As is custom every Tuesday after a race weekend, Alvaro again wrote his column for AS, this time about the Italian Grand Prix. This is the complete translation of his latest column.

Very tired after the post-race test, I write about the race in Mugello. I started well and I did my best laps in MotoGP, but the front tyre gave me trouble. A pity! Heroes Lorenzo, Marquez, Terol and Maverick. A little rest… and Germany.

Greetings Azzurri. Ciao belli! Hi everyone, I am writing from Tuscany in Italy, because we had a test after the Grand Prix. I tried a lot of things and I think we have something positive for the following races, but now I’m dead. Before I start, I have to say how much the Mugello circuit improved, they re-paved it and now there are no bumps, before it looked like a motocross track.

Rain Subscription. Do you know of a place with a drought? Because once you do a MotoGP race there it’ll be solved. Again we had rain during the weekend and it slowed down the setup work. Even in the qualifying the fastest laps were done in the first few minutes because it started raining. This has caught me out, as you say, and I was far behind for the race although I was always in the top ten during the free practice sessions. And that was my goal for the race.

Starting well. I did ​​a good start and first laps, I think they were the best since I’m in this category. When I was sixth I wanted to push to see if I could fight for fifth, but as I forced things I realized that I lost the front tyre in the corners and could not go fast there. So I tried to maintain my position and make sure that no one passed me and my goal was to finish, but Valentino came and got in front of the group to push, I followed him as I could, we even opened a gap to the rest of the group. I was on the limit of the tyre, in fact I made marks on my leathers because I put my elbows on the tarmac a couple of times to support me when I almost crashed. Until in one corner, saving another crash, I had to go straight and lost contact with the group.

Contrasting feelings. What a pity! Because if that hadn’t happened I could have finished between sixth and eighth. I’m happy on the one hand because I fought where we should always be, but on the other hand frustrated because again we couldn’t find the best setting for the race and because of that I went off track. I hope to be able to fight more often further up front.

Front tyre. Other riders also had problems with the front tyre. Cal Crutchlow had to retire because he could not ride and I think also to Stoner something similar happened. This was great for Lorenzo though, because he could catch him and win the race. It gets more interesting the championship.

The other categories. Moto2 saw a great race, very exciting and with a lot of fighting, in which again Marquez showed his talent and won the race in a head-to-head battle with the championship leader Bradl. The German has enough of a lead to afford a second place in the race, but he certainly wanted to win. In fact, on the last lap he did the fastest lap of the race and the lap record. In 125cc it’s clear who’s the boss this year. An impressive Terol after missing Assen with injury. He returns a week later and wins, every time he gets closer to the title, but he must still think from race to race. Maverick was also great, again on the podium. And a lot of Spanish riders at the front.

Little rest. And now a mini vacation for a week, although it’s not much of a vacation as I’ll keep up my physical training to be in perfect condition at Sachsenring. Of course a day off won’t hurt, after doing 87 laps in the test I deserve it… And I’m more motivated for the next race, I hope that what we tested in Mugello will help us in Germany, a very slow circuit which I’d compare to a kart track and where most of the curves are left. Have a nice week and I’ll see you shortly. Greetings.

Source: AS.com

Rizla Suzuki’s Álvaro Bautista saw his hopes of what looked like an impressive finish well inside the top-10 disappear in an instant at Mugello today, when a costly slide almost caused the Spaniard to crash.

Bautista got a superb start from 14th on the grid and was up to ninth by the end of lap one. He then got involved in a five-rider battle for sixth place – a position he held for six consecutive laps – and looked like he was heading for a very strong finish, when a huge front-end slide cost him dearly on lap-16. Bautista fought to save his Suzuki GSV-R, but accidently knocked the gear-lever into neutral and ran off the circuit. He re-joined the race and continued to post consistent laps before finally bringing his Rizla Suzuki home in 13th place.

A colourful crowd of over 83,000 fans packed the Italian circuit under brilliant blue skies, bright sunshine and air temperatures of 29ºC. They witnessed World Champion Jorge Lorenzo take his second victory of the season, with current championship leader Casey Stoner third.

Rizla Suzuki now has a week away from racing before heading to eastern Germany for the ninth round of the MotoGP World Championship that will be held at Sachsenring on Sunday 17th July.

Álvaro Bautista: “It was always going to be a difficult race today because we were starting from the back of the grid and that is never easy. I made a good start and had a couple of strong laps to get up to sixth position. I tried to push to get to the group at the front because they were still close, but I was already starting to have a bit of trouble with the grip from the front of the bike. I nearly crashed two of three times on several corners and my elbow touched down and saved me once! I tried hard to keep my position in the group and my overall feeling was good, even though I couldn’t enter the corners exactly as I wanted to. To finish the race in sixth or seventh today was certainly possible, but as I entered turn 12 I lost the front completely. I went into neutral and went off the track and lost a lot of positions. I am happy with the first part of the race, but disappointed for the last part, because as I said before sixth or seventh was there for us today. We have to remain positive though and to keep heading in the right direction and improve over the next races.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“It has been a disappointing result for everybody, but taking into context where we qualified, today’s race was very encouraging and came closer to showing the true potential of rider and machine. The first five were in a different race today, but to come from 14th on the grid to sixth in the first few laps and to do a 49.4 on the 14th lap – when we qualified at 50.4 on fresh tyres – gives an indication of how much Álvaro stepped his game up this afternoon. I think without doubt Álvaro would have stayed in the fight for sixth place with Valentino right till the end, but we’ll never know now! There is now a strong incentive to get closer to the sharp end in the practices – both in Sachsenring and Laguna – and show more of the fight like we did in Mugello this afternoon.”

Source: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

The race of the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello started very encouraging for Alvaro who made up several positions off the line and rode very competitively inside the second group throughout the race, holding on to sixth place for many laps and looking well in contention to battle for that position until the finish line. But it all ended yet again in desaster when with only a few laps to go he suddenly dropped down the order to 13th, losing many seconds in the process, probably having run off the track somewhere, never able to recover and finishing the race in 13th place. A big disappointment after such a great start and with the warmer temperatures at Mugello finally giving Alvaro the grip he needs.

Tough luck for Alvaro who will now be looking forward to make amends at the next race in Germany.

Pos. Rider Team Time/Gap
1 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing 41’50.089
2 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Repsol Honda Team +0.997
3 Casey STONER Repsol Honda Team +1.143
4 Ben SPIES Yamaha Factory Racing +8.980
5 Marco SIMONCELLI San Carlo Honda Gresini +9.076
6 Valentino ROSSI Ducati Team +26.450
7 Hector BARBERA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP +28.745
8 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team +32.043
9 Colin EDWARDS Monster Yamaha Tech 3 +33.421
10 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team +34.724
11 Hiroshi AOYAMA San Carlo Honda Gresini +37.359
12 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing +43.964
13 Alvaro BAUTISTA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +47.654
14 Randy DE PUNIET Pramac Racing Team +48.840
15 Toni ELIAS LCR Honda MotoGP +1’15.199

Not Classified
35 Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 17 Laps

Glorious sunshine and warm temperatures greeted the riders of all classes this morning for their warmup sessions, making forget yesterday’s rain once again and looking encouraging for the race later today.

It’s also been an encouraging session for Alvaro. After the nightmare qualifying yesterday where he was unable to post a fast lap before the rain came which relegated him to a lowly 14th position on the grid, he showed again in the warmup how much better the Suzuki goes once there’s enough grip. He was well inside the top ten for most of the session, looking quick and competitive and even staying within the top five for some time, but then lost out in the final minutes again. But his pace looks quick enough to fight with the second group in the race although catching up with the factory Hondas and Yamahas is still out of reach.

Pos. Rider Team Time Gap 1st/Prev.
1 Marco SIMONCELLI San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’48.430
2 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Repsol Honda Team 1’48.438 0.008 / 0.008
3 Casey STONER Repsol Honda Team 1’48.480 0.050 / 0.042
4 Ben SPIES Yamaha Factory Racing 1’48.512 0.082 / 0.032
5 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing 1’48.796 0.366 / 0.284
6 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’49.090 0.660 / 0.294
7 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 1’49.148 0.718 / 0.058
8 Colin EDWARDS Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’49.374 0.944 / 0.226
9 Valentino ROSSI Ducati Team 1’49.459 1.029 / 0.085
10 Hiroshi AOYAMA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’49.527 1.097 / 0.068
11 Randy DE PUNIET Pramac Racing Team 1’49.532 1.102 / 0.005
12 Hector BARBERA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP 1’49.623 1.193 / 0.091
13 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’49.749 1.319 / 0.126
14 Alvaro BAUTISTA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1’49.753 1.323 / 0.004
15 Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’49.796 1.366 / 0.043
16 Toni ELIAS LCR Honda MotoGP 1’50.935 2.505 / 1.139

The elements conspired against Álvaro Bautista and the whole MotoGP field today as this afternoon’s qualifying practice fell foul of the weather as sporadic rain again affected the Mugello circuit.

Álvaro Bautista (P14, 1’50.460, 13 laps) had just put a new set of Bridgestone tyres into his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R to set about securing a good qualifying position for tomorrow’s race, when large spots of rain started to fall onto the 5,245m Italian circuit. He returned to the pits hoping the shower would blow over, but the rain intensified and scuppered any chance he had of setting a competitive lap-time. Bautista had looked smooth and confident in this morning’s dry practice session and was consistently inside the top-six as he made adjustments to his bike to get it dialled in for tomorrow’s race. Suzuki’s Spanish star will now be looking for a good start on Sunday afternoon to make up for the disappointment of today’s qualifying and he hopes that he will be able to get in amongst the pack and produce a spirited performance in this weekend’s race.

Only half of this afternoon’s hour-long qualifying session produced conditions anywhere near good enough to set a fast lap-time on slick tyres and current championship leader Casey Stoner used that time to good effect to set pole position, his fifth from eight races.

Tomorrow’s 23-lap race gets underway at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT) with Bautista and the rest of the MotoGP field hoping for better conditions to produce a good spectacle for the thousands of fans expected to fill the hillsides around the Tuscan circuit tomorrow.

Álvaro Bautista: “Terrible is the only word I can use to explain what this afternoon was! This morning I had a good session and felt like the bike was working well. We tried a different setting to give me less movement in the corners and we made a good step forward with this. This afternoon though the conditions were horrible because it rained a bit before the start of the session and then it stopped, so I started with a used tyre just to check the track, but maybe I spent too long out there with that. When we put in the new tyres to get a good lap it started raining, so it was difficult to set a fast time. We are near the back of the grid and I will try my best to make a good start tomorrow. I have a nice rhythm from this morning and I have to forget about this afternoon, even though it was important to get a good grid position – that has gone now – and I must try my best in the race and see what happens!”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“We showed good potential this morning with Álvaro inside the top-six for a large part of the session and he was still doing reasonable times right at the end on tyres with race distance already on them. We should have at least been in the low 49s this afternoon with the new tyres – and on the third row at worst – but the timing of our pit-stop to change to new tyres this afternoon couldn’t have been worse as the rain started to increase. Álvaro also couldn’t get the feeling he needed to push harder on the slightly greasy track, so he couldn’t improve his time before the heavy rain fell. It’s been a disappointing afternoon and we are looking for a significant improvement – both in the position and hopefully the weather – in the race tomorrow.”

Source: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

Fortunately the MotoGP riders could enjoy another fully dry session this morning and refine their setups for the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello. All but two riders improved their laptimes from yesterday with Jorge Lorenzo doing an absolute scorcher in the final seconds of the practice to smash the previous pole position record at the track, set with qualifying tyres.

Alvaro looked good throughout the entire session, staying in 8th for most of the time before being relegated to 10th in the final minutes.

Pos. Rider Team Time Gap 1st/Prev.
1 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing 1’48.080
2 Marco SIMONCELLI San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’48.411 0.331 / 0.331
3 Casey STONER Repsol Honda Team 1’48.734 0.654 / 0.323
4 Ben SPIES Yamaha Factory Racing 1’49.072 0.992 / 0.338
5 Colin EDWARDS Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’49.078 0.998 / 0.006
6 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Repsol Honda Team 1’49.132 1.052 / 0.054
7 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 1’49.756 1.676 / 0.624
8 Valentino ROSSI Ducati Team 1’49.889 1.809 / 0.133
9 Randy DE PUNIET Pramac Racing Team 1’49.985 1.905 / 0.096
10 Alvaro BAUTISTA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1’49.994 1.914 / 0.009
11 Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’50.002 1.922 / 0.008
12 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’50.296 2.216 / 0.294
13 Hiroshi AOYAMA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’50.440 2.360 / 0.144
14 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’50.859 2.779 / 0.419
15 Toni ELIAS LCR Honda MotoGP 1’51.043 2.963 / 0.184
16 Hector BARBERA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP 1’51.145 3.065 / 0.102

Rizla Suzuki’s Álvaro Bautista took full advantage of the favourable weather this morning to post a competitive time and put him in a position to make further advances at Mugello this weekend.

Bautista (P10, 1’50.658, 20 laps) was regularly in the top-10 during the morning free practice session that was held in bright sunshine and temperatures of 26ºC – stark contrast to the last two races at Silverstone and Assen. Unfortunately this afternoon’s practise was heavily influenced by a short, sharp downpour of rain that dampened the whole of the 5,245m Italian circuit just before the session began. The damp, but drying track made conditions very difficult and most riders chose not to venture out until very late in the session.

After the chilly conditions of the previous two races it a pleasure for all concerned to be greeted with much warmer weather here in Italy. The new surface on the Mugello track was praised by all riders as many of the bumps that hampered stability have now been removed, making the track much smoother. Marco Simoncelli on a Honda was the quickest rider today, with championship leader Casey Stoner second.

Rizla Suzuki has one more free practice session tomorrow morning followed by qualifying in the afternoon. Sunday’s 23-lap race is scheduled to get underway at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT) on the 3rd of July.

Álvaro Bautista: “It was a bit like my first time at a MotoGP at Mugello here today because I could not ride like I wanted to last year as I was still recovering from the injury to my shoulder. This morning I felt quite good on the bike and I think the track is much better now as well! It is a lot flatter and most of the bumps have gone, the grip is still as good, but without the bumps it makes it more fun to ride. We tried to get a better feeling in the front this morning because I didn’t quite have the stability I wanted in the corners and for this afternoon we wanted to try something else, but that was impossible because of the rain. I did a couple of laps in the afternoon session, but it was very difficult out there, because the track was not completely dry. We will have to work hard tomorrow morning to get the best setting for Sunday’s race, but I’m sure we can do a decent job here.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“The newly resurfaced Mugello circuit has gained rave reviews from all riders and it looks like a real pleasure to ride a Grand Prix bike around this fantastic race-track. The GSV-R immediately worked reasonably well this morning and Álvaro’s a lot closer to the front group than we were at Assen last week. That said, there were still some issues this morning that were holding him back. We will hope to get those dialled out tomorrow and that – added hopefully to good conditions on-track after the wasted session this afternoon – will help us to keep chipping away and get closer to the front.”

Source: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

As we’ve seen so many times this season already, the second practice session for the Italian Grand Prix today has been plagued by tricky weather conditions with spots of rain making it too risky for riders to go out on slick tyres and only very few even got out at all in the first part of the session. In the final minutes a good part of the field took a tentative few laps around the track with Andrea Dovizioso the only rider to come close to his laptime set this morning with the rest being several seconds slower. Alvaro finished the session in fourth, but with a gap of 5.2 seconds to Dovizioso, illustrating how useless the session really was for the riders. Those who already had a good setup in the first practice didn’t bother going out all afternoon, making it again a very futile affair unfortunately.

There could be some more rain on Saturday and Sunday as well while the field is certainly hoping for it to stay dry or at least being fully wet if it does rain.

Pos. Rider Team Time Gap 1st/Prev.
1 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Repsol Honda Team 1’49.272
2 Toni ELIAS LCR Honda MotoGP 1’51.937 2.665 / 2.665
3 Valentino ROSSI Ducati Team 1’52.550 3.278 / 0.613
4 Alvaro BAUTISTA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1’54.497 5.225 / 1.947
5 Randy DE PUNIET Pramac Racing Team 1’55.279 6.007 / 0.782
Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’58.334 9.062 / 3.055
Hector BARBERA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP 1’58.748 9.476 / 0.414
Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’59.812 10.540 / 1.064
Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 2’06.386 17.114 / 6.574
Hiroshi AOYAMA San Carlo Honda Gresini 2’09.337 20.065 / 2.951
Colin EDWARDS Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2’10.026 20.754 / 0.689
Ben SPIES Yamaha Factory Racing 2’26.938 37.666 / 16.912
Jorge LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing
Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team
Casey STONER Repsol Honda Team
Marco SIMONCELLI San Carlo Honda Gresini