I-play, Oberon Media’s publishing division and the world’s leading multi-platform casual games publisher, has announced the launch of the MotoGP 2010 Game for iPhone and iPod Touch.

The only official game available on the iPhone for 2010, the fantastic 3D experience features the 17 MotoGP riders including Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa, and comes with the official bikes and all 18 tracks which make up this year’s calendar. There are a host of other excellent features too which make this a must-have for the dedicated MotoGP thrill seeker.

Championship mode allows players to compete for the 2010 World Championship, with two camera angles giving amazing views and acceleration controls that replicate the lean angle of the bikes through accessible handling. Racing like a professional allows players to unlock all 18 circuits, and the game’s iPod library support function allows an individual soundtrack to be created.

“MotoGP is the world’s premier motorcycling championship and one of the most exciting racing series in motorsports,” said Tony Leamer, Vice President of Marketing at I-play. “Fans of the sport, championship series and racing alike will be impressed with the thrilling realism MotoGP 2010 brings to the palm of your hand.”

Dorna Sports S.L. Managing Director Pau Serracanta said: “The launch of the MotoGP 2010 Game for iPhone and iPod Touch is excellent news! Many of our fans are also users of these devices and we are confident this launch will be very well received by them. We have launched MotoGP console games on PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii with great success in the past. With this new game we will be fulfilling the demands of our fans worldwide.”

The game is available now for $3.99/£2.39/€2.99 from the iTunes App store – click here for a direct link. To celebrate the launch of the game two replica Valentino Rossi helmets will also be given away on I-play’s Facebook page

Before his nasty crash in FP2 at Brno in which he banged up his back severly, but which he fortunately escaped without any fractures, Alvaro was interviewed by the German-language Motorsport Magazin and talked about how his season went so far and what he expects for the future. For the most part it’s well known stuff, but interesting to read regardless.

Let’s start with the difficult part: It’s your Rookie season and it’s probably been a bit more difficult for you than expected. Can you describe it from your view?
Alvaro Bautista: Sure, it was much more difficult than I expected. In the first few races I felt that we made good progress. But after Jerez I crashed while practising motocross and got injured. I lost a few races because of that and also the rhythm. I had to start again from zero, try again to get a feeling for the bike. Okay, Barcelona was very nice [he finished 5th]. But in the last two races I had crashes which weren’t my fault. Now it depends on me improving myself further.

Does the experience of Loris Capirossi help you?
Alvaro Bautista: Yes. He has a lot of knowledge and experience and he’s very nice to me. And when I have a problem with the bike or the setup I can go over and ask him. He’s happy to help me out and this is of course good for me. I’m very happy to have him as my teammate. He’s got so much experience with the bike and he knows so much about the setup and how to ride and this is really good. I’m more than happy about that.

Paul Denning and the team often say that you’re doing a good job and learn quickly. Does this give you confidence when other people say this about you?
Alvaro Bautista: Sure it’s nice when people say something like this. Okay, I know we have some problems with the bike and I still need to learn. But we’re all working extremely hard and I’m really happy with the team.

Are you satisfied when the team praises your work and says you’re good?
Alvaro Bautista: We all push very hard to achieve something great. I always try to do a good job.

How are your injuries? Is it especially difficult to ride a MotoGP bike when you’re injured?
Alvaro Bautista: We’ve seen with Valentino and others that it is possible. It’s always difficult to ride a MotoGP bike, but with injuries it’s really very, very hard.

You’ve won in 125cc and 250cc. Do you think you can win in MotoGP with Suzuki?
Alvaro Bautista: I hope so! I will try. I want to continue like before, continue to improve myself, develop the bike and then win races some time, of course.

One of your problems is the lack of grip. What could be improved about the bike? Does it need to be better on a whole, do you need more power?
Alvaro Bautista: I’m not completely sure. What I do know is that, when I ride it I, I feel like our problem is that we can’t make the tyres work. They need to be really used up before they work for us. That is our problem.

Do you think the testing limitation are hitting Suzuki especially hard, because you already have to catch up with the others?
Alvaro Bautista: Yes, the thing is that we have so many things to test and we need some help to get closer to the others.

So it is more difficult, because you can’t test so much, I guess?
Alvaro Bautista: Yes, this year it’s been difficult, because I need more kilometres on the bike. But anyway, that’s the situation and we have to get the best out of it.

Not long ago you’ve been 125cc world champion. What do you think about the bikes disappearing in 2012 and being replaced by Moto3?
Alvaro Bautista: I don’t know, it will be a completely different class, like 250cc and Moto2. Of course I prefer the 125cc bikes, because to start out on them it was just perfect for the riders. But surely the Moto3 will be good too. When you switch from two-strikes to four-strokes you feel a big difference, but when you start out on four-strokes right away, maybe it’ll get easier to ride in MotoGP as well.

You’re still at the very beginning of your MotoGP career and of course you’ll want to win the title one day. But is there something else you want to achieve in racing, other than the title?
Alvaro Bautista: No, this is exactly my dream. When I was in 125cc, it was my dream to become world champion. When I became world champion there, my dream was to come to MotoGP. Now I am here. My next dream now is to become world champion here. But I also have to be happy now to be where I am, because the best racers of the world are here. It will be hard work, but I am confident that I can fulfill my dream.

Do you have any idols inside or outside of racing?
Alvaro Bautista: Idols, no. When I was a kid I liked Mick Doohan. But now I don’t have any idols.

And outside of racing?
Alvaro Bautista: Neither, because all my idols are actually my friends, like Rafa Nadal or Alberto Contador.

Source: Motosport-Magazin.com
Translated by the crew of www.alvarobautista.co.uk and www.batifans.com

A new interview with sport.es, conducted ahead of the Spanish GP in Jerez this weekend, gives some more insights into Alvaro’s world and his experiences in MotoGP.

He needs time and kilometers, so that the results arrive on the back of his Suzuki GSV-R. Alvaro Bautista (Talavera, 1984) faces this weekend in Jerez de la Frontera the second MotoGP race of his career. He arrives at the Andalusian track still short of time and kilometers, but he knows that the passion of the fans will push him higher.

Is this going to be a “Tremendo” [tremendous] year like your favourite song from El Canto del Loco?
More than tremendous it will be a year of learning. There are many new things for me, the motorcycle, the surroundings, tyres, the team, the way to work. I think there’s a big improvement margin and my goal is to go step by step and get closer to the front. I need to find my place. It is a difficult year and perhaps we won’t have the best results, but it is a big change.

Was this a big blow for you?
One millisecond is very little, but the fact is that in MotoGP everyone rides with the knife between the teeth from the first moment on. It is necessary to be already grown when coming into this category, because to scrape away one tenth is a whole world. It thought that it was going to be a little easier, but it’s not.

What has you surprised the most about the big class?
The power never stops! The first day that I got on the Suzuki I was freaking out. In 250 you could accelerate without problems but not here, because the bike wheelies all the time and you have to try and control this. The electronics also make you change your “chip” because in the corners you open the throttle and the bike helps you to get out of the corner even when you think you won’t make it. It’s important to work on that, because you must know about this and ride accordingly, without your head telling you something different.

And what do you have to work on?
Compared to other riders I can still improve the exit of the corners. I’m lacking a bit in acceleration because of the electronics and others manage them better, but this is a question of time.

Does riding in MotoGP require bravery?
For the riders who have been around for a long time these bikes are no longer such “beasts”, but for us newbies they are still real rockets. You need to have some guts riding them, but the laptimes throughout the field are still very close together.

One second means a world here.
Indeed. To file away tenth by tenth is a monstrous task and you have to ride as perfect as possible. Here an error is not allowed at any moment.

What advice can a veteran like Loris Capirossi give you?
I explain my feelings on the bike to him and our relation is very good. We don’t keep things from each other as it happens in some teams. The goal is to work for Suzuki and with him I can learn faster. He knows the bike well and gets closer to the limit than I am.

How is the Suzuki?
This might sound bad: It is a good bike, but it doesn’t have the pieces in the right place to make it work. What I mean is that we have all the pieces of the puzzle which we need to put together and when we did that it will be precious. It is not as bad as it seems, but we need to put the pieces together right. It can be competitive and its strength is the braking.

Did you leave Qatar angry?
The crash in the last lap did not bother me that much. What was worse was that they pushed me off track at the beginning and I had to do the whole race on my own without any fights.

Why did you choose Suzuki?
To work with a factory is better than to ride in a satellite team and to speak with the guys who built the engine or the chassis is a lot more direct than to just hope for improvements; they can change things for you when you need it.

Are the five Spanish riders in MotoGP talking among each other?
Mmm… we say “Hello”, “How are you?” and “See you”, that’s it. I’m not on bad terms with anybody, but there’s no need to talk more than that. It’s not possible to be friends with other riders. My best friend in the races is my bike.

I know you kiss the bike and treat it during each GP like a partner. Are you talking with it?
I try to take good care of it. I treat my bikes like they were my girlfriend. The greeting is just like you would greet a girl with two kisses. And sure I talk to it.

Pardon the indiscretion, but what do you say to it?
That’s private; these are things between a couple.

I understand. Did your life change in MotoGP?
Honestly no, I’m still the same, what has changed is the engine power… [laughs]

And the training?
I hasn’t changed as you might think. It’s more a question of riding the bike right around the track, which is why being stronger won’t help you going faster.

What can you learn from Rossi?
Everything. From the character to how he rides the bike, how he works, how he behaves, he’s one of the best riders in history. Every second you can ride behind Valentino on the track is like gold and I tried to hook on to him, but he makes it hard…

Do you think it’s a disadvantage that you didn’t race in Japan?
For me, yes. I would have preferred to race there, because I would have gone to Jerez with more data and a better feeling for the bike. I need time and kilometers.

And in Jerez, what are you hoping for?
It is more difficult than at other circuits, because everyone knows you, but I try to be in my world. I like it, because already before the race I feel the passion of the fans and something enters your body that lets you grow. You won’t hold anything back.

How would you define yourself?
I am how I am. There are more serious people than me, I like to get along well with everyone and it’s rare that I’m in a bad mood. It costs nothing to behave well with other people and when you treat them well, they will rate you highly.

What is a Bautista Sunday like in Talavera de la Reina?
I train in the morning and in the evening I get together with my friends, my people, my girlfriend. In a race I am not thinking about what I have outside of racing and reversely when I’m away from the track I don’t think about racing.

Source: sport.es
Translation by the crew of www.alvarobautista.co.uk & www.batifans.com and without any warranty. When in doubt, consult the source.

In 2010 MotoGP fans are able to enjoy an amazingly detailed experience on their iPhone and iPod Touch thanks to the new Official Live Timing Application by Soft Pauer. This new application ensures that fans will not miss a minute of the action from any of the rounds on the 2010 calendar, regardless of where they are.

Many of them have already enjoyed this new application throughout the first race weekend of the season in Qatar, when MotoGP Live Timing placed amongst the top sales in the iTunes App Store sports section for Italy, Spain, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Hungary, , Finland, UK, USA, Australia, Indonesia and Japan.

The App offers an unprecedented level of information to consumers, which can be immediately taken in with the unique dynamic/interactive track map which provides users with a clear illustration of all the gaps between riders. Users are also able to access the same live timing information and in the same format as that which is used by the teams at each Grand Prix venue to track the progress of a session or particular team or rider. Uniquely, all the data from the whole season will be retained on the user’s device to enable them to look back at and re-run the sessions whenever they want.

After the successful launch last year of the F1 Timing and Track Positioning App, iPhone and iPod Touch users can now get their hands on Soft Pauer’s brand new MotoGP 2010 Official Live Timing Application – Premium Pass, and never miss a lap of this year’s Championship.

The App is available in English, Spanish, Italian, French and German at a cost of just €14.99 for the whole season. Support and service information is constantly updated at www.twitter.com/motogptimingapp.

Soft Pauer’s Chief Executive Otmar Szafnauer said, “We’re very pleased to offer fans an added dimension to the experience of watching MotoGP. We hope that they will take advantage of this new opportunity to get a full picture of the racing action wherever they go.”

Dorna Sports Managing Director Manel Arroyo commented, “We have a duty to improve and expand MotoGP coverage through new technologies and this new application is the perfect tool for fans who don’t want to miss a moment of the MotoGP World Championship wherever they are, like those who are enjoying MotoGP at the racetrack and want to have instant information of what goes on lap by lap. We are also working with Soft Pauer so that this application is available on other platforms soon”.

The application is available from the iTunes App Store, and you can also download it now by visiting the official MotoGP website.

The Spanish magazine “Motoracing” published an in-depth interview with Alvaro in their newest issue. Ahead of the first race in Qatar next weekend (and apparently right after the second test in Sepang) interviewer Mela Chércoles sat down with Bati and had an interesting chat with him about preseason preparations, injuries, title contenders and working as a team in MotoGP.

Alvaro Bautista in his pure form. The Talaverano talks with the affection, sincerity and humility that characterize his first steps in the big class: “MotoGP is another story and you have to ride with the knife between the teeth even in the preseason”.

How are you, how’s life going, my friend?
Good, good. You know me. Happy as always.

On the first day of the second test in Sepang you had a little scare with the Suzuki and you injured the left arm. Do you still feel any consequences of that?
I’m already healed again. It happened at the very end of the first day and I had to stop riding, because I had a big slide with the bike and they found out that it strained a tendon or something. It wasn’t severe, but the next day I couldn’t do any long runs. But I’m already in perfect condition again.

No arm pump yet which usually affects new MotoGP riders?
No. At the moment – knock on wood – I don’t have any problems with that. They didn’t have to operate me for arm pump yet.

Does it worry you that it could happen to you sometime later? Almost all of the new riders in the class suffer from it…
I know that it has happened to a lot of riders, but I haven’t had any symptoms neither in 125cc nor in 250cc and in MotoGP I don’t feel any fatigue in the arms either. So far everything is good and if at some point in the future it happens to me, then I know that it can be fixed with a simple operation.

Did you know that this problem cost Spencer his career, because back then it wasn’t known how to fix compartment syndrome?
Shit! I didn’t know that. Thank heavens that nowadays it’s no longer a serious problem. It is like going to the dentist to get a tooth removed.

Let’s talk about happier things. During the preseason testing in Sepang a positive and constant evolution could be seen of you. Did you notice a big change between the first visit at the start of February and the second at the end of the month?
Yes. There was an important progression. The first test was after two months of not riding the bike. When I got on the bike, it was all new again, the speed, the power… I couldn’t quite figure things out and react on them. In the second test however I understood things much clearer already and I left with a better feeling.

There you’ve been in the top 10 for the first time.
Better than anything else was when I went out on track that in the third lap I was already faster than my fastest laptime from the previous test. After just three laps I was faster than in both previous days. There was an evolution within me and my head had adjusted to everything. I was awake and starting to anticipate the behaviour, the reactions of the bike. I think that I start to ride the Suzuki more instinctively, without having to think about everything first. Before this the bike controlled me and I just took my position on it, but now there are times when the bike controlls me and other times it’s me who controlls the bike. [laughs] I haven’t taken it to 100 percent yet, but that will come later.

Does it worry you to start the season bringing up the rear?
No, because I left with some good impressions and, like finishing that first test just when I began to find the way with the setting, was satisfied even without taking it to the limit. When I returned to ride in Sepang we began with what we had when we left and quickly I felt more at ease and I was faster, riding the bike the way I wanted. Neither do I worry too much nor am I satisfied now that the results have improved, because I can still improve more with the bike than I already have. I have not reached my limit yet.

One could say that Bautista and Suzuki are a happy couple just married who’ve chosen a trip to Hamamatsu for their honeymoon.
[Laughs] That’s more or less it. We’ve met only recently, we have connected well and now what there is to do is to live together and to make sure that our relationship prospers.

And in that living together, where are the unbearable odd habits and little imperfections of each other, like smelly feet, snoring or farting at odd moments?
[Cracks up] Right now, I am the one who starts to ride a little more with MotoGP style which you need to be more aggressive during braking and being faster when getting out of the corners. In 250cc my riding style was smoother. So far the most difficult I have noticed with the Suzuki is that when entering the corner the rear wheel doesn’t have any grip. I’m sliding everywhere and we have been working on the chassis of the bike, improving it a little, but I believe that the real problem of the Suzuki is the cold track. Sepang is one of the better circuits for us and when we get to colder ones that could give us some problems.

Why?
Because the rear wheel doesn’t have any grip and you can’t get in and out of a corner fast. That is what we have worked on during the test and we’ve improved it in hot conditions, but in cold conditions I don’t know. That is the main problem I have seen and what needs to be improved to get more ahead.

How many chassis have you tested?
I have tested only two, the one that I used in Valencia and Estoril last year and another one in Sepang that is very similar to the one from last year, but a little softer and it works more on the tyre so that it takes temperature better. It will be the one I’ll start the season with and when we need to change something during the season, we’ll do it.

What does Capirossi say about the chassis?
He says that the new one is a little better than the one from last year when you ride in hot conditions and that it can also help in colder temperatures.

The new Suzuki engine was eagerly awaited. How do you see it?
To be honest with you, although you know that I always am, the engine from the last test was exactly the same I used in the one before. Capirossi didn’t like the new engine at all when he tested it and I will run the second version at the last test [at Qatar]. My comments and those of Capirossi were the same on the first version, that it’s not perfect, and of the second one he said that it goes more or less just like the other, but it has more durability without losing performance.

In that sense, is this why you say that Suzuki follows, but is not around its rivals?
It is important to continue working, because the moment you relax they will up the game. This is why I listened to Capirossi when he said that the latest engine is very similar to the one I used, but we need a little more to be at the level of the others. We have to improve the base we established with that engine.

About the chassis you already said that it improves the grip while entering the corners. And concerning electronics, how does the Suzuki go?
With the electronics, although we have tested several new things, I am still very much a newbie and I don’t know how to take advantage of it. I can’t say if it works better or worse, because I don’t use it to the maximum.

What does Capirossi tell you about it?
That they improved a little. For Qatar we will have new things, because Capirossi requested them.

Your arrival is a blow of fresh air for Suzuki, but how necessary and important is it to have Capirossi so close to develop the motorcycle…
Without a doubt, it is crucial to have someone to help you develop it. I see this with a lot of hope and expectation and when him and me are able to get good results, mine will be in part thanks to him. At the moment I can’t show the way to follow, but he can and he sees it a lot clearer. We shared data and spoke constantly. We are not a team with a wall in the middle of the box where everyone does his own.

I have no idea what kind of team with a wall you are talking about…
[Both laugh] I didn’t mean anyone in particular. I just meant it as I said it. We both work in the same direction, although when we go out on track everyone will be on his own. That is essential for Suzuki and us.

These first months of work and the visit to the factory headquarters served you to confirm your decision?
By all means, yes. In the factory I saw the people being very eager, with a lot of professionalism and the desire to work at the top and to win.

Has your signing recharged their batteries?
I don’t know how they were before, but I feel that Suzuki’s batteries are loaded. When we were at the factory, there was a pile of engineers surrounding me and Capirossi, taking notes of everything we said to try and improve the motorcycle. I have left the place on a high. I don’t know if it was twenty or thirty Japanese showing us everything.

Where do you think will be your position in the field this year?
I don’t know yet. Because you could see in the test that, except for Simoncelli, we are all within two seconds and improving three tenth places you three positions higher and vice versa. My goal is to find my limit and the one of the bike. I have still room for improvement, because I’m only at about 80 percent.

Did you already have time to realize that MotoGP is another world?
Yes, totally. During the winter tests in 125cc and 250cc you try to prepare your bike as well as possible and get some good impressions, but in MotoGP you have to go out with the knife between the teeth all the time, at your best and without holding back anything. As soon as you relax a little, you go backwards. It is necessary to always give everything. This is another film.

What do you think about riding against Rossi?
The guy’s not bad… This rookie has some possibilities… [laughs]. Right now the Yamaha is the most complete bike and Valentino is a crack who did a great laptime in Sepang, a circuit he knows to amaze at.

In any case, you’re not there to ask for an autograph…
Surely not and if I have the chance to attack him, I won’t let it pass. There’s no doubt that when you have the opportunity to do it, you will take advantage of it and I’ll make myself a poster with the photo of the first fight against Rossi.

Apart from Rossi, is there anything else that made a special impression on you in MotoGP?
It seems to be a much more professional category than the others. Everything is much more controlled and I like this better. Also, it is going to be a good fight for the title and what we saw last year between Rossi and Lorenzo is going to include Stoner. With Pedrosa I don’t know if he can do it, because they appear to have a lot of problems.

The good thing about so much control is that Simoncelli will not dare to repeat his antics of 250cc. Or will he?
[Starts laughing] I don’t think they’ll let him do those things and if they do you’d have to laugh about it, in order not to cry.

Interview by Mela Chércoles for Motoracing.
Translation by the crew of www.alvarobautista.co.uk and www.batifans.com

Besides the interview the same magazine also featured a very nice plug for this very website, mentioning at the end that other fan clubs should take note… Thanks for the kind words, people!

Big news – and we think, good news…
We’ve reopened our Fan Shop with a kicking new collection of fan gear and merchandise.
We’ve got all kinds of shirts and tops, bags, badges and more – cool clothes for both guys and girls (we’ve even got a bandana for dogs too!) – with funky graphics and a huge choice of colours and styles.

There will be more designs to come but we hope you like what you see.
As with our Fan Shop from years ago, the products are all managed by Spreadshirt who are great on quality and speed of delivery.
Some of the items aren’t cheap, we admit – but we think there’s a great range and we’ve done our best to keep the prices as low as possible overall.

We hope you enjoy the new gear and the new store, and that you’ll find some groovy funky fun clothing there to help show others your support for Alvaro.

Click here to go to the Fan Shop

Rizla Suzuki have officially unveiled their season design for the 2010 bikes of Alvaro Bautista and Loris Capirossi. Designed by Troy Lee, the main colour of the bike is a bit darker than it was in previous years and various “original Suzuki” dark blue strips along the fairing support this impression.
The rider numbers are placed substantially higher on the front with the main sponsor Rizla getting another prominent spot right beneath them.

You can see the new design and Alvaro’s official season leathers in action at the official IRTA test in Qatar starting next Wednesday, with the factory riders getting on the track on Thursday.

REV’IT Sport International – suppliers to Alvaro of leathers and gloves for this 2010 season, have very kindly supplied us with an exclusive desktop wallpaper design to share with you. We told them how much we like sharing download goodies with all the fans up here on the sites and the BatiFans.com Alvaro Bautista Fan Forum, and as a result they’ve very kindly produced a fantastic, moody widescreen desktop in 3 sizes to suit your monitor; 1920×1200, 1680×1050 and 1440×900.
It’s based on the publicity shot that was used to announce the partnership between Alvaro and REV’IT! but has been altered to shift colours and to change the background texture.

Download the 1920×1200 version

Download the 1680×1050 version

Download the 1440×900 version

Enjoy! And pass on!

Which of Alvaro’s helmets do you like best?
Read through our full history of them here in our special feature article, look through the choices here and vote in the poll at the bottom of the page…

Have you ever wondered about Alvaro’s helmets and their designs? We give you an overview of all the personally designed helmets Alvaro’s been using in his career so far.
And once you’ve found out all about them, you can VOTE for your favourite in our exclusive poll here…

Alvaro started his world championship career as a wildcard in 2002 with the helmet sponsor NZI. It’s a relatively small Spanish company that isn’t too well-known outside the Iberian Peninsula, but they sponsored a lot of Spanish racing stars in the past and Alvaro stayed with them for six seasons.

His first personal NZI helmet in 2002 was designed to match his Atletico Madrid livery back then and it made a great looking complete package. Alvaro wore that helmet for all races in the Spanish Championship that year and his wildcard entries in Catalunya and Jerez. His mascot at the time was already a devil, albeit not looking much like the mascot he has nowadays. He wore a differently designed helmet for his wildcard at the Valencian GP which was most likely a regular design of NZI’s product line that year.

2003 was Bati’s first full season in the 125cc world championship and his NZI Vitesse helmet design was a pretty simple one at that time. But the silver base design with black, red and blue elements, topped off with stickers of his name, number and mascot already bore some resemblance to his design in the following years. It’s interesting to note that for the first two races of the 2003 season Alvaro’s mascot was not a devil but instead the head of a bull with fire coming out of its nostrils. The inaugural Spanish championship round in Catalunya was the first time we saw the fun devil mascot that Alvaro still has today.

In 2004 Bati wore the same helmet as in 2003 for the first race in South Africa and in various practice sessions throughout the year, but at the Jerez GP he unveiled the trademark helmet design which should stay with him until the end of his championship winning season in 2006. Although the design stayed the same (bar a few very minor variations of colours and shapes) the helmet was further developed by NZI and Alvaro promoted the NZI Vitesse and NZI Razer II with this design during the years.

There were only two different designs during that time. The first was a special one-off helmet for the Valencian GP 2004 which – along with Alvaro’s leathers – had a slightly different colour scheme to represent the Spanish flag. And Alvaro’s championship helmet which he wore during the Japanese GP in 2006 and during the practice sessions of the following Portuguese and Valencian GP was a modified version of his normal design with a large number 1 on each side.

With his move to the 250cc class in 2007 Alvaro also changed his helmet design completely. His new NZI Spyder III helmet, designed by the Spanish company Zero Racing, now matched his blue and white livery much better. A blue and silver base colour with dominant red details and tribal features made the perfect addition to the rest of his safety gear. An interesting detail of the first helmets he wore that year are the colours of the Spanish flag incorporated on top of the helmet. However, these were not used in all GPs that year and the replicas sold by NZI do not include the Spanish flag either.

2008 saw not only a colour change for the Aspar Team, but also a change of helmet sponsor for Alvaro as he switched to Suomy. His first personalised design of the Suomy Spec 1R, created by Bargy Design, wasn’t used for long though. The very bold blue, red and white design tries to play with Alvaro’s devil mascot and features two stylised devil heads on the back and the top of the helmet. The helmets used by Alvaro in the races also have his name embedded in the design on the back. However, due to a company policy of Suomy this is not a feature of the replicas sold to the public. Suomy replicas in general do not include the personal numbers or names of the riders, these are only made specifically for their sponsored riders.

Already in Mugello, the 6th Grand Prix of the 2008 season, Alvaro began to wear his new 2009 design regularly. Considering his red & white livery since the start of 2008, the mostly red and silver 2009 Spec 1R design fit much better in the combination and he kept the helmet all throughout last year as well. Just like with the 2008 helmet the race version of the 2009 helmet also has a stylised “Bautista” on the backside which is not included in the replicas sold by Suomy. This design and all special one-off helmets during the 2008 and 2009 season were created by the Italian company Starline Designers.

Special designs 2008 & 2009
Alvaro wore different helmets on three occasions in 2009 – Catalunya, Misano and Valencia – and one time in 2008 for the Jerez GP

His unique helmet design for Catalunya showed comic characters of Don Quixote and Sancho Pansa on the back and a grim-looking windmill on top of the helmet. Alvaro’s hometown Talavera de la Reina lies in Castilla La-Mancha where the story of the book Don Quixote takes place which is a big part of La Mancha’s culture. Bati said about the design: “It is a design that I like a lot, it’s very original. Don Quixote is from La Mancha, like me, and we say that he was a bit of a crazy hero, a knight who went out to fight on his horse. He fought against wind mills, I fight against other riders.”

At the San Marino GP 2009 Alvaro wore a helmet during the race which appears to be a regular design of Suomy’s 2010 product range and is called “Wall Street”.

The very simple design of Alvaro’s helmet at the Valencian GP 2009 was a tribute to his team manager and good friend Jorge Martinez Aspar. Since it was already clear by the time that Alvaro would not continue his career with the Aspar Team, he wanted to honour the man who helped him become 125cc world champion in 2006 and fight for the 250cc crown multiple times. The helmet is a replica of the design Aspar wore during his active racing career and features a personal dedication from Alvaro to Jorge and his entire team.

The helmet design Alvaro presented at the Jerez GP 2008 featured a red and yellow Spanish colour combination with two big “B”s for Bautista on the side of the helmet and his mascot on the back. Unfortunately this special design did not bring him any luck as he had an engine seizure during the race which cost him the win.

The future

Bati will stay with helmet sponsor Suomy for the 2010 season, his first one in the MotoGP class. His newest design which we saw for the first time at the Sepang test earlier this month looks similar to the Jerez 2008 helmet in its pattern idea with the two “B”s on the sides, but its colour scheme is much brighter, featuring the Rizla Suzuki baby blue mixed with very colourful pink and yellow elements. Alvaro’s newest helmet design is again created by Bargy Designs.