Team San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Alvaro Bautista produced a result that was above expectations in tonight’s Grand Prix of Qatar after a difficult weekend, which had gotten even worse in warmup with a high-speed crash.

But the plucky Spaniard still battled hard to finish seventh, just 0.033 seconds shy of sixth after a thrilling battle with factory Ducati rider Nicky Hayden. Bautista was the only rider on a prototype machine to use the softer option Bridgestone rear tyre, which he put to good effect. What still held him back was a lack of front end feel and exit speed.

Alvaro Bautista (7th) “We have finished a problematic weekend in a good way. I have struggled for front feel in practice and then we had another crash on a cold tyre in warm-up. That was a problem for us because we had gone back to the setting from winter testing but only got chance to try it on the sighting lap and warm-up lap. I made a good start and stayed with the group I was in, fighting for sixth to the end and only just missing out. We were still lacking some front feel and a bit of speed in corner exit, which would have helped out in the fight with Hayden. Anyway, I am happy because it is the first race I have finished since Aragon last year so that’s important. I have to thank the whole team for working so hard to give me the bike I’m asking for. I have great confidence in them and I am sure we will improve for the next race.”

Fausto Gresini “Alvaro had a good race considering the fact he was lacking confidence with the front throughout practice and crashed in warm-up. He rode well after a difficult weekend and showed that he has the potential to take this bike forward over the coming season. It was important to finish the race and he did that without ever backing down from the fight for sixth so I am happy and confident about the future.”

Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department
“This race was very exciting and a very positive first competitive outing for our 2012 specification tyres. Yamaha and Honda both showed very good race pace and I am encouraged by the consistency of lap times throughout the entire field as it showed the predictable wear characteristics of our new specification tyres.

Some riders opted for the softer rear option and in particular Alvaro Bautista’s good performance showed that this was a viable option for some riders and shows how well the asymmetric construction worked around the Losail circuit. It was a very good race for Bridgestone and an exciting race for the fans and I overall I am very pleased with how our tyres performed in Qatar.”

Sources: Gresini Racing, Bridgestone Motorsport, Honda Pro Racing

After a very difficult weekend and being plagued by many problems and a lack of confidence with the front end of his Honda, topped off with a high-speed crash in warmup, Álvaro made up for everything with true fighting spirit in the race today, riding strongly in the third group throughout the race and being very close to snatching sixth position over the line, but finally bringing home a well-deserved and hard-fought seventh place after starting the race from eleventh position on the grid.

With nobody crashing out of the race it’s been a true fight for all positions and Álvaro had to slowly work his way up from the fourth row, making up only a couple of places at the start and sticking around about ninth position for the first half of the race. But he then caught up with Nicky Hayden and together they were closing in on Rookie Stefan Bradl in the final laps of the race. It finally became a group of four riders fighting for sixth position and he just lost out to Hayden and the factory Ducati over the line, finishing the Qatar Grand Prix with a solid seventh position and finally being able to smile again when he got back to the box.

In three weeks’ time the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez beckons and Álvaro will surely aim much higher for that race, not only wanting to please the home crowd, but also trying to find the full potential of his new Honda RC213V.

Pos. Rider Team Bike Time/Gap
1 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 42’44.214
2 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team Honda +0.852
3 Casey STONER Repsol Honda Team Honda +2.908
4 Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha +17.114
5 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha +17.420
6 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team Ducati +28.413
7 Alvaro BAUTISTA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda +28.446
8 Stefan BRADL LCR Honda MotoGP Honda +29.464
9 Hector BARBERA Pramac Racing Team Ducati +31.384
10 Valentino ROSSI Ducati Team Ducati +33.665
11 Ben SPIES Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha +56.907
12 Colin EDWARDS NGM Mobile Forward Racing Suter +58.088
13 Randy DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar ART +1’10.650
14 Yonny HERNANDEZ Avintia Blusens BQR-FTR +1’15.943
15 Aleix ESPARGARO Power Electronics Aspar ART +1’26.733
16 Ivan SILVA Avintia Blusens BQR-FTR +1’43.327
17 Mattia PASINI Speed Master ART +1’47.419
18 James ELLISON Paul Bird Motorsport ART +1’51.882
Michele PIRRO San Carlo Honda Gresini FTR 7 Laps

Not Classified
Danilo PETRUCCI Came IodaRacing Project Ioda 7 Laps
Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati 15 Laps

Álvaro Bautista was involved in a four rider crash on the first corner during today’s Valencian Grand Prix that scuppered any chances of a successful end to the season for the Rizla Suzuki team.

Bautista had looked promising and confident in all conditions leading up to today’s race and as intermittent rain fell on the track leading up to the start, tyre choice was always going to be important. Starting from fifth on the grid, Bautista got away in the pack heading for the first corner, but his front wheel was accidently touched by Andrea Dovizioso and Suzuki’s Spaniard lost control of his machine. As Bautista fell to the floor his bike slid into Valentino Rossi, Nicky Hayden and Randy de Puniet, leaving the four riders stranded in the gravel trap and out of the race. Bautista tried to re-mount his GSV-R, but was unable to achieve it and walked back despondently, and uninjured, to the pits.

Today’s race was preceded by a tribute to Marco Simoncelli, who tragically lost his life at the Malaysian Grand Prix two weeks ago. Every bike and rider from the MotoGP, Moto2 and 125cc classes completed a parade lap and then lined up on the grid – fronted by Simoncelli’s bike – along with hundreds of Grand Prix personnel and guests to celebrate the Italian’s life with two minutes of fireworks and applause.

This afternoon’s race was watched by 75,774 fans at trackside and the spectators that braved the horrible conditions saw World Champion Casey Stoner take his 10th victory of the season. The event also marked the final race for former Suzuki rider and triple World Champion Loris Capirossi. He is retiring after 22 seasons in top level motorcycle racing and Rizla Suzuki would like to wish Loris and his family well for the future.

Álvaro Bautista: “It has been a bad way to end the year, because before the race I was expecting to be fighting for the podium! In all conditions we had been fast this weekend and I thought we would have a good race today. In the first corner we all arrived together and I was between Andrea and Valentino. Unfortunately Andrea hit my front wheel with his rear tyre and I couldn’t do anything to save the crash. The worst thing was that I hit three other riders and they crashed as well, I am sorry for them and also sorry for the team and all the fans. This year has been very tough, it didn’t start very well when I broke my left femur and although we did a good job – especially in the middle of the season when I was totally fit, both mentally and physically – we haven’t finished with that many good results. I got more and more confident in the bike as the season went on and the work we have done has been amazing, we have come such a long way. Thanks to Suzuki for all they have done and thanks to my team, they work 100% in all races and I think everybody has been able to see the improvement on the track. Thanks also to everybody that has supported me and Rizla Suzuki in 2011, and now we will have to see what happens for next year.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager: “The bad weather that seems to have followed MotoGP this year made conditions really tricky at the start of the race, but given that we didn’t even make it around the first corner, it didn’t make a lot of difference to us! It’s obviously a very disappointing way to end the season, but frankly speaking I’m not particularly upset because all four riders involved are ok and we’ve seen recently how dangerous that type of accident can be – so we can all be very thankful that all the guys escaped unharmed. I don’t think the crash was anybody’s fault, it was just too many bikes arriving at one bit of tarmac, at differing speeds, on a slippery track – it’s racing and it can happen!

“Rizla Suzuki and Álvaro Bautista didn’t achieve the results we could, or should, have done in the latter part of the season, but I hope we’ve shown a lot of fighting spirit and a huge amount of performance potential. I’d like to thank Álvaro and the whole team for their consistent professionalism and enthusiasm. We’ll do some testing here at Valencia with the current bike on Tuesday and hope that we will be able to announce some positive news in the near future.”

Source: Rizla Suzuki

AS has published Álvaro’s latest column today, following the fatal crash of long-time rival Marco Simoncelli at the Malaysian Grand Prix last weekend. Álvaro wrote an open letter to Marco and, as he tweeted prior to the publication, it was by far the most difficult column he ever had to write.
Below you find the complete translation.

Dear Marco: I don’t know how to begin, it is difficult to say anything after such a tough weekend for the followers of motorcycle racing. Everything that’s happened in Sepang, the thrilling 125cc race with Nico Terol very close to claiming the title, the absence of Marc Marquez in Moto2 and leaving the championship for Bradl to take, the injuries of other riders who I wish a speedy recovery, the good feeling I had in practice and then in the race I could have ended up with a good result… Everything was overshadowed by your accident.

Your passion. You and I know that there is a a lot of risk in this sport and that, fortunately, safety is getting better. But sometimes things like this happen and it’s really when people realize that this is not a game and we play with our lives here. I will not tell you how those moments were in the paddock when we heard the news, because I think we’ve already cried and suffered a lot. I think we should remember you as someone who died doing what he loved, what all the riders love the most. Riding a bike.

Direct rival. I had the opportunity to be one of your rivals in the 250cc class, where we had many fights. You’ve always been a very controversial rider on the track, going very close to the limit and sometimes over it, but always giving a show, giving the spectators reasons to fall in love with racing. And if you were peculiar on the track, off it you couldn’t go unnoticed; with that hair like Jimi Hendrix, with that lax style of walking, that peculiar voice speaking an Italian funny to listen to.

Championship leader. 2008 was your great year, you spent two seasons in the 250cc class without getting a single podium, but that year changed everything, you started to get on the rostrum regularly, winning races and like it wasn’t a big deal you took over the lead in the championship with a good advantage. We had many fights in the races, with touches and off-track excursions. At the end you won the championship, at the same Sepang International Circuit. The following year we even spent some time at Race Direction now and then to review controversial actions, do you remember? Honestly, my relationship with you off the track changed and we hardly exchanged a word. But this year everything was different. Unfortunately or fortunately because of the situation in Japan, the riders had many meetings and this made us more united, we returned to a good relationship like we had before. You know you’ve been a great rider who was always on the limit, always enjoying what you were doing, always giving your best, always fighting. Even in your last lap on the circuit, when again I was with you, you did not stop fighting, it has always been difficult to pass you, you never let anyone twist your arm and always resisted or stayed inside or outside the racing line to avoid losing your position. On that last lap we passed each other six times in just two corners. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I know you did too, as we always did in a fight like this one.

In the paddock. Then, the circuit that had given you your best moment in life took it away from you. At the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) you left us. How strange will it be to walk through the paddock not seeing you… But your memory will always be with us, we will never forget you and you will be sorely missed. But I am convinced that wherever you are, you will also follow us.

To your loved ones. I’m about to say goodbye, because I have a lot inside, but it is very difficult to write it down in these moments. I want to send your family, your girlfriend Kate, your friends, mechanics, the people on your team and your fans my most sincere and heartfelt condolences. And I tell you that at the next race in Valencia everyone who goes to the track, which will surely be many, will go there for you. In your memory. We will race for you. We dedicate this to you. Because you’ll always be in our hearts.

Source: AS.com

The world of racing has sadly lost another shining figure today as Marco Simoncelli succumbed to serious injuries sustained in a crash during the second lap of the MotoGP race at Sepang.

The Italian lowsided at turn 11 and tried to hold on to his Gresini Honda, but was unfortunately pushed back to the middle of the track where he was struck by Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi who couldn’t avoid him anymore. Simoncelli lost his helmet in the horrific crash and the race was immediately red-flagged and subsequently cancelled as the circuit’s medical personnel tried their best to save his life. Sadly it was to no avail and it’s been officially confirmed that Simoncelli passed away at 16.56 local time.

We’d like to send our condolences to the family and friends of Marco and a lot of strength in this terrible time. Rest in peace, Marco.

Rizla’s Suzuki’s Álvaro Bautista crashed out of this afternoon’s Australian Grand Prix during a sudden rain-shower as he looked certain to claim his best dry finish of the season.

Starting from third on the grid, due to Jorge Lorenzo’s withdrawal because of an injury he sustained in this morning’s warm-up, Bautista was immediately involved in the battle for a podium position. He got into a fight with Nicky Hayden that cost the pair some pace and by the time Bautista got past the American, Valentino Rossi had caught them to make it a three-way battle. Rossi tried to make a pass on Bautista, but crashed, causing the Suzuki star to take avoiding action. Bautista made a break from Hayden and looked to be heading for a season’s best dry result of fifth, but as the laps wore on the rain clouds gathered and a brisk, but heavy rain shower caught out the Spaniard and he crashed with only four laps remaining. He was uninjured, but bitterly disappointed to see the opportunity slip away.

Almost 44,000 fans packed into a very windy and changeable Phillip Island circuit and the majority of them left happy as they witnessed local hero Casey Stoner secure the World Championship with a comprehensive victory.

Rizla Suzuki now heads directly to Malaysia for the penultimate round of the season, where Bautista will be joined by wild-card rider John Hopkins to mount a two-man attack at the Sepang circuit.

Álvaro Bautista: “It was a good, but in the end disappointing race for us today. We didn’t start so well, but I was with the front group and very close to the podium battle. After a few laps, when the tyres started to lose their grip, I started to fight with Nicky and we lost time to the others. After I got away from Nicky I tried to concentrate to get the most from the used tyre and do my best. I just had to finish the race to get a fifth place, which would have been a good result here. The conditions were difficult though because during the whole race it was raining in some parts of the track and each lap seemed different. In turn 10 I saw some drops of rain on the screen and before I could even think to react I crashed – the surface was very wet and I just couldn’t do anything about it!

“I am sorry for the whole team because they did a fantastic job for the whole weekend and we started from the front row for the first time this year. We were in fifth in the race and looking good, so I’m really sorry for the crash – those guys deserved something from this weekend. We now have to look forward to the next race and take all the positives from here to Malaysia and I’m sure we can go well there.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager: “There are so many positives to be taken from this weekend at Phillip Island, that it’s really unfortunate to be making another ‘if only’ comment! Álvaro had no idea that it was raining that hard and with no rider directly in-front of him it just looked like he was in the wrong place at the wrong time! It’s really unfortunate for all of us, but the promise shown by the GSV-R was huge and I think the race-pace potential could have been a lot better if we hadn’t have got hung up with Nicky for four or five laps, and allowed the Hondas to escape.

“Malaysia’s next, it’s been a good track for Suzuki in the past, we’ve got John Hopkins joining the team and a chance to have another go at a decent result – we’re looking forward to it!”

Source: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

I was close to my best result in MotoGP, but I pushed myself to not let Dovizioso catch me and I lost it. If you risk something you can make it or lose it. This was after overcoming the fear of going to Japan, but being there I enjoyed the fans. Congratulations to Terol, Marquez and Checa and best wishes to Gadea and Barbera.

Greetings. Ohayo! I don’t know if that’s spelled correctly, but it means “Good Morning” in Japanese, I learned a few words this weekend. Today I’ll talk more about how the Grand Prix was away from the television cameras rather than about the race itself, because my feeling is like if you show a child a bit of candy and as it is going to grab it you take it away from its hands. I was very close to my best result in MotoGP. After the strange start I thought, maybe not a podium, but fourth was possible although Dovizioso came up very fast behind me, he was making up a second per lap; I did the math and the result didn’t look good, so I tried to follow the reference of Stoner after he had zoomed past me on the line. I pushed it a little more and I lost it, but that’s racing. Well, and life in general; when you risk something you can win, but you can also lose; the important thing is to always try again, always! Never give up.

Fear and tremors. I want to start by explaining a bit the situation we found ourselves in and how we actually lived. There was much controversy as to whether we would go or not, there were people who exaggerated things and it made everything very dark, and others who acted like nothing ever happened. I honestly was a little scared, because I didn’t know what we would have to face. But after the reports said that the tests they conducted were negative, we had to trust that. Perhaps the biggest fear was that something would happen during the week and that the nuclear plant, which is just over a hundred kilometres away, would have a problem. And of course there was the water and food, it wasn’t clear whether it would be okay.

Once there, everything seemed normal, everything in order, like the Japanese always have been. No alarm, everything controlled, normal people without three arms or anything like that, haha! This gave me so much confidence, I had in mind not to shower the entire weekend, and the first day I just did it and got into the shower. Although I must admit that there was one point when I was a bit scared, it was on Thursday afternoon when I was in the hotel, the ground suddenly began to shake a little, I thought it was from the room next door, but it continued and I felt it a lot. It was an earthquake. No pictures fell off the wall or anything, but the scare it gives you is a strange feeling. Apparently there were more earthquakes, but I slept through them and didn’t feel anything and they weren’t as big as this, which they said was a 5.2. Not bad for being the first I experienced.

Japanese affection. Another thing that was normal were the fans. Well, as normal as they are there, because you can’t imagine the passion they have for motorbikes. It’s amazing, I think we signed more autographs than we did kilometres on the bike. It is also very interesting, there is one person who asks for an autograph or picture and suddenly you’re surrounded by masses of Japanese. Of course, all of them very polite. I always feel loved in Japan, I have great fans and they even bring me gifts every year. And this time more than ever they have been very grateful that we have come to their country, they knew it was not certain that we’d come, but in the end there we were, trying to give them a show and for a moment make them forget the hard time they’ve gone through the last few months.

Spanish titles. As always I want to congratulate the Spanish riders who have finished on the podium and especially Nico, because even if he’s lost five points, he only has to manage his advantage in the three remaining races to see the 125cc title come to Spain. And Marquez, who has taken the Moto2 lead and is the strongest rider in the category, hopefully this title will also be Spanish. And I take the opportunity to congratulate someone who already has the title, Carlos Checa, who took the one that was missing for Spain, the Superbike Championship. A great reward for all of his great career, I’m delighted for you, Carlos.

Best wishes. I don’t want to leave without sending my best wishes and a speedy recovery to my friends Sergio Gadea and Hector Barbera, who’ve been injured in Motegi and are still in hospital. I know how bad it is away from home under these conditions. Now a week off, I stay in Thailand, so I don’t have to get used to the time difference again, the next race is in Australia and the jetlag is tough to get over. A big hug for everyone!

Source: AS
Photo: Rizla Suzuki

Rizla Suzuki’s Álvaro Bautista crashed out of this afternoon’s Japanese Grand Prix when he was fighting for the best MotoGP finish of his career.

Bautista started from eighth on the grid and found himself up into sixth early on after narrowly missing two riders that collided in front of him on the first lap. He was then promoted to fourth as two other riders were forced to complete a ride-through penalty for jumping the start, and then almost immediately found himself in a podium position when race-leader Casey Stoner ran off the track. Bautista held third position for six laps and fought off an attack from Nicky Hayden, before Stoner re-grouped and caught and passed Suzuki’s Spanish racer. Bautista looked comfortable in fourth and began to push to secure his best-ever MotoGP finish, but lost the front near the end of the 13th lap and crashed at high-speed. He walked away uninjured, but bitterly disappointed.

Today’s Japanese Grand Prix was a re-scheduled race after the initial date was cancelled due to the earthquake and tsunami that struck the country earlier in the year. A crowd of just over 34,000 showed their support for both the MotoGP racers and the people of Japan. The race was won by Dani Pedrosa, with current World Champion Jorge Lorenzo second. Current championship leader Stoner took the final place on the podium.

Rizla Suzuki now has one weekend off before heading over the equator to Phillip Island in Australia for the second leg in a trio of Pacific races.

Álvaro Bautista: “This was for sure not the result we expected today! I chose the softer rear tyre for the race because the conditions today were colder than yesterday and because for the first laps I needed to be as fast as possible. I didn’t get a good start because some riders jump-started and I was a bit confused by them and when the red light went off I was little bit late. There was a crash on the second corner and I then found myself in a good position. A few laps later some riders entered the pits because they did a jump start and I was then in third, but I knew it was not my real position! When Casey went past me and I saw what the distance was between me and Andrea – who was the next rider – and how many laps were left, I tried to follow Casey and keep the gap to Andrea. Near the last corner I lost the front and crashed and that was the end of the race for me. We worked very hard this weekend and improved in all the sessions, and in the race we were in a good position. Today the luck was just not with us!

“I am sorry for the whole team because this result would have meant so much to them, and I’m sorry for Suzuki at its home Grand Prix because we wanted to make a good race and a positive result. I have to keep the good things from this weekend in my mind and in the next race we have to keep doing the same things we have done here and keep our heads up!”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“When your rider crashes out of fourth position at Suzuki’s home Grand Prix it can only be described as disappointing! However, we have to take the positives from this weekend – the GSV-R performed well in cold and overcast conditions, Álvaro achieved his equal best qualifying and we were running very strongly in the race itself. We don’t quite have the speed of the Factory Hondas or Yamahas – at the moment – but apart from that we can race with anyone in the field, and when the opportunity presents itself – like today – fourth was definitely on the cards.

“Álvaro’s not stupid and with just over 10 laps to go, and Dovizioso only seven seconds behind, he knew he had to push hard to keep fourth place – fifth or sixth wasn’t going to do it as far as he was concerned. That’s racing; it was a high-speed crash and Álvaro’s completely uninjured, so let’s move on and look forward to the next Grand Prix.”

Source: Rizla Suzuki