. I am happy to still be on the podium and especially because I was pretty fast in the wet, but I’m annoyed about the way in which I lost my chance to win.”

Pos | Rider | Nation | Team | Total time | Gap

1 Mattia PASINI ITA Team Toth Aprilia 45’38.391
2 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA Metis Gilera 45’38.508 0.117
3 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team 45’39.684 1.293
4 Thomas LUTHI SWI Emmi – Caffe Latte 46’02.948 24.557
5 Hector BARBERA SPA Pepe World Team 46’05.405 27.014
6 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN Scot Racing Team 250cc 46’08.428 30.037
7 Alex DEBON SPA Aeropuerto-Castello-Blusens 46’09.716 31.325
8 Hector FAUBEL SPA Valencia CF – Honda SAG 46’13.569 35.178
9 Raffaele DE ROSA ITA Scot Racing Team 250cc 46’23.247 44.856
10 Roberto LOCATELLI ITA Metis Gilera 46’24.874 46.483
11 Alex BALDOLINI ITA WTR San Marino Team 46’27.912 49.521
12 Mike DI MEGLIO FRA Mapfre Aspar Team 250cc 46’38.930 1’00.539
13 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing 47’02.121 1’23.730
14 Ratthapark WILAIROT THA Thai Honda PTT SAG 47’03.910 1’25.519
15 Imre TOTH HUN Team Toth Aprilia 47’08.788 1’30.397
16 Balazs NEMETH HUN Balatonring Team 47’07.283 1 Lap
17 Axel PONS SPA Pepe World Team 47’07.373 1 Lap
18 Bastien CHESAUX SWI Racing Team Germany 47’07.608 1 Lap
19 Valentin DEBISE FRA CIP Moto – GP250 47’32.464 1 Lap
20 Daniel ARCAS SPA Milar – Juegos Lucky 46’39.370 3 Lap

Not classified
48 Shoya TOMIZAWA JPN CIP Moto – GP250 Honda 13’48.480 15 Lap
52 Lukas PESEK CZE Auto Kelly – CP Aprilia 11’22.134 16 Lap
56 Vladimir LEONOV RUS Viessmann Kiefer Racing Aprilia 9’33.535 17 Lap

Not finished 1st lap
16 Jules CLUZEL FRA Matteoni Racing Aprilia

Pos | Rider | Team | Lap time | Gap

1 Alvaro BAUTISTA Mapfre Aspar Team 1’53.931
2 Marco SIMONCELLI Metis Gilera 1’54.277 0.346
3 Hector BARBERA Pepe World Team 1’54.508 0.577
4 Hiroshi AOYAMA Scot Racing Team 250cc 1’54.595 0.664
5 Mattia PASINI Team Toth Aprilia 1’54.970 1.039
6 Mike DI MEGLIO Mapfre Aspar Team 250cc 1’55.019 1.088
7 Alex DEBON Aeropuerto-Castello-Blusens 1’55.217 1.286
8 Roberto LOCATELLI Metis Gilera 1’55.249 1.318
9 Shoya TOMIZAWA CIP Moto – GP250 1’55.722 1.791
10 Hector FAUBEL Valencia CF – Honda SAG 1’55.751 1.820
11 Thomas LUTHI Emmi – Caffe Latte 1’56.158 2.227
12 Alex BALDOLINI WTR San Marino Team 1’56.342 2.411
13 Ratthapark WILAIROT Thai Honda PTT SAG 1’56.410 2.479
14 Lukas PESEK Auto Kelly – CP 1’56.466 2.535
15 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’56.727 2.796
16 Raffaele DE ROSA Scot Racing Team 250cc 1’56.796 2.865
17 Axel PONS Pepe World Team 1’57.620 3.689
18 Jules CLUZEL Matteoni Racing 1’58.327 4.396
19 Imre TOTH Team Toth Aprilia 1’58.391 4.460
20 Valentin DEBISE CIP Moto – GP250 1’58.894 4.963
21 Vladimir LEONOV Viessmann Kiefer Racing 1’59.297 5.366
22 Balazs NEMETH Balatonring Team 2’00.773 6.842
23 Bastien CHESAUX Racing Team Germany 2’00.818 6.887
24 Daniel ARCAS Milar – Juegos Lucky 2’01.645 7.714

Perfect weather once again made for ideal track conditions at Mugello today, allowing the 250cc riders to set a sensational pace on the second day of the Italian Grand Prix. The cooler conditions in the morning’s final free practice allowed them to set record lap times and even in the warmer afternoon heat the pace was still much higher than we’ve seen here in previous seasons. The four main protagonists of 2009 in the quarter-litre class did battle for pole – the first three of them separated by just 0.038 seconds – Bautista, Simoncelli, Barberá and Aoyama looking likely to resume their feud tomorrow, each with their own motivation to succeed. Simoncelli and Barberá in particular have unfinished business here following a controversial incident in 2008, whilst Aoyama is carrying the Honda challenge to Aprilia at their home track. Álvaro Bautista, meanwhile, is looking to open the gap at the top of the championship.

The key to Bautista’s pole position challenge was the job done by his mechanics over lunch after a tricky morning session in which he suffered front-end problems with his Aprilia, lapping 1.5 seconds off the pace. Having set the pace yesterday afternoon the Mapfre man knew exactly where he needed to improve, which was in the T3 section. He made the definitive step forward on his penultimate lap with a sensational time that was enough for his third pole of the season so far.

1st Álvaro Bautista 1.52.804 (20 laps): “The truth is that the times are very close! Things didn’t go well this morning and I wasn’t comfortable on the bike. I didn’t have a good feeling with the front and couldn’t brake well or get into the turns as I like. We stiffened the front up a little for the afternoon and it felt like a different bike. I immediately recovered the good feeling I was missing this morning and felt I could do a low 1’52, which I managed. I think we’ve done a great job and our pace is good. All of the riders on the front row are going to want to win at all cost, each of us for their own reasons, so it will be tough. I’ll try to get a good start and stay with the lead group but I’m sure it’s going to be a close battle like Jerez. It is highly satisfying to set pole but the gap between the front three is tight so the important thing tomorrow will be to stay focused.”

Pos | Rider | Team | Lap time | Gap

1 Alvaro BAUTISTA Mapfre Aspar Team 1’52.804
2 Marco SIMONCELLI Metis Gilera 1’52.818 0.014
3 Hector BARBERA Pepe World Team 1’52.842 0.038
4 Hiroshi AOYAMA Scot Racing Team 250cc 1’53.050 0.246
5 Alex DEBON Aeropuerto-Castello-Blusens 1’53.573 0.769
6 Thomas LUTHI Emmi – Caffe Latte 1’53.702 0.898
7 Ratthapark WILAIROT Thai Honda PTT SAG 1’53.811 1.007
8 Mattia PASINI Team Toth Aprilia 1’53.875 1.071
9 Raffaele DE ROSA Scot Racing Team 250cc 1’53.941 1.137
10 Roberto LOCATELLI Metis Gilera 1’53.988 1.184
11 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’54.052 1.248
12 Jules CLUZEL Matteoni Racing 1’54.211 1.407
13 Hector FAUBEL Valencia CF – Honda SAG 1’54.351 1.547
14 Mike DI MEGLIO Mapfre Aspar Team 250cc 1’54.363 1.559
15 Lukas PESEK Auto Kelly – CP 1’54.375 1.571
16 Shoya TOMIZAWA CIP Moto – GP250 1’54.992 2.188
17 Alex BALDOLINI WTR San Marino Team 1’55.461 2.657
18 Imre TOTH Team Toth Aprilia 1’56.201 3.397
19 Axel PONS Pepe World Team 1’57.574 4.770
20 Valentin DEBISE CIP Moto – GP250 1’57.699 4.895
21 Vladimir LEONOV Viessmann Kiefer Racing 1’58.464 5.660
22 Balazs NEMETH Balatonring Team 1’59.132 6.328
23 Daniel ARCAS Milar – Juegos Lucky 1’59.513 6.709
24 Bastien CHESAUX Racing Team Germany 1’59.617 6.813

Pos | Rider | Team | Lap time | Gap

1 Marco SIMONCELLI Metis Gilera 1’52.589
2 Hector BARBERA Pepe World Team 1’53.217 0.628
3 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’53.463 0.874
4 Hiroshi AOYAMA Scot Racing Team 250cc 1’53.682 1.093
5 Alvaro BAUTISTA Mapfre Aspar Team 1’54.107 1.518
6 Alex DEBON Aeropuerto-Castello-Blusens 1’54.153 1.564
7 Ratthapark WILAIROT Thai Honda PTT SAG 1’54.306 1.717
8 Mike DI MEGLIO Mapfre Aspar Team 250cc 1’54.373 1.784
9 Roberto LOCATELLI Metis Gilera 1’54.505 1.916
10 Lukas PESEK Auto Kelly – CP 1’54.771 2.182
11 Raffaele DE ROSA Scot Racing Team 250cc 1’54.900 2.311
12 Mattia PASINI Team Toth Aprilia 1’54.948 2.359
13 Shoya TOMIZAWA CIP Moto – GP250 1’55.196 2.607
14 Hector FAUBEL Valencia CF – Honda SAG 1’55.278 2.689
15 Thomas LUTHI Emmi – Caffe Latte 1’55.409 2.820
16 Alex BALDOLINI WTR San Marino Team 1’55.635 3.046
17 Jules CLUZEL Matteoni Racing 1’56.729 4.140
18 Imre TOTH Team Toth Aprilia 1’57.237 4.648
19 Valentin DEBISE CIP Moto – GP250 1’57.887 5.298
20 Vladimir LEONOV Viessmann Kiefer Racing 1’58.133 5.544
21 Balazs NEMETH Balatonring Team 1’59.498 6.909
22 Axel PONS Pepe World Team 1’59.540 6.951
23 Bastien CHESAUX Racing Team Germany 2’00.002 7.413

Out of limit time
37 Daniel ARCAS SPA Milar – Juegos Lucky Aprilia

The Mugello Circuit in Italy held the opening 250cc practice session of the 2009 race weekend on Friday, with a large crowd already on hand to watch the action. Times are likely to improbé should the sunny weather seen on day one continue, but for the momento the top man in the class has been Mapfre rider Álvaro Bautista. He was just two tenths of a second off his own circuit record of 1’53.669 from last year.

Alex Debón, Hector Barberá, Marco Simoncelli and Hiroshi Aoyama all threw their names into the hat, but Bautista proved to be too strong with a powerful display in the latter part of the session. The Spaniard kept improving until his 26th and final lap, in which he gave a dress rehearsal for his pole position attempt.

1st Álvaro Bautista 1.53.814 (26 laps): “It is only the first session, but it is obviously always better to be up at the front. I think that we had a good practice, and at the end I was putting in a string of pretty fast laps. The last lap of the session saw me clock my quickest time, without even changing tyres, something that shows that we can go even faster. The confidence that knowing that we have been working well since preseason means that I can go much faster and concentrate more. Being the series leader also takes the heat off, but it is still too early to say what will happen on Sunday. In any case, we’ve started well and I am going to try and win at all cost. My mentality is a winning one, and we want to fight for victory at every race. I love the track, but it is demanding because you have to unlock the secret to three or four parts to go fast.”

Pos | Rider | Team | Lap time | Gap

1 Alvaro BAUTISTA Mapfre Aspar Team 1’53.814
2 Hiroshi AOYAMA Scot Racing Team 250cc 1’54.058 0.244
3 Hector BARBERA Pepe World Team 1’54.272 0.458
4 Alex DEBON Aeropuerto-Castello-Blusens 1’54.374 0.560
5 Raffaele DE ROSA Scot Racing Team 250cc 1’54.584 0.770
6 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’54.661 0.847
7 Ratthapark WILAIROT Thai Honda PTT SAG 1’54.712 0.898
8 Marco SIMONCELLI Metis Gilera 1’54.845 1.031
9 Mattia PASINI Team Toth Aprilia 1’55.120 1.306
10 Hector FAUBEL Valencia CF – Honda SAG 1’55.442 1.628
11 Thomas LUTHI Emmi – Caffe Latte 1’55.519 1.705
12 Roberto LOCATELLI Metis Gilera 1’55.581 1.767
13 Mike DI MEGLIO Mapfre Aspar Team 250cc 1’55.978 2.164
14 Lukas PESEK Auto Kelly – CP 1’56.104 2.290
15 Jules CLUZEL Matteoni Racing 1’56.299 2.485
16 Alex BALDOLINI WTR San Marino Team 1’56.591 2.777
17 Shoya TOMIZAWA CIP Moto – GP250 1’57.242 3.428
18 Imre TOTH Team Toth Aprilia 1’58.473 4.659
19 Valentin DEBISE CIP Moto – GP250 1’59.652 5.838
20 Axel PONS Pepe World Team 2’01.677 7.863

Out of limit time
8 Bastien CHESAUX SWI Racing Team Germany Honda
56 Vladimir LEONOV RUS Viessmann Kiefer Racing Aprilia
37 Daniel ARCAS SPA Milar – Juegos Lucky Aprilia
11 Balazs NEMETH HUN Balatonring Team Aprilia