Alvaro was in the press conference ahead of the Motegi weekend. He has an impressive record at Motegi in the 250cc class, having finished second to Simoncelli in 2008 before taking victory in last year’s race. Despite this success, Motegi is not a circuit that the Suzuki rider counts amongst his favourites.

Alvaro took a hard fought eighth place last time out at Aragón, his third in a row, but is determined to finish higher up the order this weekend at Motegi.

“The season started well, with a good winter testing programme and two good races, but then I got injured and didn’t seem to be able to improve myself or the bike. Now, with the new frame, we have made improvements and I’m enjoying racing the bike. Suzuki, the team and myself are all working hard and we’re definitely getting closer with each race. In Aragón we had our third eighth position in a row, but I think it’s possible to fight for sixth or seventh place here in Motegi.”