The newest Dale Gas animation with Alvaro ahead of the Estoril race, featuring much of what happened before the long season break and even including the Fanclub!

BBC

Saturday 3 October
Qualifying – 1250-1600, BBC Red Button/online

Sunday 4 October
250cc race – 1105-1205, BBC Red Button/online
MotoGP Race – 1230-1400, BBC Two/online
MotoGP Extra – 1400-1430, BBC Red Button/online
125cc race – 1430-1530, BBC Red Button/online

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EUROSPORT 2

Friday 2 October
1240 – 1615 Live Free Practice 125cc, MotoGP, 250cc Live

Saturday 3 October
1300 – 1600 Live Qualifying 125cc, MotoGP, 250cc Live

Sunday 4 October
1100    250cc Race Live
1430    125cc Race Live
15.45   MotoGP Action (delayed)

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Friday 2 October

12.40 – 13.40              125cc Free Practice 1
13.55 – 14.55              MotoGP Free Practice 1
15.10 – 16.10              250cc Practice 1

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Saturday 3 October

09.00 – 09.40              125cc Free Practice 2
09.55 – 10.55              MotoGP Free Practice 2
11.10 – 12.10              250cc Free Practice 2
13.00 – 13.40              125cc Qualifying
13.55 – 14.55              MotoGP Qualifying
15.10 – 15.55              250cc Qualifying

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Sunday 4 October

09.00 – 09.20              250cc Warm Up
09.30 – 09.50              MotoGP Warm Up
10.00 – 10.20              125cc Warm Up
 
11.15                           250cc RACE (26 laps)
13.00                           MotoGP RACE (28 laps)
14.00                           125cc RACE (23 laps)

As far as the statisticians are concerned, the favourite for victory at Estoril is Mapfre rider Álvaro Bautista, who has taken victory at this circuit for the last three years – in the 250cc class in 2008 and 2007 and in the 125cc class in 2006. Álvaro is also on a run of five straight podiums, form that has consolidated second place in the current standings and brought him to within thirteen points of the leader, Hiroshi Aoyama. The Mapfre man pulled back three precious points at the last round in San Marino and he is hoping that his love affair with Estoril continues with a fourth straight win that would breathe even more life into a title scrap that looks certain to go all the way to the wire at Valencia. Mike Di Meglio is also looking to be amongst the pacesetters this weekend, the Mapfre team rookie travelling to Portugal on the back of positive results in the past two rounds and keen to continue improving after the month-long break. Estoril is one of the few circuits Mike had the opportunity to ride at in preseason, gathering crucial set-up data that will give him a solid base to start from this weekend.

Álvaro Bautista:
“Estoril isn’t one of my favourite circuits but I have won there for the last three years so you could say it is our talisman track. Hopefully luck is on our side again this year so that we can fight for the victory once more. I’ve done a bit of everything over the last three weeks, mainly training hard to make sure I’m fit and ready for this final sprint to the end of the season. I had a week off relaxing in Mallorca and it was nice to get a total break from racing. It has been a positive thing to have a month off to focus on these last four races and get over all the fuss that came on the back of the announcement about my future. It has also been good to have a month of training and I think I’m in the right shape to finish the season at full power. Estoril is a circuit with a lot of hard braking, where you need good acceleration to get out of the corners well, and in some areas it will favour the Honda whilst in others – like the long straight – it will be better for the Aprilia. It will be difficult to win but that won’t stop us from trying.”

Portugal, Australia, Malaysia or Valencia: if everything goes to plan it is merely a matter of time before Jorge Martínez “Aspar” celebrates 125cc World Championship glory once again. As if that weren’t enough, his team is also still in with a shot of the 250cc title at the end of what has been little short of a dream season.
His riders have started out as contenders for victory at every round on a globetrotting journey of success, whilst at the end of the season he can look forward to taking delivery of a brand new Ducati as he prepares his assault on the MotoGP category with a Valencian rider in the saddle. The multiple-World Champion has every reason to be in high spirits at the culmination of what promises to be the best season yet since the birth of the Aspar Team.

The next Moto2 tests are just around the corner yet it seems as though everything is still very much at an embryonic stage.
It’s a new project and as such it involves a lot of changes. I’m curious to see how many bikes from different projects will be on track: Aprilia, Moriwaki, Queroseno, Sutter, Bimota, etc. I think there is still plenty of time, basically because the new rules allow us to test in December.

What does your experience tell you to expect from Moto2?
I think it is going to be very equal and there won’t be much difference between the top bikes running at the front. Obviously there could be the odd project that doesn’t meet expectations but not many. I’m sure the more established teams will use their experience to make the difference, in particular the riders. But with so much parity in terms of the machinery and also the chassis, the most important factor in deciding the lap time will be the rider.

‘Third time lucky!’ Finally it looks like your MotoGP dream will become a reality…
It looks like it! We’re finally going to be in MotoGP and I’m already looking forward to seeing the bike on track after the final Grand Prix of the season at Valencia.

What will having a presence in MotoGP do for the Aspar Team?
Lots of things. I think that merely competing in MotoGP gives you an air of credibility and strength. It is a way of offering your sponsors direct contact with international brands and with the world of motorcycling. For us and for our riders it is a stairway to the very top.

Will running the largest private structure in the paddock cause you to lose sleep?
It is obviously not easy to manage such a big team and there is a lot of work to be done. On more than one occasion I’ve thought about what an uphill battle it will be to put together a team of engineers, to find such a big budget. there are a lot of things to do. It won’t be easy to have such a big structure in all three categories and we will have to work hard.

Harder than ever?
To be honest my life is very fulfilling in terms of work. As my father used to say: “work and you will want for nothing.” The whole team, including myself, never stops for a minute and I feel happy to see that the sacrifice and consistency of this great team makes our structure bigger and more competitive year upon year.

Is having such loyal staff the key to achieving everything that you refer to?
There is no doubt that if I didn’t have such comprehensive technical and human support it would be impossible to progress. Anybody can set themselves big targets or put together projects that are successful for a short amount of time, but to be successful over a long period requires a great team of people working together – without that it would be absolutely impossible to be working on the amount of things that we are doing now.

Is the icing on the cake the fact that you will have a Valencian rider in MotoGP?
As a Valencian, having a rider from the same soil in my team is fundamental. If on top of that he happens to be a great rider, as is the case with Héctor, so much the better. I hope and wish for our project with him in MotoGP to be a long term one.

Was Simón’s good form to be expected after what we saw in preseason?
The season doesn’t always pan out the same way as preseason. Sometimes you start out the strongest and then other riders and teams catch up, or make more progress than you. Julián has been incredibly solid from day one and I think the way he reprogrammed himself was very impressive. He started out at a higher level than everybody else and I’m sure he went into the season thinking that he could win every race, although he has gradually learnt to make sacrifices and take second place or even fourth where necessary – maybe his attitude changed after his mistake at Jerez. As a team we’re really happy with him because he is developing into a very complete rider.

Do you see him as the World Champion already, as the rest of the paddock seems to do?
He has shown a resounding level of superiority in the 125 class this year and he has been a step above everybody else. If nothing strange happens, because you can’t take anything for granted in racing, I think the World Championship title is in his hands.

It looks like a more difficult task for Bautista but is it an impossible one?
I’m confident that Álvaro will slam his fist on the table, start to get angry with himself and go on the attack in a more aggressive way. I have to admit that at some races I was the first person to tell him to be prudent and to work out who his main rival was going to be, and to be conservative if necessary. Now the time has come to wake up and take another step forward. Luckily at Misano we started to see that side of Álvaro Bautista.

How do you reflect on the season for your other 125cc riders?
Gadea made an okay start, recovered and was sensational in the middle part of the season. Over the last three races he hasn’t had much luck but I think that he has improved a lot on past seasons because he has worked out how to turn his situation around, recover and do well. It is a similar story for Smith – he has been very fast at certain circuits but not at others. This is probably the first time they have been fighting to win at every circuit and that is not easy for a rider to take on board.

How about Mike?
He made a fantastic start to the season but then crashed in Japan, had problems with his arm at Jerez and that set him back for a while. It was a shame because a series of things have happened that have prevented him from exploding like we expected. Luckily he is feeling better and better on the bike, he is getting faster and he is more complete as a rider. Hopefully all our riders can finish the season near the top.

Can you give us an insight into the riding style of each of your riders?
Julián is very aggressive and he is very good on the brakes. You could say that he likes to feel the front end of the bike and his riding position is probably more suited to a bigger category than 125. Smith lets the bike run a lot more, he’s smoother and he likes to have high corner speed – he doesn’t brake as much as Julián. Gadea is possibly the most aggressive out of the three and the one who moves around most on the bike, which is an aspect I think he needs to work on improving. Álvaro is very smooth, he works extremely hard and he is very consistent in practice. Maybe he’s missing a little aggression. Mike is improving a lot and he has a position on the bike that I like a lot because he loads the front, which is a good way to control the bike.

Discovery Channel clip – “Discovery Challenge” – Alvaro goes skydiving over Empuriabrava, Gerona in a TV special for the Discovery Channel, originating from June 2009.

Another great weekend in Alvaro’s hometown of Talavera de la Reina, where even a downpour didn’t dampen an excellent inaugural Summer “Fan’s Club” Fiesta.
BatiFans was represented by Gareth and Michaela, and here’s the story and pictures…

Madrid, where we flew into on Friday, was baking. Bright sunshine, barely a breeze and full-on heat.
By the time we arrived at Talavera in the early evening, it was a bit more obvious that there might be rain: you could see storms over the mountains to the north and it was really thick and warm in the air.
Still, it was great to be back – Once you’ve been and you’ve experienced the amazing hospitality of the people and the beauty and tranquility of the town, you always love seeing it approaching.

We checked in to the hotel, and headed off to find the new Fanclub bar – the Sixtina, on the Calle de Alvarado, up near Bati’s dad’s shop, Amotos.
Walking there it became immediately apparent that the hotel was just a couple of minutes from the venue for the fiesta; the large, open car park of the Nuevo Centro shopping complex.
We found the Sixtina pretty easily, and can tell you that it’s great. Very impressive – with a large interior with TV screens for communal race-watching and a huuuuuge Alvaro cut-out, plus some of his old leathers and other memorabilia.
The outside is also really well done, and they’ve clearly gone to town on making sure it’s absolutely branded as the Fanclub venue with flags and banners straddling the sides of the building.

We got beers and were soon joined by members of the Fanclub directiva and other friends from previous trips. Sure enough there was rain (“there’s been no rain for eight months…” we were told, “and then you arrive and bring it with you!”) but it wasn’t too bad at all, and we spent most of a nice long evening sat outside with plenty of Mahou and tapas, renewing old friendships and meeting new people.

We took the morning of the Saturday as free-time and wandered around Talavera, checking out the Basilica and hitting a couple of the ceramics shops. Then we headed off to Nuevo Centro for the fiesta itself, which started at one.
A good crowd was already gathered in the heat and the sun, and we got drinks and started mingling, greeting everyone in the Fanclub booth, and checking out the various stalls and attractions; top of which had to be Alvaro’s bike, looking absolutely gorgeous and gleaming.
As well as the ongoing cooked-up tapas at the bar, Michelin had provided an enormous paella, which was every bit as delicious as it looked.
Late in the afternoon, we took a break and went back to the hotel, loaded down with various bits of merchandise, ready to have a quick rest and then come back early evening for the remainder of the party.

When we came back though, it was pelting down – a total downpour with full-on thunder and lightning. Everyone was taking it incredibly philosophically and stoically though, and wouldn’t let it ruin the atmosphere of the fiesta.
Thankfully, it didn’t last and by the time Alvaro arrived, it was pretty pleasant, if a bit cooler, and with everybody milling around across the venue.
As usual, he was mobbed. Thoroughly mobbed. Lots of photos, lots of autographs, lots of chats. And as usual, he made sure he kept everybody happy.
He came over and said Hello, and we had a good talk about how things were with him, and also about how good it was to be back in Talavera – and after a while, he moved on to do more schmoozing and signing. And whilst he did that, fans continued to do huge, smokey burnouts in front of the bar tent, to great cheers and applause.

Following a careful mopping of the stage, there was also a superb performance of traditional flamenco by Miriam Jiminez and her dancers; highly recommended to us the night before by various people. They put on a great show, and it was a real bonus that the wet hadn’t prevented them from performing.

And following speeches and a raffle, and a nice goodbye chat with Alvaro, we made our way back to the hotel – as always, hugely in love with Talavera and its people. It’s rare that you find somewhere that’s not only a beautiful, charming place in itself, but which also seems to be reflected in everyone you meet – but Talavera is just such a place.
The kindness, hospitality and friendship is extraordinary. And you’re not just made to feel welcome; you’re made to feel special.
If you’ve not been… Go… Simple as that.

BatiFans will aim to have a group trip to the Fanclub winter Cena Navidad, currently almost a certainty, and slated for the first weekend in December – confirmation of the event and of the dates will be posted here and on BatiFans. Think about joining us, and visiting Talavera too; hopefully you’ll see exactly what we mean whenever we rave about going back there.

For now though, we again come away with another set of great memories. A really enjoyable fiesta, which even a bit of British-style weather wouldn’t have a chance of spoiling, and another couple of days of renewing old acquaintances and meeting new friends.
Big big thanks to David, Marcos, Cesar and all the members of the Fanclub directiva, and also to all our friends – old and new – for looking after us so well.

Nos vemos en la Cena!

Just a reminder that the first annual Fiesta of the (new) fanclub of Alvaro Bautista is held this weekend in his hometown of Talavera de la Reina.
It’s being staged in a place more central to town than March’s launch party – Los Aparcamientos Del Centro Comercial Nuevo Centro. Avenida. de la Constitucion, 23 de Talavera de la Reina.
There will be lots going on – starting at midday and going on late into the night.
Full details here…

BatiFans is once again represented by me (Gareth) and Michaela, and we also aim to be in the Bar Sixtina on the Friday night – so if you’re also going to be there, please come and say Hello; we’d love to meet you!

Hopefully we can bring you pictures and reports in due course. For now though it’s just great to be going back

(*Picture – from the launch party: Alvaro and his diablo mascot meet the press).