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.

It’s the penultimate round of the 2011 MotoGP world championship and it is still not clear where Álvaro will ride next season. Or if Suzuki will stay. Or if they do, with what bike.

Originally said to make a decision before Japan, then after Japan, then until Phillip Island, Suzuki delayed the decision on whether or not they’ll compete in MotoGP next season over and over again. But this weekend the fans and not least the team and rider themselves will finally find out.

Before the track action started in Sepang rumours were ripe that an official announcement from Suzuki – on what their plans for the next season are, if they will stay in MotoGP, when they will bring out the 1000cc bike and who their rider will be – would come as soon as Friday. And that the answers to those questions would likely be “Yes”, “sometime in the middle of 2012″ and “Álvaro Bautista”.

Obviously that announcement hasn’t happened yet and things still remain unclear, getting a little more confusing every day. What has surfaced however is that Shuhei Nakamoto [vice-president of HRC] and Shinichi Sahara [Suzuki project manager] have gotten together for extensive talks on Friday, agreeing on a guaranteed spot in the LCR Honda Team for Àlvaro, should Suzuki not continue or Álvaro not be happy with the sports project they offer which will likely include starting the 2012 season with the current 800cc bike. So at the very least Álvaro has a secured spot in the MotoGP paddock next year and his loyalty to Suzuki and his desire to ride a factory bike won’t completely leave him in the lurch should Suzuki pull out of MotoGP after all. Honda is very interested in Álvaro after the great performance he showed this year on the still underperforming Suzuki and will keep the seat at LCR open until he made his decision, the deal apparently including a factory supported bike.

As time is running out not only for the team but also the rider to be clear about next season, Álvaro has also given Suzuki an ultimatum to finally make their decision until Sunday. He told Marca “When I’m on the bike I do not think about anything, but when I’m away from it I think a lot about my future. And I can not wait much longer. I gave Suzuki a deadline until Sunday. That’s the limit, 48 hours.”

Looking at the current form of the Hondas, the “second-hand” deal to ride with LCR should Suzuki not continue, is hardly a bad option at all. However, Álvaro repeatedly made it clear in the past that he’d like to ride in a factory team and he does put a lot of trust in Suzuki after their recent improvements. Although at Honda the contracts of factory riders Stoner and Pedrosa run out at the end of 2012, at the moment it seems unlikely they would lose their place in the team, hence making it very difficult for Álvaro to get into the Honda factory team. So it still looks like Suzuki would be his preferred option, but everyone keeps waiting for the final decision of the Hamamatsu factory. We shall find out on Sunday.

Speaking of Honda, today’s qualifying threw up a surprising quarrel between two of the usually calmest riders of the MotoGP paddock, Álvaro and Dani Pedrosa. The latter took pole position at Sepang, leading a Repsol Honda clean sweep, but afterwards complained to Spanish television that Álvaro allegedly almost ruined his qualifying by trying to hang on to him and get a tow for a quick lap, stating that Álvaro’s “been annoying for a few races” like that. Asked about that accusation, Álvaro stated “I am not one of those who usually look for a tow, but if I can get a good one, all the better. Besides, if he rides half a second faster than me per lap, why would he care if I follow him… it’s like he’s afraid of me.”
Some Spanish fans pointed out that Pedrosa seemed to be making the statement jokingly, without any malicious intent, and it does seem a bit out of character for him to attack Álvaro of all people, who is far from his enemy, on track or off. However, not everyone took his words lightly and it caused a mild uproar among the Spanish fans. It remains to be seen how the two get along in the future, but if their generally very good-natured behaviour is anything to go by, it shouldn’t be much of a problem for either one of them.

Sources: MotoCuatro.com, Marca.com

With the next Grand Prix at Phillip Island fast approaching, the third-last round of the 2011 MotoGP season, rumours are starting to grow rampant again about Álvaro’s imminent future in the class. As the hottest property still on the rider market after Andrea Dovizioso’s move to Tech3 has finally been officially confirmed today, the silly season is now firmly focused on Álvaro with the drama around Suzuki taking center stage.

Immediately after the Japanese Grand Prix voices from the Suzuki team and paddock insiders sounded at least positive, albeit still completely unsure about Suzuki’s involvement in the 2012 MotoGP season. In the week since then the mood seems to have changed – if not within the team, it still did in the motorcycle media where suddenly voices are getting louder which believe that there won’t be any babyblue bike on next year’s grid after all. If that really proves to be true, it would leave Álvaro and the team in the lurch, punishing Álvaro for the loyalty and faith he’d shown for the factory as one team option after another vanished.

But, as they say: when a door closes, a window opens – and that window might come in form of the LCR Honda team. Lucio Cecchinello has now told Italian magazine GPOne that Àlvaro is his first choice to fill the seat “vacated” by Dovizioso’s move to Tech3, even though he’s also in talks with former LCR rider Randy De Puniet as well as John Hopkins. And as Cecchinello is eager to finalize next year’s lineup quickly, he will announce the final decision within a week.

Lucio Cecchinello: “I really hoped that Andrea would have taken a different decision, but we respect it. Now we will decide within a week the name [of our rider]. Our priority is Álvaro Bautista, who hasn’t decided yet, waiting for the last word from Suzuki. But Carmelo Ezpeleta has told me that at Phillip Island they will know what they want to do in Hamamatsu, then a solution will be near.”

So, one way or another, it looks like we will definitely find out which bike Álvaro will ride next year during this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix. We will keep you updated.

Source: GPOne.com

After it’s been announced this week that Andrea Dovizioso will not continue with Honda next season but instead ride for Tech3 Yamaha, there’s now one seat less up for grabs on the MotoGP market and it also directly affects Álvaro’s choices for next year.

As has been reported previously, he currently has the option to stay at Suzuki, return to his former team with the Aspar Ducati or ride with Pramac Ducati who made him an offer which includes a move into the factory team the following year should he perform well enough in 2012. However, all of these choices come with a caveat.

At Suzuki, even within the team, it is still unknown whether or not the Hamamatsu factory will bring out the 1000cc bike next year, if they’ll continue at all and with how many bikes. According to the latest news the general feeling is “positive” for another year in MotoGP, but time is running out for the team to get the sponsor and rider package together.

It might be too long a wait for Álvaro whose priority it still is to continue with Suzuki as a factory rider, but he is desperate to ride a competitive bike and starting the first 1000cc season on a 800cc bike, which is already struggling against other 800s at the moment, just doesn’t fit that description.

His main other option, now that Dovizioso has taken the remaining Yamaha slot, lies with Ducati. Pramac has made him a two-year offer which would see him move to the factory team, depending on his results with Pramac in 2012. There are no details known about the Aspar offer and things are starting to look a little more shaky there as the Aspar Team is allegedly looking into the option of running a CRT entry next season instead of a satellite Ducati, possibly also continuing with only one rider instead of stocking up to two riders as previously assumed.

Finally, the ride with LCR Honda – which would have included a full factory bike – that Dovizioso has rejected in favour of riding with Tech3 Yamaha, is now again up for grabs as Dovizioso previously looked like the most likely candidate and the favourite for team boss Lucio Cecchinello to go after. At the moment several names are thrown around as to who might ride that bike next season (although it is unclear how much factory support there might still be coming with it), including former LCR rider Randy De Puniet and also Álvaro. Cecchinello has made it clear previously that he prefers to sign a rider who already has MotoGP experience in order to quickly bring good results for the sponsors after the quite abysmal season the team is currently experiencing. For this reason he also dismissed the possibility to bring in current Moto2 rider Stefan Bradl who is now already set to continue for another year in the intermediate class. De Puniet looks like the most logical choice now to return to his former team, but Álvaro is currently a highly sought-after rider in the MotoGP paddock, following his excellent results on the Suzuki this season.

Overall there are still four of this year’s MotoGP teams left who have not finalised their lineup yet – Rizla Suzuki, LCR Honda, Pramac Ducati and Aspar Ducati – and Álvaro has been linked to all of them. Even with only three races remaining in the 2011 season, the silly season is still spinning wildly, with Álvaro right in the middle.
A lot of his decision hinges on the final Suzuki announcement which should hopefully be made before or after the Australian Grand Prix next weekend. Until then everything’s still in the air, but we should finally find out about Álvaro’s future soon. Here’s hoping.

Photo: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

Seemingly not a day goes by at the moment without a journalist asking Álvaro what he’s going to do next year and for which team he’ll be riding in MotoGP.

Consequently, there’s another short interview with him, published today by motocuatro who were talking to him at Motorland Aragon where he had to answer the same question again for several journalists.

One interesting new tidbit however has been the addition of Pramac Ducati to the list of teams that have given Álvaro an offer to ride with them next season. But, in any case, seeing that he also has an offer from Aspar to ride a satellite Ducati, it’s highly unlikely Pramac would be his first choice for next year. That privilege still lies with Suzuki until he finds out for sure about their current 1000cc development.

“I know that Suzuki wants me and want to continue the project with me, but I don’t know with which project; I don’t know what they have and what they don’t have. This week we will talk with them and they will explain it to us, so far I’ve heard that they want me and that the 1000cc is out on track in Japan, but we have nothing on paper that says what their project really is.

I have offers from Tech 3, from Aspar and Pramac, but those are issues that my representative takes care of; at the end I will make the decision, I am the one who knows what I want and what I need. I hope this weekend we will have everything clear about the project of Suzuki and make a decision as soon as possible.

I am clear about the fact that I want to ride a 1000cc, when now with the 800cc we already struggle to follow the guys in front, competing against the 1000cc won’t be good.

The options we have are good, but not the best; the best ones are already taken, but it is true that we are at a good moment of the season, better than the beginning, and we can do a little more.”

Source: motocuatro.com

Qué! has published a short interview with Álvaro ahead of the Aragon Grand Prix this weekend where he talks a bit more about his offers for 2012 and the improvements this season.

The Grand Prix at Aragon is coming up next and your most recent results have raised expectations and hope among the Spanish fans. What are your realistic aspirations for Aragon?
Well, they’re pretty much like always, do my best and get as high up as possible without setting a certain result in mind. My goal is to be fighting with the second group, since the first three now seem unattainable to be fighting for the fourth or fifth place would be very good.

In August you wanted to improve in qualifying and it was said and done. How do you train for something so specific?
It’s complicated, because you really only have one hour of qualifying throughout the weekend. What we have tried was to divide the work; in the free practice sessions trying to find a rhythm and properly prepare the bike and in the qualifying trying to take no prisoners, go to the limit, hanging on to someone to see where you can gain a few thousandths.

How is it for you to be the only Suzuki rider? Do you have more advantages or disadvantages?
Phew, that depends. If I had a very competitive teammate it would be an advantage, because we could share the setup data and between us push to be faster. However, if my partner was slower or more or less at my level it could be a disadvantage, because maybe we would have different opinions, would opt for different paths, then the factory does not know which way to develop the bike… There is no concrete answer, it could be better to have a teammate, but also worse.

Do you use the telemetry data from last year or do you start almost from zero?
We use them, but only a little; the 2010 bike has not much in common with the one now, it is very different with the chassis and weight distribution, so we only use the data to get a rough idea. You have to bear in mind that many times on Friday after just two or three laps we’re already doing the laptimes from last season, so we get more information on location.

The question is obligatory: What about your future?
Well, you know that I have some offers on the table, but I want to stay focused. I hope to make a decision as soon as possible.

And that “as soon as possible” is when?
Well, now I want to be focused on Aragon… the next race is at Motegi … we’ll see if I made a decision before going to Japan.

If you change your team in the end… Does it give you chills to look at the fiasco of Rossi’s departure to Ducati?
Many of us knew that it was going to be very complicated for Valentino. For me it’s the best rider in history, but the Ducati is a motorcycle on which all riders have had problems, except for Stoner. Obviously he has not forgotten how to ride a bike, but it is very difficult to be competitive right away after a change. What it does do for me as an example is to realize how well we’re working at Suzuki, taking steps forward on a bike that has been many years without winning races. Seeing that it’s difficult for Valentino and that things are moving forward for us gives me motivation.

If you had to bet on a winner… Would it be Stoner?
Yes, if I had to risk my money it would be in favor of Stoner, but Lorenzo has no intention of throwing in the towel and he’ll be there to fight until the end.

Finally, what is your opinion about Motegi?
I’m a little… it’s not fear, but there is “something”; you hear a lot of people giving all kinds of opinions, some say it can be very bad, others say that nothing’s going to happen… but okay, there are some reports and we have to trust them.

Source: que.es