Spanish journalist Mela Chércoles sat down with Álvaro ahead of the first official test of the 2012 season which gets underway at Sepang this week to ask him a few things about last year, this year, Honda, Suzuki, CRT, Simoncelli and rekindled passion. Below you can find the complete translation.

Alvaro Bautista arrived on Saturday in Malaysia for the Sepang test, starting on Tuesday, “with renewed enthusiasm”, the result of having left behind the calamities of Suzuki to ride a bike like Stoner. The Malaysian city of Kuala Lumpur again welcomes Bautista, but this time the Talaverano brings a suitcase filled with more hope than ever. In his box at Sepang the promising 1000cc Honda RC213V, inherited from Simoncelli, awaits him instead of the slow train that was the Suzuki.

First pic of Álvaro's 1000cc Honda in Sepang. Photo: Twitter Álvaro Bautista

You’re radiating a sense of complete bliss. Is that the case?
I have renewed passion, because this season is a big change in my career and I face it with great enthusiasm, very eager to start and with the goal to ​​continue working as usual, but now with a good base before I even begin. That’s always more motivating than when you know you start on the back foot. With the Honda this is not the case.

Did you feel the winter was very long?
Honestly no, because I’ve been very focused on preparing as good as possible and had to undergo surgery to remove the nail which they put in in the fractured femur from Qatar.

And what a nail. It was like 42 centimetres, right?
Yes, it was huge. The size of the femur. For people to get an idea, it was like my whole thigh, from knee to hip.

How did everything go?
Very well and I’m at 100% now, even better than when I had the nail, because I’ve gained some mobility in the leg. I am recovering from the limitations I had.

How did you test that?
Basically with some motocross – carefully, because we already know that it’s dangerous – and cycling, fitness and flexibility exercises. No Supermoto, because now the asphalt is very cold and I do not want to risk a crash. I’m getting stronger, because with the 1000cc I do not know what I’m going to find.

Has Honda already shelled out and given you a Honda CRF for Motocross?
[Laughs] They’re going to.

What goal have you set yourself for this test in Sepang?
I think I’ll have to slow myself down a bit, to curb my enthusiam. [Laughs] The tests in Sepang are very tough – three days, very hot, with a lot of humidity and especially coming from three months without riding a MotoGP bike. Added to this it will be a 1000cc with more power and as on the first day I’ll do laps at the maximum, on the third I’ll be drained, because the muscles are not used to it. We must get the body and mind used to the speed again. Besides, I’ll get to know a new bike and a new team. I didn’t set objectives. Just getting the feeling and enjoy riding. There will be time to push. Now we have to go from little to more, not wanting more than what’s possible.

That’s all fine, but the fastest in this test last year was Simoncelli and that gave him a tremendous motivation…
[Laughs] It’s always nice to be ahead, even if it’s only in a test. But right now I have still a lot to learn, because it is a new bike, 1000cc instead of 800cc, and a new team. Moreover there’ll be the novelty that I will ride the forks and rear suspension from Showa instead of Öhlins, as the others. And to that you also have to adapt.

Álvaro on the 800cc Honda during the Valencia test in November 2011. Photo: Gresini Racing

Are you worried that your Honda uses Showa and not Öhlins like Stoner and Pedrosa?
It is a proposal they made and, after thinking it through, it may have more pros than cons if all goes well, because Showa has been the suspension for Honda forever, except the last two years. The bad thing is that we will not have data from other riders. I’ll be the only one and have to make my way alone, but I’m used to this after my two years at Suzuki. Now it won’t be a whole bike, only the suspension and I made the final decision.

It helped the decision that your crew chief Antonio Jiménez has experience with Showa…
Yes. He has worked extensively with Showa and when he was with Melandri he saw that there was not much difference between Öhlins and Showa, neither regarding laptimes nor the feeling for the rider. Also, Showa is almost owned by Honda and its suspension brand of a lifetime.

Inevitable question: Have you been in contact with Gresini and do you feel they’ve absorbed the loss of Simoncelli yet?
We’ve spoken a few times on the phone to send best wishes for the holidays, but I talked more with Toni Jiménez, who is my technician and has already been at HRC testing the bikes and told me about the feeling he had. It seems that the team is once again completely and very excited about this project. I noticed that also with the sponsors. It’s always hard to forget what happened last year, but right now people are eager to smile again.

Will you carry a 58?
Of course, Marco’s 58 will be on the bike, leathers or helmet.

Does it give you a bad feeling to be the substitute for a deceased rider?
Wherever Marco is, he’d want the best for the team with which he made his debut in MotoGP and with which he took his first podium. It doesn’t give me a bad feeling at all. These things happen and that’s it. We don’t have to delve into it. Marco is in our memories and in our hearts, so we try to do a good season and dedicate it to him. The day I get my first podium in MotoGP it will be for him. Now we must prepare well to try to get on the podium in this category.

Last year you were well-liked among the grid and most were glad of your good results with Suzuki, the fifth places. Is that no longer so?
[Laughs again] Yes, sure I saw that some were glad when I took a fifth place with Suzuki, but I don’t care what people think of me. Moreover, I hope this year they won’t get along with me because I beat those who say: ‘Oh look, how nice, the poor little thing has finished seventh’. But let’s see how I feel with the Honda. I have worked hard during the winter to prepare as good as possible.

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Bautista also talked about the arrival of the CRT, the bikes with engines derived from the series and a prototype chassis. “The CRTs will be a test. They want to cut costs, like in Moto2, and if that’s successful it’s not a bad idea. I’m not saying they are dangerous. If they are too slow, then in a race they’ll get the blue flag and will be passed. It will be more or a problem in practice… But what matters is not the bike but the riders, because some coming to MotoGP lack the experience for the category. We’ll see what happens.”

And about the 1000cc: “I don’t know how much will change. They tried to cut costs and everything’s been a lot more expensive. The 800cc was a pocket rocket and I don’t know what I’ll find with the 1000cc, but it seems “too much bike” for the show. The people want that in the corners and it’s unnecessary to go 360km/h on the straights. The spectators want passes and see group fights in the races.

Source: AS.com

After the announcement that Barracuda would become an official team sponsor for San Carlo Honda Gresini during the 2012 season, the Italian company has published first photos of the new 2012 bike design with their logo. This is what Álvaro’s Honda RC213V will look like.

In other and less cool news, Álvaro has been dealing with tendinitis in his right arm for about a week now, regularly visiting his physiotherapist to fix the problem before having to leave for the Sepang test which starts in exactly one week. However, Álvaro is confident the arm won’t be a problem for testing, so we keep our fingers crossed he’ll be alright for his first ride on the 1000cc Honda.

And with the pre-season testing finally upon us in just a short time, it’s been announced that most of the CRT teams won’t be testing in Sepang due to financial reasons and will instead be testing in Valencia, Jerez and Aragon while the MotoGP prototypes are out in Malaysia. For the final test in Jerez – the “GP Zero” – all bikes of the class will be on track together for the first time. Here’s a quick overview of the MotoGP test dates still to come.

Sepang I – January 31st to Februay 2nd
Sepang II – February 28th to March 1st
Jerez – March 23rd to March 25th

Photo: Barracuda Facebook Page

What’s been rumoured as 99% certain all week has now been officially confirmed by Suzuki, the company will not compete in the 2012 MotoGP world championship and “temporarily suspend its participation”. Below is the complete press release.

Suzuki Motor Corporation has decided to suspend temporarily its participation in FIM Road Racing Grand Prix MotoGP from 2012.

This suspension is to cope with tough circumstances mainly caused by the prolonged recession in developed countries, a historical appreciation of Japanese Yen and repeated natural disasters.

Having an eye to returning to MotoGP in 2014, Suzuki will now focus on developing a competitive new racing machine for that class.

Suzuki will continue motocross racing activity and support of road racing activities using mass-produced motorcycles, by obtaining FIM homologation and co-operation with the supplier of its development racing kit parts.

Source: Suzuki Racing

This week quite a few Álvaro interviews have been published, mainly stemming from the same interview appointment, but with different snippets being featured.

Álvaro also visited the headquarters of his personal sponsor OID last week and stayed for an interview about his season and the outlook for 2012.

After a long, long, long wait for a confirmation about Álvaro’s future in MotoGP, he finally made the well-publicised switch from the Rizla Suzuki team to San Carlo Honda Gresini last week and will be riding a 1000cc Honda RC213V next season. As this news was coming as a surprise to quite a few fans and even some paddock insiders, we’re aiming to reconstruct how it all came about and assemble most of Bati’s quotes on the matter here to try and give you the full picture.

Following the official announcement that Suzuki and Alvaro won’t be together anymore next season, both the team and Álvaro were very emphatic to point out that there were absolutely no hard feelings on either side, Suzuki would have loved for Álvaro to stay but wishes him all the best in his future and Álvaro for his part pointed out that he felt like leaving his family and was very sad to go, but that his decision was purely based on technical reasons.

Speaking to motogp.com at the second day of testing he said:

“I left Suzuki only because of the technical side, because the people there are fantastic and I’m very happy with the work I did last year and I want to say Sorry to the team, but the technical plan for next year was not the best for me and I thought the best way to have a competitive bike was to change teams and I did that.
Thanks to Suzuki to let me test today and I hope for them the next year will be good for them as well.”

The technical side Álvaro is referring to is of course Suzuki’s plan to start the 2012 season with the same 800cc bike they’ve been competing with this season, if they continue at all. This uncertainty about Suzuki’s stay in the class and a certain disadvantage against the factory 1000cc bikes for at least half of the season – Álvaro later revealed during an interview in his hometown that the offer he got from Suzuki actually included riding the entire season with the 800cc, not just half of it – finally pushed Álvaro towards a switch from Suzuki to another brand.

It’s been no secret that Shuhei Nakamoto, vice-president of the Honda Racing Cooperation (HRC), is very fond of Álvaro and HRC’s marketing manager Livio Suppo already declared a year ago “I’d like to see Álvaro on a Honda”. When Álvaro started to show his excellent pace again this year, especially in the second part of the season, and having shouldered all the development of the bike as the sole rider for Suzuki, interest in him was again very high and peaked with offers from almost all satellite teams in the class, from Honda, Yamaha and Ducati.
Initially strongly linked to the Tech3 Yamaha ride and being on top of Herve Poncharal’s wish list together with Andrea Dovizioso, it eventually was the Italian who signed with the French squad as Álvaro was still waiting for official confirmation from Suzuki about their plans for next season and delayed his own decision in favour of them over and over again. It was clear that he believed in the potential of the bike and the team and honestly wanted to stay with the factory if at all possible. But finally he had waited enough and knowing for sure that Suzuki’s 1000cc project won’t be ready in time and he’d have to compete with the 800cc bike in the 2012 season, he made the decision to leave the team to try and get a competitive 1000cc bike instead.

With the Yamaha offer gone, this could ideally only be a Honda, which appeared to be the strongest bike this year, and Lucio Cecchinello’s LCR Honda team seemed like the most likely option for Álvaro to chose. But his hope in a swift decision by Suzuki was not yet lost and at Sepang ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix HRC’s Shuhei Nakamoto and Rizla Suzuki’s project manager Shinichi Sahara agreed on a gentleman’s deal that Honda would not sign up any other rider for LCR before Suzuki had announced their plans, not only about their sport project, but also if they’d stay in the class at all. Honda was going to wait for Álvaro’s decision, making him the most important piece in the remaining silly season puzzle, putting all other rider decisions on hold as well.

Summarizing the long time of waiting, Álvaro told Bikesportnews:

“For me, I was waiting four months, but for sure in the last two weeks there was more pressure, because I lost the chance to go with Yamaha just to wait on Suzuki and then when it was the same situation, nothing clear, I had to find other teams that don’t remain with the 800c bike, because next year it will be quite impossible to be competitive [with 800cc]. Next year I want to ride a 1000cc bike.”

According to MCN’s Matthew Birt, Álvaro admitted in Valencia that he’d have left Suzuki even if he’d known for sure they’d stay in the class, because he didn’t want to ride an 800cc bike when everyone else was out on 1000cc machines. So by Sepang Álvaro’s decision to leave Suzuki and join LCR was almost certain with both Honda and Cecchinello eager to sign him for the team while Suzuki were still unsure about their plans and only about to make an announcement on that weekend. But then the fateful second lap happened.

Following the tragic death of Marco Simoncelli at the Malaysian Grand Prix, contract negotiations were the last thing on anyone’s mind and Suzuki delayed their decision once again and Álvaro was again back to waiting.

Yet, despite the tragic circumstances, the now empty seat in the Gresini garage added a new puzzle piece to the silly season. Honda was still eager to sign Álvaro. And Fausto Gresini now had him high on his wish list to ride one of his bikes. Even his main team sponsor, snack manufacturer San Carlo, would’ve been happy with Álvaro as the new ambassador for their chips and snacks as they are planning to expand their business to Spain.

Everything looked to be set for Álvaro to join the Gresini team as the Valencian Grand Prix came around. But the chequered flag at the track was waved and despite things seemingly being settled already, three tough days of negotiations began. First Spanish journalist Mela Chercoles reported on Monday that Suzuki was putting pressure on Álvaro to stay with them or they’d leave the class if he goes. That issue was seemingly sorted quickly when they gave Álvaro a free pass from testing on Tuesday to further negotiate with Honda while Randy De Puniet was riding the Suzuki. However, another hurdle allegedly was the LCR team, since Lucio Cecchinello was still very keen to have Álvaro join his team after he had already left the seat free for him following the Sepang agreement between Nakamoto and Sahara.

But Nakamoto and Honda rather wanted to place Álvaro with the Gresini team. On the one hand for emotional reasons, to give the team a new challenge to look forward to and bring back some joy. Dorna boss Carmelo Ezpeleta also expressed his satisfaction about the Gresini-Bautista pairing in a radio interview with Onda Cero for the same reason, saying that the team is still grieving, but that it’s a big motivation and uplift for them now, having secured Álvaro as their new rider and looking forward to the coming season again.
On the other hand HRC was eager to see Álvaro ride with Gresini for financial reasons, because the team has much better sponsor financing than LCR, which makes it possible for them to give Àlvaro a better satellite bike, almost factory-spec. Not like the factory bike Marco would have ridden, who was directly employed by Honda, but still with certain privileges.

Having “lost” Álvaro to Gresini, the deal was finally also made easier for LCR by the strong test with Stefan Bradl who now looks certain to sign a contract with them for next season and as a German rider will likely get a lot of backing from Dorna to help LCR out.

It’s been stressful negotiations in the end and Álvaro was happy when everything was over and he was finally out on the bike:

“Yesterday I was very nervous, but tonight was the best I have slept in days. It’s been some very hard days for me, the last three days. Many people and myself have worked a lot to get this chance, to come here. But in the end I can come here and I’m very happy to be here next year, with this team and this bike. I’m looking forward to start testing with the new bike and I’ll do my maximum.”

Well aware that the position in the Gresini team was only available because of the tragedy in Malaysia, Álvaro is eager to honour Marco’s memory with good results next year.

“Sure I couldn’t come to this team without the tragedy that happened to Marco and it is certainly not the best way to do this. I would like to do a good year to be happy with myself and to do a good job for the team. But more than anything I want to do a good job for Marco. I will try my best to stay in the same position he was achieving.”

In the past Álvaro had many altercations with Simoncelli on and off track, but as he also wrote in his emotional farewell letter to Marco after Malaysia, the two got closer again this year: “There were some issues between Marco and I when we raced 250′s together, but this season we became closer, often talking about whether to race in Japan or not. I discovered a really nice person. He could be tough on the track, but you could also joke with him in the paddock.”

Aside from riding to honour the memory of Marco, who he battled with until the last moments of his life, competing with a new bike and a new team next year, Álvaro’s goal is clearly marked: “To do the best I can, evolve as a rider and take a step forward.” And his team and new boss Fausto Gresini believe in his potential, with Gresini claiming: “If a rider gets on one of my Hondas, it will only be because I’m seriously interested in them.”

The first contact on Wednesday with the team and his new crew chief, Spaniard Antonio Jimenez, was very positive for both sides and Álvaro is happy with how the day of testing went.

Today was only to get the feeling, to try the new bike, to make contact with the team and I think it was very positive, because I can now understand how this bike works, it’s very different from the Suzuki. It’s good for the mind, because next time out at the Sepang test I’ll arrive with a more clear situation than today, because I’ll know how the bike is and I know more or less what I have to expect there. But today everything was new for me and I think we did well, because it was only to ride the bike, not chasing laptimes, but only getting the feeling, getting feedback and just having fun with the bike.“

Asked to compare the 800cc Honda with his Suzuki, he pointed out that it is indeed a “very, very different bike”, but that he felt comfortable on it from the first moment and is looking forward to test the 1000cc version at the Sepang test, starting on January 31st.

The crew of alvarobautista.co.uk would like to wish Álvaro and his new team all the best for the coming season and looks forward to see the number 19 back at the pointy end of the field more often.
Likewise all the very best wishes to his former Rizla Suzuki team and all its team members, who’ve worked relentlessly to make Suzuki that much more competitive in the last two years and always supported Álvaro in every situation, making even the bad times look a little brighter. They have also helped to improve Álvaro’s English by leaps and bounds, for which we are very grateful. Thanks for everything.

Update: Today it’s been reported in several media outlets, most notably GPWeek and GPOne, that Suzuki has pulled out of the 2012 MotoGP season and did in fact not miss the deadline set by Dorna. Team boss Paul Denning has contacted all team members on Friday that they would likely have to look for a new job. However, as of now there’s been no official confirmation, neither by Suzuki nor by Dorna.

Sources: Marca1, Marca2, Twitter Matthew Birt, motogp.com, GPOne, MCN, GPWeek, AS.com, Telecinco, Bikesportnews.com, Sport.es, BBC Blog Azi Farni
Photos by Ben Davies for ©Smartfotos.co.uk

Rizla Suzuki regretfully announces the departure from the team of current rider Álvaro Bautista

Bautista joined Suzuki for the start of the 2010 season, making his racing debut at Qatar. He has been a popular rider with the team as well as establishing himself as a firm favourite with the fans due to his racing spirit and infectious smile. During his two seasons with Suzuki he has recorded top five finishes and put his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R on the front row of the grid. Bautista has been the solo rider in the team in 2011 and has been an asset in the improvements to the bike and the huge potential it is now showing.

Suzuki Motor Corporation, all members of the MotoGP team, title sponsor Rizla and the team’s other sponsors and partners would like to wish Bautista well in his future career and every success and happiness in his personal life, and everyone in the Rizla Suzuki squad would like to thank him for the two years of hard work, loyalty and commitment that he has given the team.

Álvaro Bautista: “I am very sad to be leaving Suzuki after the two great years that I have had here. It has been a great team to work in and I have learnt a lot of things from everyone in the team. It was a fantastic experience working with an English/Japanese team and we have become like a big family, except we have never had any arguments and no-one falls out with each other! I want to thank everybody personally for the last two years, sometimes it has been difficult, but nobody ever gave up and I felt like I always had their full support and commitment. I don’t feel like I am leaving a team, but a group of friends that I hope I will know for a long time. I want to say a special thank-you to Tom, Paul, Ken san and Sahara san, and wish them and the rest of the team all the best for the future.”

Source: Rizla Suzuki

It’s not the time to stop the presses just yet, but things have evolved rather quickly during the first day of MotoGP testing at Valencia today.

Originally scheduled to test Suzuki’s 800cc machine both today and tomorrow as he’s still under contract until the end of the year, Álvaro finally was not on track at all, instead getting a pass from Suzuki to continue negotiations with the Honda Gresini team about a factory-supported 1000cc RC213V for next season, the bike that Marco Simoncelli would have ridden. The main objection for the deal seemed to be Italian main sponsor San Carlo who is eager to get an Italian rider on the bike for maximum promotion in their main market Italy. That Italian was originally rumoured to be Andrea Iannone and he was set to test the bike today, but wasn’t able to meet up with Honda bosses in time to get the go ahead. It’s unclear if he might still test the bike tomorrow.
In the meantime Álvaro might have already snatched that ride away from under him as according to paddock rumours San Carlo would actually be fine with Álvaro joining the Gresini Team as Michele Pirro is the main candidate to ride the CRT entry of the team, providing the Italian passport San Carlo is looking for.

At the time of writing this no official announcement has been made by Álvaro or the Gresini Team, but most paddock insiders assume it’s more or less a done deal, only being delayed to wait on the approval from HRC. Álvaro also had the offer to ride with the LCR Honda team, but the perpetually cash-strapped team would prefer a rider bringing some much need sponsor money with him and Moto2 world champion Stefan Bradl has been testing their 800cc bike today, already posting rather impressive laptimes on it and he might be able to bring his sponsor Viessmann along to support the team financially. Putting another nationality on the list with a German rider in the MotoGP class would certainly also make series promoter Dorna more than happy and might add further support for the LCR-Bradl combination.

Meanwhile Álvaro’s Suzuki did not get dusty in the garage, instead Randy De Puniet took it for a ride and clocked some impressive laptimes, finishing the day in fourth position on the time sheets. According to the official announcement, Suzuki was simply looking to get “another rider’s perspective” on the bike’s potential, but considering the good job he was doing in only his first time out, it certainly seems very likely for De Puniet to sign with the team for 2012.
Earlier today it was reported by Spanish journalist Mela Chercoles that Suzuki was putting pressure on Álvaro to stay with them and threatening to leave the class if he left them. With De Puniet a possible candidate and John Hopkins on standby, that pressure seems to have faded and in case Álvaro does sign with Gresini, we might already see him on track tomorrow.

Suzuki also received a deadline from Dorna to finalize and officially confirm their plans until Friday, putting pressure on the factory to make a decision. Although it is highly likely they stay, it’s so far still unknown whether or not Suzuki will continue in the class at all.

The final day of testing tomorrow should bring some announcements and hopefully an official confirmation of Álvaro’s plans for 2012.

We’ll keep you updated.

Sources: AS, Rizla Suzuki, MCN, Twitter AziFarni / Motomatters / MarietaBorreda / MOTOCI_Maroto

First Japan, then Phillip Island, then Sepang. Now the Valencian Grand Prix in Cheste this weekend is truly and inevitably the last opportunity for Suzuki to finally make a decision and announce the plans for their 2012 project in the MotoGP class, determining the main impact on Álvaro’s immediate professional future.

After the tragic events in Malaysia just over a week ago the much anticipated decision was understandably delayed once more as there were more important matters on everyone’s mind, mourning the loss of a fellow rider.

But since then no information has come forth from Suzuki and the official press release of the team gives no hint on what the future may hold, both of which might not be a good sign. Waiting until the last Grand Prix of the season to decide whether or not to stay in the class at all and if so, with what kind of bike, for one doesn’t show a very strong commitment of Suzuki to the class and secondly doesn’t indicate that much effort has been put into the 1000cc bike to be ready in time for next season. If they had, surely there would have been an announcement made much earlier.

All of which would lead to the assumption that it’s more likely now for Suzuki to quit their MotoGP project for the time being and that Álvaro would subsequently move to the LCR team with a factory Honda RC213V, which at the moment looks to be a very competitive bike once again and certainly would be a good opportunity to Álvaro to convert his potential into regular podium challenges on competitive machinery.

As pointed out previously, moving to the LCR team would still only be the second option for Álvaro despite the competitive bike, simply because it’s a satellite team and he’d like to stay with a factory and have direct input on the development. Moreover, the LCR team is not too well-funded, especially after the abysmal season they had this year, and to be able to finance the factory-spec Honda, Álvaro might have to attract a few new sponsors for the team. Finally, with regards to the bad year the 2010 Moto2 world champion Toni Elias currently has with the team, some negative rumours about the communication between rider and crew chief as well as the mindset of the team have surfaced throughout the season, throwing a slightly darker light on the team’s ability to support their rider to achieve the best results possible. However, these are only rumours and if Álvaro was to move to LCR it’s not known whether he could possibly even take any of his current crew members with him.

It’s been an extraordinarly long silly season this year and with the final race approaching there are still many seats free for taking. But after expecting a decision several times before, this weekend there really won’t be any more delaying and we’ll finally find out about what bike Álvaro will ride next year.

We’ll keep you updated.