A heavy thunderstorm and rain cut short the final day of testing at Sepang today, robbing the MotoGP riders of the final 40 minutes of the afternoon session and the possibility to push once more for a good laptime.

Álvaro finished the day in 9th position, again improving on his fastest laptime from the previous day by just over half a second, clocking a personal best of 2.01’384. This put him 1,777 seconds behind fastest man Casey Stoner, increasing his gap to the front considerably compared to the first two days.

However, this was also due to Stoner again completely blitzing the competition and posting a new circuit record with only his second lap early in the day. Álvaro also set his fastest time in only his eighth lap during the morning session. He’s not been out on track for several hours in the afternoon after the lunch break and had only started to complete a few more laps before some mighty clouds and the thunderstorm arrived.

This leaves his tally at 34 laps on the final day, a dozen less than yesterday. His main focus for the day lay on geometry issues to improve his feeling on the bike and make him more comfortable to push.

The second test of the 2012 preseason will again be held at Sepang, starting on February 28th and lasting for three days until 1st of March.

Results Table: motogp.com

Despite constant training, surgeries to fix old and new injuries and the general dealings of the off-season, MotoGP riders usually have a little more time on their hands during the winter than they have during the season. Time to meet up with sponsors for example. Or shoot commercials for said sponsors.

This is at least what Álvaro did in January when he went to a Madrid suburb for a day to shoot his very first TV spot as a Gresini Honda rider for the team’s sponsor Prink, a vendor of printer cartridges.

There’s a bit of “acting” involved in this one, but we’d vote for Álvaro not to give up his day job just yet to wander off to Hollywood. What do you think?

Photo: Gresini Racing

Team San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Alvaro Bautista enjoyed a positive second day of the first preseason testing session in Malaysia today, the Spanish rider continuing to gather confidence with the Honda RC213V, his first 1000cc Grand Prix motorcycle, taking nearly a second off his best laptime from yesterday.

The majority of today’s programme was focused on the first part of the day as Bautista sprinted out of the garage in the morning to take advantage of the slightly cooler temperature, avoiding too much track action during the hottest part of the afternoon. From 11 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. the searing heat makes it more difficult to achieve a good lap time. It was in the slightly cooler afternoon – the track is open until 6:00 p.m. – that the Spaniard recorded his best time, on the 45th of 46 laps.

The main job was to establish a way forward so that Bautista could gradually improve on his lap times from yesterday and set out a clear programme for tomorrow’s final day. It has been a positive test so far and the atmosphere within the team is one of determination and confidence.

Alvaro Bautista (2.01’993 – 46 laps): “The second day of the test has seen us improve our lap times slightly but above all put together a consistent pace over a series of outings. Today I had more confidence with the bike and I was able to push with more conviction, which I am particularly pleased about. We have tried some things with the electronics and some setting solutions that will give us an idea of what we need to do tomorrow. I am sure that we can improve the bike and my riding significantly. Obviously I need to get used to riding a ‘thousand’ because it has different characteristics to an 800, mainly in that it has more power and you have to use that in a different way. I have been able to see how professional this team is. They are doing a great job so that gives me confidence for tomorrow, when we will try to take another step forward.”

Source: Gresini Racing

Photo: Gresini Racing

Álvaro and his fellow MotoGP riders have completed another busy day in the hot Malaysian conditions at the Sepang circuit. Throughout the day Álvaro stayed in a similar position as yesterday, but shaved off almost a second of his fastest laptime from Tuesday and closed the gap to the front slightly.

After completing 46 laps in total he finished the day in 8th position, moving up the order one place, with a best time of 2.01’933. With that he was just over a second behind fastest man Casey Stoner, but very close to 6th position.

Results table: motogp.com

As the preseason testing for the 2012 championship finally began at Sepang today, here are a few photos of Álvaro and his new 1000cc Honda RC213V out on track for the first time.

Photo Copyright: Honda Pro Images, Gresini Racing

Álvaro out on track with the 1000cc Honda for the first time. Photo: Gresini Racing

Shortly before lunchtime Alvaro Bautista took to the circuit on board the Honda RC213V for a shakedown that became more and more encouraging as the laps went by. By the end of the session he had completed 45 circulations of the Malaysian track, with some impressive lap times and a positive early feel for the Honda RC213V.

Alvaro Bautista (2’ 02” 869 – 45 laps) “This was my first day on the RC213V and I am very pleased with it because I instantly felt comfortable riding a ‘thousand’. Obviously after a three-month break from racing it is not easy to get back out there because you have to reset your mind and body to the task and rediscover your pace. We have worked on adapting the bike to my riding style and I have just tried to get confident without worrying about lap times at this early stage. I am satisfied because I am working well with the team and everybody is putting in a lot of effort. Over the next two days we will work on general set-up and the electronics but I am already feeling positive because we are not too far off the fastest times and we haven’t started pushing yet.”

Source: Gresini Racing