Testing at Sepang was this morning temporarily suspended for all Honda riders, with HRC having yesterday recalled the RC213V engine of Dani Pedrosa for analysis at their headquarters in Japan. Positive feedback arrived from the engineers at lunchtime but unfortunately it coincided with a heavy rainstorm at Sepang that left the circuit in no condition to be ridden. All of the Honda riders, including Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista, were therefore unable to leave the garage. It leaves an important third and final day of testing to take place here in Malaysia tomorrow before the teams head for the final official session of the preseason at Jerez della Frontera from 23-25 March.

Source: Gresini Racing

The first day of the second Sepang test took place today in less than ideal conditions, with grip significantly affected by a car race that had taken place here last weekend. A heavy rainstorm then put paid to any further progress, limiting the riders’ track time to just 24 laps in the case of Team San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista. His fifteenth lap proved to be his best, stopping the clock at 2’02.959. Without any new updates to test on the bike the team concentrated on making set-up changes to their existing package as Alvaro continues to familiarise himself with the Honda RC213V.

Alvaro Bautista (2’ 02” 959 – 24 laps) :“The track surface was in poor condition and it was very difficult to push so we focused on experimenting with some different set-up solutions to increase my confidence on the 1000cc bike. The rainfall brought our day to an early conclusion because with the already precarious conditions it was better to leave everything else we had planned until tomorrow. I had a miraculous escape this morning in turn five when I basically crashed but managed to keep the bike upright on my elbow!”

Source: Gresini Racing

After the plans for a multi-purpose race track and logistics plattform near Álvaro’s hometown Talavera de la Reina had been officially introduced early last year and subsequently received quite a bit of political support, it now appears that – due to the financial woes of the Spanish government, a switch in the city’s mayor’s office and unexpected local competition – this plan won’t be put into action after all, even if a private sponsor would surprisingly take over the funding of the project which would have included a street circuit named after hometown hero Álvaro Bautista.

First ideas for an own street circuit in the area on about 60 to 80 hectars of land were already announced as early as 2008, though never coming to fruition. But in March 2011, after a couple of months with rumours going around, the local government under mayor José Francisco Rivas, a good friend of Álvaro, presented the plans for a much bigger and more ambitious logistics plattform of about 260 hectars which would also include the race track. Entering the final part of their legislative period, it was believed by the opposition that a good part of the mayor’s and his party’s considerable effort to make the new project happen quickly was simply aimed at gathering more votes for the elections coming up later in the year. But the president of Castilla-La Mancha, Jose Maria Barreda, had also voiced his support for the project, pointing out the great economic impact the multi-purpose transit aread could have for the region as well as adding image and touristic value through the potentially homologated race track hosting national and international championships [we reported]. However, now that Rivas is no longer in office and has been replaced by Talaver’s new mayor Gonzalo Lago Viguera, the support for the project has dwindled down and work to develop the logistic plans any further has taken a back seat on the political agenda.

Aside from the differences between the two governments with Rivas and Lago also belonging to different political parties, a bigger reason for it not to happen now is the economical crisis the country currently finds itself in. The project was supposed to be realized in four stages with an necessary investment of about 255 million Euros, a sum that today seems unfathomable to spend for something potentially turning into a money pit. The costs of the integrated circuit on about 95 hectar of land was expected to be around 100 million Euros as it was meant to fulfill the highest standards and even hold Formula1 and MotoGP races in the future. María Rodríguez, spokeswoman for the local government, recently made it clear that the project won’t become reality with public funds and direct government management.

But the final push into probable oblivion now came from the neighbouring town Velada. Somewhat surprisingly and no less disputable they have introduced a plan to build a street circuit as well which is supposed to be ready for racing already as early as 2013 and expected to bring about 60 new jobs to the locality. The town has already reached a provisional agreement with private investors to sign over 50 hectars of land for 90 years of use to build the project which will also include a hotel. And with Velada being only 14 kilometres away from Álvaro’s hometown Talavera de la Reina, it is highly unlikely Talavera will ever build a street circuit if the track in Veleda actually becomes reality. Veleda’s mayor, Andrés Gómez, is very eager to start work on the land as soon as possible, but had to fend off a large amount of criticism from PSOE [Partido Socialista Obrero Español], the party of Talavera’s former mayor Rivas. According to them the project is a somewhat unfair political move that effectively renders Talavera’s project impossible, but Gómez argued that the Veleda circuit would profit the whole region. Talavera’s current mayor Gonzalo Lago, whose party PP [Partido Popular] had opposed Riva’s plans for a logistics plattform because of the economic uncertainties, has already publicly endorsed the Veleda project.

It remains to be seen if and how quickly the private investors will build a street circuit in Veleda, how successful it will be and if it really becomes homologated for international championships. In any case, they could still name it after Álvaro…

Sources: La Tribuna de Talavera, encastillalamancha.es, Gobierno Castilla-La Mancha

Álvaro picked up a very special gift yesterday afternoon as he visited the local Mercedes Benz dealer Autasa for a media appointment and was handed the keys for his new white Mercedes C200 CDI by sales manager Jaime Martín. Álvaro obviously was delighted about his new completely tricked out car and will be driving it in his hometown Talavera de la Reina during this year to promote the car dealership while he has it.

After the presentation Álvaro answered the questions of the journalists in a press conference. He explained that his new Honda RC213V machine for this season allows him to ride more consistent lap by lap, that the exit from the corners is smoother and that it’s overall less physically demanding. But he acknowledged that him and his new team still have a lot of work ahead of them to get the maximum performance out of the bike. “There’s a lot to be done, but we already know what it is and which direction we should take”, he confirmed.

“The first test [at Sepang] was very important for me. I’d never ridden a 1000cc before and the Honda only very little. My feeling was very positive. The bike is a 1000cc, but you barely notice that when you ride it, compared to the Suzuki. Therefore I left very satisfied and I think we’re on a good way. The team is full of motivation and eager to work.”

After the second test at Sepang which will take place next week, the upcoming test at Qatar next month will also be very important to iron out any problems they encountered during the tests at Sepang. It will also allow him to get a first feeling for the track where the inaugural race of the season will be held again at night. “It’s a pretty fast track with high-speed corners, but what I like the least is that the field of vision is reduced quite a bit [at night] and there’s a humidity in the air that can make you crash when you least expect it and without any apparent reason.”

Looking ahead to the season on a whole, he’s determined not to fall for false presumptions early. “I haven’t set any goals yet, because I have a lot to improve and it’s difficult to say where I could be. The first thing I have to do is to familiarize myself with the bike and after that God knows. If everything goes as I think, we can get good results. Regarding the title favourites this year it’ll be difficult as Honda is strong, Yamaha has grown a lot and Ducati will be there, simply because they have Valentino Rossi.” Asked about whether he’d put himself among the favourites, he flashed one of his trademark big smiles and admitted “I’d like to be among them, but it’s still too early to say who’ll be among the favourites.”

Sources: La Tribuna de Talavera, encastillalamancha.es