It’s been slightly unusual first practice session at the Valencian circuit this morning, certainly when looking at the results.
Track conditions were rather treacherous, the asphalt being partly wet but drying up in other places and generally not providing much grip. In the 125cc practice right before the MotoGP practice there’s been a plethora of crashes and certainly most MotoGP riders weren’t going to take unnecessary risks first time out on track.
Subsequently and due to the conditions the laptimes were a good 13 seconds slower than the circuit record and the practice saw some unusual names up front for most of the session until finally Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa somewhat restored the “normal order” by taking over first and second. Behind them the Ducatis seem to go well again in these kind of conditions with Rossi, Hayden and Capirossi leading the armada.

Álvaro finished the session down in 11th position after leading the field and staying in second for quite a long time until about 15 minutes before the chequered flag. However, considering the track conditions it’s understandable most riders didn’t take too much risk and we’ll likely see a revised results list in FP2 this afternoon.

Pos. Rider Team Time Gap 1st/Prev.
1 Casey STONER Repsol Honda Team 1’45.513
2 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’45.736 0.223 / 0.223
3 Valentino ROSSI Ducati Team 1’45.828 0.315 / 0.092
4 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 1’46.073 0.560 / 0.245
5 Loris CAPIROSSI Pramac Racing Team 1’46.108 0.595 / 0.035
6 Ben SPIES Yamaha Factory Racing 1’46.259 0.746 / 0.151
7 Randy DE PUNIET Pramac Racing Team 1’46.371 0.858 / 0.112
8 Toni ELIAS LCR Honda MotoGP 1’46.393 0.880 / 0.022
9 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Repsol Honda Team 1’46.402 0.889 / 0.009
10 Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’46.581 1.068 / 0.179
11 Alvaro BAUTISTA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1’46.922 1.409 / 0.341
12 Hector BARBERA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP 1’46.967 1.454 / 0.045
13 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’47.079 1.566 / 0.112
14 Hiroshi AOYAMA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’47.581 2.068 / 0.502
15 Josh HAYES Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’48.037 2.524 / 0.456
16 Katsuyuki NAKASUGA Yamaha Factory Racing 1’48.382 2.869 / 0.345

First Japan, then Phillip Island, then Sepang. Now the Valencian Grand Prix in Cheste this weekend is truly and inevitably the last opportunity for Suzuki to finally make a decision and announce the plans for their 2012 project in the MotoGP class, determining the main impact on Álvaro’s immediate professional future.

After the tragic events in Malaysia just over a week ago the much anticipated decision was understandably delayed once more as there were more important matters on everyone’s mind, mourning the loss of a fellow rider.

But since then no information has come forth from Suzuki and the official press release of the team gives no hint on what the future may hold, both of which might not be a good sign. Waiting until the last Grand Prix of the season to decide whether or not to stay in the class at all and if so, with what kind of bike, for one doesn’t show a very strong commitment of Suzuki to the class and secondly doesn’t indicate that much effort has been put into the 1000cc bike to be ready in time for next season. If they had, surely there would have been an announcement made much earlier.

All of which would lead to the assumption that it’s more likely now for Suzuki to quit their MotoGP project for the time being and that Álvaro would subsequently move to the LCR team with a factory Honda RC213V, which at the moment looks to be a very competitive bike once again and certainly would be a good opportunity to Álvaro to convert his potential into regular podium challenges on competitive machinery.

As pointed out previously, moving to the LCR team would still only be the second option for Álvaro despite the competitive bike, simply because it’s a satellite team and he’d like to stay with a factory and have direct input on the development. Moreover, the LCR team is not too well-funded, especially after the abysmal season they had this year, and to be able to finance the factory-spec Honda, Álvaro might have to attract a few new sponsors for the team. Finally, with regards to the bad year the 2010 Moto2 world champion Toni Elias currently has with the team, some negative rumours about the communication between rider and crew chief as well as the mindset of the team have surfaced throughout the season, throwing a slightly darker light on the team’s ability to support their rider to achieve the best results possible. However, these are only rumours and if Álvaro was to move to LCR it’s not known whether he could possibly even take any of his current crew members with him.

It’s been an extraordinarly long silly season this year and with the final race approaching there are still many seats free for taking. But after expecting a decision several times before, this weekend there really won’t be any more delaying and we’ll finally find out about what bike Álvaro will ride next year.

We’ll keep you updated.

Rizla Suzuki and the MotoGP circus will re-group at Valencia in Spain this weekend for what promises to an emotional final race of 2011.

The whole paddock will be united in its grief as the teams all meet for the first time since the tragic accident that saw Marco Simoncelli lose his life during the Malaysian Grand Prix. Álvaro Bautista was battling with Simoncelli in the moments before the accident happened at Sepang and Suzuki’s Spanish star is determined to put on a good show in honour of his late adversary. Bautista and the Suzuki GSV-R have shown continued potential over recent events and the pair looked like pushing for a podium place in the last race before the event was cancelled. The Rizla Suzuki team will be aiming to continue with impressive recent performances and hoping to end the season on a positive note.

The 4,005m Ricardo Tormo circuit near the village of Cheste, close to Valencia, is the traditional end of season venue for MotoGP. It is usually a huge event with big crowds filling the enormous grandstands that enclose the only stadium track on the calendar. The mix of many tight corners and the close proximity of the fans makes the circuit one of the most intense tracks that the riders visit. This weekend will obviously be overshadowed by recent events, but the unique Valencian crowd will undoubtedly show respect as well as making the race a celebration.

Rizla Suzuki takes to the track on Friday for the two of the three free practice sessions available to the riders; the third is on the following morning. Saturday afternoon will feature an hour of qualifying to determine grid positions for Sunday’s 30-lap race, with the main event getting underway at 14.00hrs local time (13.00hrs GMT) on Sunday 6th November.

Álvaro Bautista: “I am really looking forward to going to the Valencia race. It has been a tough time for all of us since Sepang, but I am ready for the last race and the fact that it is in my home country always makes it a special occasion. I have done well in the last few races, and my Suzuki has felt great, but the results have not arrived so we need to put that right. My target for the weekend is to fight to the maximum, finish the race with a good result and dedicate it to Marco. We had so many huge battles together – I will use these memories positively in Valencia.”

Source: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

Rizla Suzuki’s Álvaro Bautista produced the ride of his rookie season at Valencia today to bring his Suzuki GSV-R home in the top-10 after starting from last on the grid.

Bautista and his Crew Chief Tom O’Kane made some big changes to his machine for the morning’s warm-up session and the Spanish rider soon reaped the benefits. As the first few laps unfolded there was no evidence of what was to come as he only made up a couple of places – one of which was due to another rider crashing. By lap 19 Bautista had caught a group of four riders, all of whom were battling for eighth place and the impressive Spaniard quickly passed each one of them in the next few laps to move to the front of the pack. Bautista was then constantly challenged for his position as the riders swapped places in the closing stages, but unfortunately he just couldn’t hold off Hector Barbera in the final lap. He still managed to bring his bike home in a commendable ninth place, to the applause of the whole team.

Loris Capirossi had another torrid afternoon, as the Italian retired from the race with a mysterious problem at the end of the 13th lap. Up until that point Capirossi had battled hard to make a couple of passes and move up to 14th place, with the riders in front still well in touch. Sadly he had to come back to the pits to signal the end of the race for him, in what was his last appearance for the team. Capirossi was visibly saddened by the way the race ended, but paid tribute to all at Suzuki for three good years together.

Today’s race was held in dry but cloudy conditions with track temperatures getting up to 27°C. A crowd of 80,774 spectators were treated to a thrilling race all the way through the field, with home favourite and new World Champion Jorge Lorenzo yet again showing his dominance with another victory, his ninth of the season.

Rizla Suzuki will now stay at Valencia for a two-day test programme on Tuesday and Wednesday. This will be the only post-season test, with the winter ban due to start on the first of December and continue until the start of February next year.

Álvaro Bautista: “After having such a difficult weekend with all the problems on Friday and Saturday, today has been a big step for us. This morning in warm-up we went back to a setting that I used in the last races and it quickly felt a little bit better, it wasn’t a big difference but I thought it would be good for the race. I wanted to give my maximum in the race and give the team the best result possible today. I had a normal start and made up one position straight away, but then I was behind Loris and I lost some time because he brakes so late and is difficult to pass. When I got past him I pushed to my limit and I got in to a good rhythm – the best I’ve had all weekend. I caught the group fighting for eighth and I finished ninth at the end, but it was a great battle with the others because I managed to overtake them all and it was good fun. Before the race started if someone said I could finish ninth I would have signed for that, but after the battle with Hector I am disappointed because I think I could have been eighth! It is a good result for the whole team after a hard weekend, but it is not the result I expected before I came to Valencia because I came with the mental attitude to finish in the top-five. Now that we have finished the season we know we have many things that we need to improve on the bike and I also need to improve my riding style, so we have a very hard winter ahead of us – I hope to get to the first race next season with the bike better than it was this year. I will also have more experience so I expect to improve on my results next season.

“I would like to the thank Suzuki, all the team, Rizla and all the other sponsors, because if they didn’t help us it would be impossible for us to be racing, so thank-you to all of them. Next year we will certainly be trying even harder and I really believe we can be competitive!”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“For me Álvaro’s ninth place was the ride of his season, from 17th – and last – on the grid, then to climb through the field and consistently set lap-times – that if he’d started in the top eight – would have seen him battling for fifth was just superb. Qualifying has been our Achilles heel all year, but we really didn’t have the performance in the bike on Friday and Saturday to challenge the other guys, so for Álvaro to take a leap-of-faith today and make such massive improvements was impressive and more importantly very encouraging for 2011. We are now looking forward to the test this week with a lot more optimism, but before that he certainly deserves a beer tonight for his efforts today and I’d like to thank him and all his guys for bringing a breath of fresh air to the team this year!”

Source: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

Rizla Suzuki goes in to the final Grand Prix of the season looking to end the year moving forward after a tough qualifying session left the riders with plenty of work for tomorrow’s race.

Álvaro Bautista (P17, 1’33.515, 23 laps) has so far had a weekend to forget at Valencia, as he has struggled to get the grip levels he wants to help him on the 4,005m circuit. He will work with his crew this evening to assess the data in the hope that a new setting they are planning to try in tomorrow’s warm-up will assist him for the race.

Today’s qualifying session was held in clear and dry conditions with the air temperatures reaching 22°C. The fastest lap of the day was set by Ducati’s Casey Stoner, as the Australian took his fourth pole position of the season.

Tomorrow’s 30-lap race will be the curtain closer to the 2010 season and the main event will get underway at 14.00hrs local time (13.00hrs GMT).

Álvaro Bautista: “It has turned into a difficult weekend so far and I feel like I am struggling with the bike. I’m having the most problems with the exit from the corner, but we have improved the GSV-R since yesterday as we have tried to get more grip and less movement form the bike. This afternoon it was still difficult and at the end of qualifying I was only really concentrating on the exit of the corners, more than I was on making a fast entry, so this made it very hard to be competitive. I’ve improved on my best time here, but it is still not enough. In warm-up we are going to try a new setting to help me with the rear of the bike and see what happens. We must work very hard and if tomorrow morning we find something better we will certainly use it in the race. It is going to be hard, because we will start form the last position – the only good thing about that is that I can only finish better than I start!”

Source: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

Another tough session for Alvaro who just couldn’t get the right grip with his bike and kept struggling with the right setup for the Suzuki. Him and the team will be looking to improve the setting tomorrow in the warmup and just go for it in the race as they are already starting from last position and can’t fall back any further anyway.

Pos Rider Team Time Gap
1. Casey Stoner Ducati 1m31.799s
2. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1m32.130s + 0.331s
3. Marco Simoncelli Gresini Honda 1m32.244s + 0.445s
4. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1m32.330s + 0.531s
5. Nicky Hayden Ducati 1m32.422s + 0.623s
6. Ben Spies Tech 3 Yamaha 1m32.566s + 0.767s
7. Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha 1m32.579s + 0.780s
8. Dani Pedrosa Honda 1m32.603s + 0.804s
9. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1m32.886s + 1.087s
10. Marco Melandri Gresini Honda 1m32.917s + 1.118s
11. Randy de Puniet LCR Honda 1m32.925s + 1.126s
12. Aleix Espargaro Pramac Ducati 1m33.085s + 1.286s
13. Hector Barbera Aspar Ducati 1m33.170s + 1.371s
14. Loris Capirossi Suzuki 1m33.339s + 1.540s
15. Hiroshi Aoyama Interwetten Honda 1m33.343s + 1.544s
16. Carlos Checa Pramac Ducati 1m33.499s + 1.700s
17. Alvaro Bautista Suzuki 1m33.515s + 1.716s

Rizla Suzuki has arrived in Spain ahead of this weekend’s traditional season ending Grand Prix at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia.

Álvaro Bautista will be competing at his fourth MotoGP race in front of his home fans this season, at a circuit where he made his riding debut for Suzuki at last year’s post-season test. Bautista is determined to end the season with a very positive performance at a track that he feels will suit the Suzuki GSV-R and his riding style.

The Ricardo Tormo circuit is now firmly established as the final MotoGP on the calendar and the party atmosphere, combined with the expected huge crowds and massive firework display at the end of the race, just add to the festival feeling. The Spanish track also has the unique distinction of being the only stadium circuit that the motorcycling Grand Prix circus visits, this gives all the fans in the surrounding grandstands the opportunity to view the action no matter where they are seated.

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will take to the track on Friday morning for the first free practice session, followed by further 45-minute sessions to get the Suzuki GSV-R set up for the 4,005m circuit, on Friday afternoon and the following morning. Saturday afternoon will see Bautista and Capirossi battling for the best grid positions during qualifying, as they prepare for Sunday’s 30-lap race that is scheduled to start at 14.00hrs local time (13.00hrs GMT).

Álvaro Bautista: “I was very surprised at last week’s result because after how well we had been performing it was a bit of a shock, but I know we can put that behind us and challenge the top-six group. I have experience of riding the GSV-R at Valencia after last season’s test, so I will have some reference points and I think the circuit will suit the bike well. It is amazing having another ‘home’ race and I will have many fans there to celebrate the end of the season, I will certainly be trying my hardest to give them, and the whole team, a good result to remember and take forward into the winter.”

Source: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

12,15 local time saw the final 250cc race not only of the 2009 season, but ever in the World Championship. The title was at stake, but also the bragging rights of ending the series’ run and putting oneself in the history books as the final winner. Héctor Barberá took a popular home win, although the fight was amongst the frontrunners with everything to play for. The title went to Hiroshi Aoyama despite not placing on the podium courtesy of a crash for Marco Simoncelli. Barberá and Álvaro Bautista made it a Spanish one-two, adding to Julián Simón’s win in 125cc and Dani Pedrosa’s in MotoGP.

Mapfre rider Álvaro Bautista was keen to not let down the fans gathered at his final home race in the support classes, especially with it being the last ride for 250cc racing machinery. The Spaniard was ninth on the grid after a tough qualifying session, but was confident in having a good race. He moved his way up the field progressively, taking third place n the fifth lap, before looking out for victory. Problems with the rear end f his Aprilia made things complicated, but Bautista was able to combat adversity sufficiently to claim second place as he crossed the 250cc finish line for the final time. Second in Jerez and the winner in Barcelona, Bautista completed a trilogy of home podium finishes with this latest result. He leaves the class behind with the satisfaction of having contested a memorable season.

2nd Álvaro Bautista: “I would have liked to have finished the year with a win but, bearing in mind the conditions that we were facing today, second is not a bad result. The wind was taking me off-track constantly, making it difficult to stick to my braking points. Yesterday we had some problems in the practice sessions, and this morning we went back to a setting that I preferred. In the warm up we were faster than we were on Saturday, so I knew that I could be up at the front. The only doubt that I had was whether the rear tyre would last the whole race. It may have gone off slightly ahead of time, and it was difficult to keep up with the guys ahead of me until the halfway point of the race. When I opened the throttle the bike started to slide. Second is nothing to be ashamed of, but obviously I would have been happier with a victory. I have spent a wonderful part of my life in the Aspar team, in which almost every moment has been good for me.”