It’s November 21st – Álvaro’s 27th birthday, you can still congratulate him via Twitter – and eleven days have passed since the MotoGP season has officially finished, but regardless of that Álvaro still was rather busy in the meantime.

Firstly he travelled to Milan right after he jumped off the 800cc Gresini Honda, to attend the motorcycle fair EICMA for his sponsor Rev’It! and sign autographs, pose for photos and chat with fans.

Finally returned to his hometown Talavera de la Reina he visited the headquarters of another personal sponsor – OID – and stayed for an interview about the 2011 season and his expectations for the new year with a new team and a new bike.

Having only the weekend to relax and train a bit with Supermoto, he was again busy the next week, giving a few interviews to local radio stations before being back with his sponsor OID for the fair IFEMA in Madrid to spend some time with his fans. His visit at the fair in Madrid was also an opportunity for Europa Press and several other journalists to have a longer interview with Álvaro after his signing with the San Carlo Honda Gresini team and many of these video interviews can be watched online, like here, here, here and here.

On Friday Álvaro was again back in Madrid, joining his friends Dani Martínez, Florentino Fernandez and Anna Simon for their television show Otra Movida which included a hilarious Minimoto race that Álvaro finally won after his last “rival” crashed out twice.

And after celebrating his birthday today, Álvaro will be leaving Spain again this week for a very special adventure, joining the Riders for Health Experience Africa tour where he’ll ride through Zambia with Randy Mamola and several lucky participants to raise awareness and support Riders for Health. The trip will take place from 23rd November until 1st December.

Once he’s back home from Africa he has the annual fanclub end-of-season dinner to look forward to, which will take place on Saturday, 10th December, in Talavera de la Reina. Further information on the dinner and booking can be found on his website.

Since the Valencia test several magazines also published interviews with Álvaro. Translations of those will be posted shortly in separate articles. Below you can find the translation of some of his statements when interviewed by Europa Press. .

“It’s been a tough year. I did not start as expected with the crash in Qatar. The fracture of the left femur ruined the beginning of the year, I needed to regain confidence after that. But by mid-season everything fell into place, I rode with enthusiasm and confidence and could take small steps forward and make the bike more competitive”, he said in an interview with Europa Press.

But once he had recovered from the injury he showed a constant pace. “In practice I’ve been around sixth and seventh and I had a couple of second row starts. We lacked luck in the races, we missed opportunities to finish with good results. But we must be satisfied, we have done the maximum.”

The Castilian-La Mancha native has already made “first contact” with the Gresini team, although with the 800cc bike of Hiroshi Aoyama. “I wanted to see how the feeling is, because it is different from the Suzuki and I have to get used to another way of riding. It is the world champion bike, but I can adapt.”

However, until the end of next January he won’t be able to ride with the 1000cc bike. “I’m looking forward to see how this new category works”, he said while explaining that the new machines are “faster. They have more power. You’ll have to control the power when you touch the throttle out of corners, but I have not tested it yet and don’t know how it’s going to be.”

On the withdrawal of Suzuki he stated that it’s “a shame and frustrating” after he competed for two years with the brand. “The team was fantastic, with great professionals. Everyone knew what they had to do. I feel bad, because those are people who I have a lot of affection for; it seems that lately we’ve seen more [of the potential] and I hate that it stops suddenly, we had found a path which was tough to get to and this is now gone, it’s a shame and frustrating.”

Asked about his predictions for next season, he believes the favourites will still be same, despite the new formula and knows that for him it will be “difficult to fight with the first”, but at the same time he’ll have “much room for improvement.”

“Stoner must defend the title as he takes the number 1 plate, Lorenzo must return to fight again for that number 1 and Pedrosa has been a candidate for many years. Everybody says that ‘This year he will win’ and he has to be one of the candidates. But let’s see the level of the others. On paper those are the three who will fight for the championship next year.”

For him personally, he finds it a little more difficult to set goals. “A change of bike and team, I have to start working with them, get used to the bike, change the way I ride… it will be important to adapt to this bike, it is difficult to set goals. I don’t know what I can achieve, I want to go step by step, feel comfortable and work well with the team and do my best. There is a good basis to start from and gives me assurance to start the year.”

From the finished 2011 season his favourite race he likes to remember is the German Grand Prix at Sachsenring: “The fight in Germany with Valentino [Rossi] and [Nicky] Hayden was spectacular and fantastic for the spectators, with many great passses and I beat them both. I’ll stick with that race, it was special, a head-to-head battle where I could beat them; I have good memories of this Grand Prix.”

Speaking of Valentino Rossi, although he had a very difficult season with Ducati, Álvaro does not count him out: “He’s a great rider, to me the best ever, I doubt anyone can repeat his success. This year he had it rough, the Ducati is not as easy to ride as the Yamaha or Honda, it was more difficult. Also the level is higher than when he joined Yamaha, when nobody bet on him.” He is convinced that with a Ducati to the taste of Valentino he will win again. “I don’t know if [he can win] the championship, but I’m sure he’ll get back to win races, he has a lot of experience under his belt and never gives up. Although he is one of the oldest riders, he is as eager as a youngster who just arrived.”

Looking at the new regulations for 2012, he is convinced that CRT machines are the future of the class, but also admits that they are not entirely to his liking. “They are less made for racing than what we have. Those of us who ride with MotoGP do not like it, but when everyone has it, it is what it is. In the future there will be more equality and it’ll be more in the hands of the rider than in the technology.”

Even though the Spanish “Armada” has taken “only” one title this season, Nico Terol in 125cc, Álvaro believes that nationally there is “a good level. Last year we got used to it with so many Spaniards winning and this year it’s only the title for Nico, but if Marquez had not had the problem in Malaysia he could’ve also been champion.” However, it’s clear that “you can’t always win everything. Marquez and Lorenzo are each runner-up. We have been in the fight, because the level is high and we should be proud of it”, he added while recognizing that another season in Moto2 is a good choice for Marc Marquez.

Finally, the former 125cc world champion felt nostalgic after the Goodbye of the 125cc class: “The two-strokes are very special bikes, those of all my life. Since I came to MotoGP, the preseason is separate. When in the first race the 125s go out on track it’s a distinct smell, that of life, it makes me nostalgic and it’s a shame they are gone, but the future are the four-strokes and Moto3 is a good base because it is the future.”

Source Interview: Europa Press
Photos: Rizla Suzuki, Twitter Alvaro Bautista, Twitter Inma Rodriguez

This Saturday, September 10th, Alvaro’s fanclub will start their annual summer fiesta at 10 AM in Talavera de la Reina with Bati of course also attending the festivities.

It’s already the third time the fanclub organizes the fiesta and this year it’ll be bigger than ever, boasting a variety of activities that are sure to delight the hundreds and hundreds of fans of the Rizla Suzuki rider who will make the way to the “City of Ceramics” in Castile-La Mancha to enjoy a fun day with their hero.

It will kick off at 10AM in front of the fanclub’ s headquarters – the Sport Center de Complejo Estoril – which is the starting point of a bike route which will go along different parts of the region, including the municipality of San Martín de Pusa where Álvaro has a street named after him.

After this tour the next stop will be the Karting Club de Carreras, located at the Polígono de Cazalegas, where the participants will enjoy paella to regain strength for the remainder of the day and night. At the same place several sports exhibitions will be held, such as Supermoto and Karts, and anyone who wants can participate for the price of 10 Euros.

By mid-afternoon the appearance of Alvaro himself is expected and he’s already made a lot of noise for the party on Twitter in recent days and seems very excited to join his fans for some fun times.

So, if you’re in the area tomorrow, don’t miss out!

Photo: caesarobriga.com

Difficult weekend at Misano. It began with me picking up a stomach virus, then I started and finished the race in eighth. Good position, but I’m not content with that, I want more. The best was the hattrick of victories for Jorge, Marc and Nico. The championships are tightening up…

Greetings. Ciao amicci! How are you? I am taking advantage of the flight from Italy to Spain to write, returning home after two consecutive weeks of racing and I will tell you how the weekend in Misano was, where I arrived with a bit of jetlag from the last race at Indianapolis, but with a lot of motivation after the good result I achieved there.

Happy virus. I didn’t start the weekend very well, on Thursday I felt bad all day, the doctors said it was a stomach virus and I could barely eat anything and didn’t sleep much either. Together with the heat and humidity that meant I was exhausted, in fact on Saturday after practice I had to get an injection with saline solution and vitamins to recover. And for me to get an injection I have to be in very, very bad shape. What I hate most in the world are needles, well no, what I hate most is that they get stuck into me and I had to do it again on Sunday because I had no energy reserves left and the race would be tough in these conditions.

Improvements. During practice on Friday and Saturday I was at a good level, not far from the fourth or fifth in terms of pace and the feeling with the bike wasn’t bad. And that after on Friday one of my engines blew up, but it was the one with the most miles I had. I also used a new swingarm which we had already tested in Brno and I didn’t like it much, but here we changed the setting a little and it convinced me, we took a step forward. In fact, in qualifying I was fourth with 20 minutes to go, with used tyres, and I just needed to make a good lap at the end, but I ran into some traffic and could not improve. But the pace was good.

I wanted heat. For Sunday we did the fairing of the bike in chrome, so that when it reflects the sun it’ll blind the other riders and I can take advantage, but we screwed up! It was cloudy and the sun couldn’t be reflected, so the race did not go as I wanted; well, because of that and because the track temperature was 20 degrees cooler than Saturday, which meant that if I could do 28 laps with the soft tyre in 50°C and most riders use the hard one, then with 30°C everyone used the soft and I would have needed one that is softer. Together with the raindrops which fell at the start that meant I couldn’t push from the first lap like I did in practice and I lost positions and time to the second group, which was where I thought we could be. But anyway, the conditions are what they are and we need to improve so that when are they are good we can go well. In the end, eighth behind all the factory bikes is not a bad result, but I want more.

Spain takes over. The championship gets a little more interesting with the victory of Lorenzo and Stoner in third, although it will be difficult for Jorge to catch up, because he, Dani and Casey are a step above the rest and it will be difficult for another rider to get among them. In Moto2 it was a great fight for the victory, which again was taken by Marquez after demonstrating an amazing maturity on the bike and knowing how to push when he had to. Every time he is getting closer to Bradl and it will be an interesting final of the championship. Right now I see Marc as stronger, but at the moment Bradl is the leader and he has to take risks. And in 125cc I still can not understand Zarco’s actions on the finish straight. I’m glad because it helped Terol to win and increase the gap in the standings, but after going on the home straight in first position, knowing that you have a rider in your slipstream, you can not look back and get up, you tuck in behind the fairing as good as you can and open the throttle all the way. It is a pity for Zarco, because he has been very close to victory several times and still has not achieved it. Congratulations also to Efren Vazquez, let’s see if we see him fighting for the podium in more races.

Until MotorLand. Oops! We’re almost landing already, how fast did that flight to Spain go by, I need to stop as I have to turn off the computer. Now I will spend a week at home – Ah! And remember that next Saturday there will be a party in Talavera of my fanclub. You are all invited. Being with people who love me and who I love will certainly give me strength for the next round at MotorLand, in Alcaniz. I can’t wait to race in front of the Spanish fans. Hopefully I can give you a good result and I hope you enjoy it as much as the Spanish riders enjoy riding in front of you. A big kiss!

Source: AS.com

Following his long and unpleasant journey through hospitals in Doha and Madrid after breaking his left femur two weeks ago, Alvaro’s first target has been to be back at the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez this weekend – if only as a spectator to support the team.

His replacement John Hopkins has previously stated that he was delighted to get another chance to ride a MotoGP bike, but that he didn’t want it to happen this way, feeling very sorry for Alvaro and wishing him a fast recovery.
Expectedly Hopkins was stuck to the back end of the field during the first practice session after a long time away from the class, but nevertheless he was pretty close to the riders in front of him.

After another session in the hyperbaric chamber this morning, Alvaro is on his way to Jerez to support John and the team on Saturday and Sunday as well. According to recent Twitter updates from Alvaro his recovery is going well so far, even though of course too slow for his liking, but Dr. Angel Villamor also pointed out that there’s no sense in rushing things since the bone still has to fully heal. The many repeated sessions in the hyperbaric chamber should help speed up this process while Alvaro is gaining mobility in his leg, but still lacking some strength when putting weight on it.

Alvaro’s official fanclub will also again be present at the Spanish circuit in large numbers. Originally planning to travel to Jerez with over 300 fanclub members, the injury and subsequent absence of Alvaro in the race caused some members to cancel, still leaving a total of 278 fans joining the celebrations at the circuit together on the same grandstand.

Source: La Tribuna de Talavera

After a long and stressful journey, Álvaro Bautista has finally made it back home, more than a week after he broke his femur in a high-speed crash at the Losail circuit.

Now he’s back with his family and friends, arriving in his home town Talavera de la Reina today with his close family and his manager Armando Guerrero, who had been by his side the entire time since the crash.
In front of his home he was greeted by the rest of his family and members of his fanclub who gave him standing ovations upon arrival and had prepared a huge banner which read: “Always keep the spirit high, we know that you are strong and this is just another test that you will soon pass. We watch when you practice, we cheer you on when you race and when you crash we help you back up.”

Bautista thanked everyone for the great reception and on crutches he got out of the family car and walked around to greet those present. He also talked about his journey in the past days: “These past few days have been difficult. But I’m home now with my people and I think about recovering quickly and getting back on the bike.”
“From the day when I had the crash I had in mind that I wanted to come to Spain, so that I can be operated by my regular doctor, Angel Villamor, but it was a complicated situation and the doctors there advised me against traveling with my broken leg. We thought it was an easy operation and it actually was and went very well, but what happend was that there were complications when I had an incision of 30 cm to let out the blood. The essential thing was to return to Spain and it was hard. They were difficult times and I thank those who made it possible to bring a medical plane, because without it I didn’t see an end to it”, he added.

Regarding his possible return to racing, Alvaro set his sight on the Portuguese Grand Prix: “My goal is to be in Estoril. It is a month of recovery and when I now put weight on the foot it is difficult. I know I have to work hard, it is my goal and I know I can reach it.”

But he is very aware of his limitations: “I lack mobility in the knee and it will be difficult. The level of strength is not that urgent to recover, because I have not lost much, but the mobility to get on the bike and in left-hand corners. There I need to have good flexibility. That’s the hardest and this will be our aim.”

After these hard times Alvaro Bautista prefers to move on and forget the Qatar GP: “The shock of the crash is over. For better or for worse, crashes happen and injuries too. The worst was the time I spent in the hospital where I was bleeding and everything because of that crash. It was a difficult time, but we must move on. I’ll recover and get back on the bike.”

All the very best wishes from everyone at Vroom Media for a quick and full recovery!

Source: caesarobriga.com

Alvaro and his official fanclub presented their new headquarters in Bati’s hometown Talavera de la Reina today. From now on the Complejo Estoril will be the place where fans of Alvaro and MotoGP will come together and watch all the races. Both the fanclub and the location owners signed the agreement in presence of the local press and Alvaro himself.

César Mendoza, president of the Fan’s Club, says this agreement is a step forward for the club as they are about to hit the mark of 2000 members and still continue to grow: “The Fan’s Club had to find something bigger. We wanted a location that Alvaro also agrees with and this is it. We made the deal pretty quickly and we got all the support for what what we wanted.”

The other contract partner, Javier Salinas, representative of the Complejo Estoril, expressed his gratitude for the trust placed into them and hopes for a long-lasting cooperation: “I hope we’ll be the headquarters for a long time. We want to be the image of Fan’s Club and we intend to give a little more. Here will be the departures for the GPs and the arrivals as well.”

Also present at the event was Alvaro himself who was putting on the new fanclub shirt and thanked them for the good work they are doing: “I am grateful for the support of the Fan’s Club. They come to see me at the tracks, meet up to discuss the races… And about the headquarters, I think there are times when you need to change something. I am convinced that this location will be beneficial both for the fans and for me.”

Source: Caesarobriga.com

The Fan’s Club Alvaro Bautista has announced the date and time for this year’s end-of-season dinner in Talavera de la Reina. On Saturday, December 4th, at 21.00h the traditional event will welcome again Alvaro, his family, his fanclub and all his supporters who celebrate his first year in the MotoGP class.

The superb three-course meal with regional specialities costs 30€ for fanclub members, to be paid in advance Further information about payment etc can be found here.

Alvaro’s official fanclub celebrated its second summer fiesta in Bati’s hometown Talavera de la Reina last Saturday. As always Alvaro himself was of course there to spend a few hours with his fans, family and friends. To start things off he showed up in his Rizla Suzuki leathers and took a few laps on his Suzuki Supermoto bike around an impromptu track on a parking lot. Later he joined the festivities and posed for photos with everyone who asked. As it is well known, Alvaro always takes care of all his fans – who are not only from Talavera or even just from Spain, but from all over the world.

But there were many more attractions for the fans who attended the fiesta, including an original-sized F1 simulator, remote-controlled minibike races, attractions for the kids and a concert in the evening with three bands from Talavera.

Due to conflicting schedules unfortunately the BatiFans crew was not able to attend the fiesta this year, but we’ll be back in Talavera for the end of season Fanclub dinner. See you all then!

Source: La Tribuna de Talavera