Weather conditions at the Estoril circuit have not changed much for Alvaro Bautista and test rider Nobuatsu Aoki today. Even though it didn’t rain, the conditions have been too humid for the track to dry completely after the rainstorm on Monday. Therefore the remaining puddles and wet patches on the track forced the riders to approach the testing once again with caution to avoid crashes.
But higher temperatures around 15° and slightly improved grip still gave Alvaro a good chance to further test the Suzuki without looking at laptimes and getting comfortable with the bike.
On the other side of the garage Nobuatsu Aoki works in short sessions, testing various new parts and developments for the bike.

Testing at Estoril will continue tomorrow with the weather forecast showing slightly higher temperatures and sunny conditions which will hopefully help to dry up the track a little more before the final laps tomorrow afternoon.

A charity auction of Alvaro’s leathers and helmet for the Fundación Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos de Toledo, supporting hospitals for paraplegics and paraplegia research, has ended last night with the highest bid of 2020 Euros.
The lucky bidder now owns some original and signed Alvaro Bautista gear which has been worn during several races this season, including the Catalunya GP where Alvaro achieved a dominant victory in front of his home fans.

Adding yet another award to his already impressive trophy case, Alvaro Bautista will be honoured by the Grupo Cope in the first Premios Cope Talavera tomorrow night. The awards are given out on a national level and honour 11 individuals and institutions as well as 20 enterprises for their contributions to the city.

The award ceremony will take place on Thursday, 19th November, at 9PM in the Teatro Victoria of Talavera de la Reina and the honorees will receive unique awards which are designed and decorated by ceramics artists from Talavera.

As Alvaro’s current Suzuki test in Estoril will only conclude tomorrow, it is yet unknown if he will be able to attend the ceremony. We will keep you updated.

UPDATE: Bati was not able to return to Talavera in time for the award ceremony, but to participate anyway the event organizers installed a telephone connection to present the award to Alvaro. Unfortunately, as the newspapers report, that connection was not working properly and while Alvaro was not able to hear anything from the event, the filled theatre did hear his more than clear “Yes?” and “Good evening”, scaring some of the attendants and providing some of the laughter for the evening.
However, he will receive his award in the form of a ceramic “C” once he is back in Talavera.

Alvaro is back on his new work tool this week, testing the Suzuki at Estoril since yesterday.
In the night from Monday to Tuesday a strong rainstorm hit the circuit and the track was still wet when Alvaro and Suzuki test rider Nobuatsu Aoki started their first session. But sunny conditions and warm temperatures made it into a good first day after all.
Alvaro was out on the bike for 45 laps total, divided into three sessions à 15 laps. He didn’t change tyres and wasn’t going for laptimes, the sole purpose being that he gets further accustomed to the bike.

Alvaro Bautista: “I’m satisfied, because the team and I got to know each other better. The asphalt wasn’t much fun to ride on, because there was no grip, but I still benefited from the day in that I understand the electronics and the mechanics of the Suzuki better.”

The test continues today and will conclude on Thursday.