Rizla Suzuki’s Álvaro Bautista made his very first racing visit to the Laguna Seca Raceway in America today and took on the task of learning this demanding circuit.

Bautista’s (P16, 1’25.031, 26 laps) only previous visit to the 3,610m California circuit was as a spectator and he found out just how difficult this track is on a MotoGP machine when he made his way out onto track for today’s practice session. He made big steps throughout the session – even though he was troubled by braking issues early on – and is positive that he will continue to improve as the weekend continues.

Today’s one-and-only practice session was conducted in very pleasant conditions with air temperatures at 24ºC. Australian Casey Stoner on his factory Ducati set the fastest time.

Rizla Suzuki has one more practice session tomorrow morning, followed by qualifying on Saturday afternoon. Sunday’s 32-lap race gets underway at 14.00hrs local time (21.00hrs GMT).

Álvaro Bautista:
“It’s a totally new circuit for me and a very difficult one to learn. It is so different from any other circuit because it is like a row of mountains – always up and down. Some corners are very difficult because you cannot see where they go, so you have to find very clear reference points for where to be and where to brake. It is difficult in one hour to learn all this, especially because I had a braking problem that caused me to lose about half the practice, so I never had the time I wanted out there. At the end I went a bit quicker and found the points I was looking for. After a good sleep tonight I think it will be easier to ride the circuit. The bike is working well, but I do have a bit of a problem exiting the corners as I’m going a bit wide, but we can certainly change that tomorrow. We will take things step-by-step tomorrow and learn the track, then get quicker in qualifying so we are ready for the race on Sunday.”

Source: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

The first practice session at Laguna Seca took place under beautiful blue skies and in cooler temperatures than the last two races, leaving the Suzukis again struggling. Alvaro and his teammate placed only 15th and 16th on the first day out, surpassing only replacement rider Roger Lee Hayden who does know the track, but not the bike.
For Alvaro it was the first time ever on the circuit. The fastest of the track newbies was Aleix Espargaro in 10th position, about 1,4s faster than Alvaro on the Suzuki.

Pos. Rider Team Time Gap 1st/Prev.
1 Casey STONER Ducati Team 1’21.699
2 Jorge LORENZO Fiat Yamaha Team 1’21.932 0.233 / 0.233
3 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Repsol Honda Team 1’22.225 0.526 / 0.293
4 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’22.559 0.860 / 0.334
5 Ben SPIES Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’22.640 0.941 / 0.081
6 Valentino ROSSI Fiat Yamaha Team 1’22.660 0.961 / 0.020
7 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 1’22.902 1.203 / 0.242
8 Colin EDWARDS Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’22.971 1.272 / 0.069
9 Marco MELANDRI San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’23.021 1.322 / 0.050
10 Aleix ESPARGARO Pramac Racing Team 1’23.693 1.994 / 0.672
11 Mika KALLIO Pramac Racing Team 1’23.825 2.126 / 0.132
12 Marco SIMONCELLI San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’24.002 2.303 / 0.177
13 Hector BARBERA Paginas Amarillas Aspar 1’24.326 2.627 / 0.324
14 Alex DE ANGELIS Interwetten Honda MotoGP 1’24.615 2.916 / 0.289
15 Loris CAPIROSSI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1’24.710 3.011 / 0.095
16 Alvaro BAUTISTA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1’25.031 3.332 / 0.321
17 Roger Lee HAYDEN LCR Honda MotoGP 1’25.432 3.733 / 0.401

Rizla Suzuki has crossed the Atlantic to prepare for the next round of the MotoGP World Championship to be held at Laguna Seca in America.

Álvaro Bautista will be heading the famous Californian circuit to race for the first time in his career. He has visited the 3,610m track as a spectator before, but has never raced there – due to the fact that 125 and 250cc machines haven’t travelled to Laguna with the MotoGP class. Bautista will be looking to learn the 11 corners of the circuit very quickly, especially the feature section of the track – The infamous ‘Corkscrew’.

Laguna Seca is situated near the town of Monterey in California, just a few kilometres from the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the shortest lap distances on the calendar and because of this the riders will face the most laps in any race this season, when they tackle 32 circulations of this very demanding circuit.

The action begins at Laguna on Friday with an hour of practice in the afternoon, followed by a further hour in preparation for the race on Saturday morning. The afternoon will see qualifying take place as the riders battle it out for the best grid position for Sunday’s main event, which will get underway at 14.00hrs local time (21.00hrs GMT).

Álvaro Bautista:
“I am really looking forward to going to Laguna Seca, it looks like an amazing track and very complicated. I have been there before, but never raced, so this is a completely new experience for me. The Corkscrew is quite a scary looking turn, so I cannot wait to get my bike down that – I am sure it will be a fantastic feeling. I know it will be difficult this weekend, but we will continue with the way we have been working recently and carry on learning what the bike and I am capable of doing.”

Source: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP