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?
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
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.
Interesting video interview with Europa Press in which Álvaro talks about his switch to Gresini Honda, the loss of Simoncelli and expecations for next season. In Spanish.
Troy Lee Designs and Rizla Suzuki’s Álvaro Bautista are showing their on-going support for the relief efforts following the tragic events in Japan earlier this year, by holding an auction for the actual custom painted Shoei helmets worn by Álvaro Bautista during the USGP races in Laguna Seca and Indianapolis. Proceeds from the auction will go to the Japanese Red Cross Society.
The auction begins today, September 1, and will run for 10 days, ending Sunday, September 11.
You can check out the auction on eBay here.
This beautiful paint-scheme has been created by Troy Lee Designs’ Japanese designer Maki Ushiroyama and features all the flags of the fourteen countries on the MotoGP calendar, with pride of place going to the Japanese ‘Nisshōki’ or ‘Hinomaru’ – as it is more commonly known – on the top of the helmet. The colors of all nations is to represent the global support for Japan following the tragedy in March and an added message in Japanese translates as ‘Ganbare Nippon’, which literally means ‘Cheer up Japan, do your best and don’t give up!’ This is the actual helmet worn and raced at Laguna by Team Rizla Suzuki rider, Álvaro Bautista, and features some road rash after low-siding his Suzuki GSV-R while battling for a top six finish. The helmet is personally signed by Álvaro Bautista and Troy Lee.
Because the helmet was worn by Álvaro at Laguna Seca, where he crashed out of the race, there is visible damage to the shell. The helmet should only be used for display, not to be worn as protection for motorcycle riding, since the integrity is now compromised.
Donations received through your country’s Red Cross or Red Crescent Society will be used for Japanese Red Cross relief and early recovery activities, for example, for the purchase of a set of electric household appliances for people moving into purpose-built temporary houses and the provision of specially-equipped beds for elderly people who requires special care. As of 18 August 2011, JPY 40.6 billion (USD 529 million) has been donated through National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies around the world.
Alvaro’s leather sponsor Rev’it! produced a comic strip for their 2011 catalogue at the end of last year which features both their sponsored MotoGP riders Randy De Puniet and Alvaro Bautista. After first only publishing it on their website, Rev’it! now also published the video comic strip and the Making Of on their YouTube channel for you to enjoy.
Alvaro’s been the guest in the Spanish TV programme “Tonterias las Justas” today, a show that can get rather silly sometimes, but obviously Alvaro was enjoying himself and it is great fun to watch even if you don’t speak any Spanish…
