Shortly after agreeing a deal for 2012 with Team San Carlo Honda Gresini, Alvaro Bautista took to the Valencia circuit on board the Honda RC212V for the first time today. It was the first session of a winter testing programme that will continue at Sepang from January 31 to February 2, when the Spaniard will switch to the 1000cc Honda RC213V – the Japanese factory’s new prototype for the new season. Bautista did 55 laps today with a best time of 1’33.814 as he gained confidence with the Honda and tested two new Bridgestone 2012 tyre options. Not too much should be read into this test but the early signs are positive. The team now takes a much-needed break to recover the necessary spirit and energy to tackle its next challenge.

Final Laptimes Valencia Test, Day 2

Source: Gresini Honda

It’s not the time to stop the presses just yet, but things have evolved rather quickly during the first day of MotoGP testing at Valencia today.

Originally scheduled to test Suzuki’s 800cc machine both today and tomorrow as he’s still under contract until the end of the year, Álvaro finally was not on track at all, instead getting a pass from Suzuki to continue negotiations with the Honda Gresini team about a factory-supported 1000cc RC213V for next season, the bike that Marco Simoncelli would have ridden. The main objection for the deal seemed to be Italian main sponsor San Carlo who is eager to get an Italian rider on the bike for maximum promotion in their main market Italy. That Italian was originally rumoured to be Andrea Iannone and he was set to test the bike today, but wasn’t able to meet up with Honda bosses in time to get the go ahead. It’s unclear if he might still test the bike tomorrow.
In the meantime Álvaro might have already snatched that ride away from under him as according to paddock rumours San Carlo would actually be fine with Álvaro joining the Gresini Team as Michele Pirro is the main candidate to ride the CRT entry of the team, providing the Italian passport San Carlo is looking for.

At the time of writing this no official announcement has been made by Álvaro or the Gresini Team, but most paddock insiders assume it’s more or less a done deal, only being delayed to wait on the approval from HRC. Álvaro also had the offer to ride with the LCR Honda team, but the perpetually cash-strapped team would prefer a rider bringing some much need sponsor money with him and Moto2 world champion Stefan Bradl has been testing their 800cc bike today, already posting rather impressive laptimes on it and he might be able to bring his sponsor Viessmann along to support the team financially. Putting another nationality on the list with a German rider in the MotoGP class would certainly also make series promoter Dorna more than happy and might add further support for the LCR-Bradl combination.

Meanwhile Álvaro’s Suzuki did not get dusty in the garage, instead Randy De Puniet took it for a ride and clocked some impressive laptimes, finishing the day in fourth position on the time sheets. According to the official announcement, Suzuki was simply looking to get “another rider’s perspective” on the bike’s potential, but considering the good job he was doing in only his first time out, it certainly seems very likely for De Puniet to sign with the team for 2012.
Earlier today it was reported by Spanish journalist Mela Chercoles that Suzuki was putting pressure on Álvaro to stay with them and threatening to leave the class if he left them. With De Puniet a possible candidate and John Hopkins on standby, that pressure seems to have faded and in case Álvaro does sign with Gresini, we might already see him on track tomorrow.

Suzuki also received a deadline from Dorna to finalize and officially confirm their plans until Friday, putting pressure on the factory to make a decision. Although it is highly likely they stay, it’s so far still unknown whether or not Suzuki will continue in the class at all.

The final day of testing tomorrow should bring some announcements and hopefully an official confirmation of Álvaro’s plans for 2012.

We’ll keep you updated.

Sources: AS, Rizla Suzuki, MCN, Twitter AziFarni / Motomatters / MarietaBorreda / MOTOCI_Maroto

The Rizla Suzuki squad and Álvaro Bautista have concluded the final day of testing at Valencia with a very encouraging result as Bautista recorded the seventh quickest time of the day.

Bautista (1’32.738, 86 laps) took almost a second off his previous best lap-time from both the race weekend and yesterday’s testing, as he moved to just over half-of-a-second off the quickest time of the day. The Spaniard tested various chassis configurations and several settings, along with evaluating new bodywork for the Suzuki GSV-R and numerous other parts in a thorough and comprehensive test programme. The whole team got through a significant amount of work and with the information collected at this two-day test, the engineers back in Japan will certainly have plenty to work with during the winter months.

Today’s weather was very similar to yesterday with strong winds and cold track temperatures making conditions very difficult. Casey Stoner on a Honda was the quickest rider on the timesheets, with World Champion Jorge Lorenzo in second, but Bautista certainly had them in his sights as he improved continuously throughout the day.

Rizla Suzuki, Bautista and the rest of the MotoGP paddock will now face an enforced winter testing ban that begins on December 1st and ends on January 31st. The next test will be at Sepang in Malaysia in early February, with the 2011 season due to kick-off at Losail in Qatar on Sunday 20th March.

Álvaro Bautista: “Today has been another good day because after testing the new forks yesterday and getting a good base setting, I was able to go straight out and improve my lap-time. We continued through the day to test other stuff and I tried a new frame with new specifications, and I quickly felt it was much better than the old one. That means that we have made a step forward and with it I was able to do my best time. At the end of the day I tested some new compound Bridgestone tyres, there were three different styles, but I didn’t feel much difference between them all. I am happy because the whole crew has done a good job today and I want to say thank-you to Suzuki because I think we made steps forward at this test and with the data from here I hope they can bring me some more new and better stuff from Japan for the test in February.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“It has been a very positive end to what has been a difficult season. We found a decent step forward yesterday compared to the race weekend and took more steps forward today. We have found something, based on today’s data at least, that may help Álvaro get the best out of the GSV-R on new tyres, which has been a weak point for us this year both in qualifying and in the first few laps of the races. We all know that he is a race-day guy and not a testing guy and that he always finds additional performance in the races themselves. So, for him to end up in seventh place and only 0.6 seconds from the fastest rider is a very positive result.

“Thanks to everyone involved with the team throughout 2010, hopefully today’s test will enable the Factory to have some interesting material prepared for the test in February and we can continue to take the next step forward.”

Source: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

Rizla Suzuki began its preparations for 2011 at Valencia in Spain with a constructive first day at the post-season test which saw Álvaro Bautista post the eighth fastest time.

Bautista (1’33.558, 44 laps) set about his testing duties with the same professional and thorough manner he has shown throughout his rookie season. He tested many new and re-designed parts for the Suzuki GSV-R and – although a big part of the day was lost to rain – he managed to improve on his times continually despite conditions being considerably worse than the race weekend due to strong winds blowing across the circuit.

Bautista was able to compare a range of two specifications of Öhlins front forks, new rear swing arm, different settings and various other items in the time that was available. The whole team finished the day in a very positive frame of mind and all eager to continue with the test tomorrow.

The blustery weather that blew across the 4,005m Valencian track made things difficult for all riders and was even responsible for one being blown off line and into the gravel! The fastest time of the day was set by World Champion and last weekend’s race winner Jorge Lorenzo.

Rizla Suzuki has one more day at Valencia tomorrow to continue with the evaluation of the Suzuki GSV-R in readiness for next season, before the winter testing ban comes in to force at the end of this month.

Álvaro Bautista: “Today we have had a good test even though we lost some time due to the rain. We started with the base setting from the race so we could get the feeling of the track, it was a bit different out there because there was less grip and it was very windy, this made it more difficult to ride than during the weekend. We tested two different front forks and one felt the same as the ones I’d used in the race, but the other one was much better overall. It helped me in the mid-corner braking, because it gave me more confidence to release the brake than it had done before and this gave me more speed so I could exit better. I also tested a new swinging arm, it was not a big difference but it also helped a little. I am very happy with the first day because I’ve done close to my best time and the conditions were much worse than in qualifying. I’m looking forward to tomorrow because we have more things to test.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“Álvaro and the team have completed a very solid first day’s work and given that the conditions were worse than race day, we can be pleased with the relative performance as well. We’ve struggled to generate grip and feedback in colder conditions and the track temperature was right down today, so this is also a step in the right direction. We’ve got roughly the same volume of work to get through tomorrow, so fingers crossed that the weather will remain good enough to get things done properly and we can take some more steps forward, before Alvaro and the team get a little down-time at the end of a long season.”

Source: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

Alvaro Bautista (P16, 1’34.296, 45 laps) was the hardest working rider out on the 4,005m track this afternoon as he completed 25 laps trying to get the optimum performance from his bike. He made a number of changes to the set-up of his GSV-R today and now has a clearer direction in which way to go tomorrow.

Today’s air temperatures just made it up to 20°C during this afternoon’s session, with track surface temperatures only getting to 26°C. The fastest time of the day was set by World Champion Jorge Lorenzo.
Tomorrow will see the last practice and qualifying sessions of the season as the riders make their final preparations for Sunday’s 30-lap Grand Prix, which will get underway at 14.00hrs local time (13.00hrs GMT).

Alvaro Bautista:
“This morning we tested different frame settings in the two bikes and I chose just one of them to continue with this afternoon. We tried a new spec with that setting, but the feeling was a little bit worse than this morning because I just couldn’t get the exit from the corners I was looking for with the softer tyres. It was a used tyre and had done more than 30-laps, so we tried a new harder compound in the front and rear, but the feeling stayed the same. Tomorrow morning we will do the same setting from this morning, but with a few changes and we will see if we can improve – I certainly hope that we do.”

Source: Team Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

Pos Nº Rider Bike Time Delay Laps km/h
1 27 Casey Stoner Ducati 1’32.897 15 155.204
2 99 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1’33.455 0.558 22 154.277
3 4 Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1’33.500 0.603 18 154.203
4 58 Marco Simoncelli Honda 1’33.631 0.734 21 153.987
5 46 Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1’33.714 0.817 23 153.851
6 69 Nicky Hayden Ducati 1’33.757 0.860 20 153.780
7 40 Héctor Barberá Ducati 1’33.857 0.960 21 153.616
8 14 Randy de Puniet Honda 1’33.899 1.002 24 153.547
9 11 Ben Spies Yamaha 1’33.929 1.032 24 153.498
10 41 Aleix Espargaró Ducati 1’34.029 1.132 21 153.335
11 5 Colin Edwards Yamaha 1’34.053 1.156 19 153.296
12 26 Daniel Pedrosa Honda 1’34.123 1.226 21 153.182
13 33 Marco Melandri Honda 1’34.160 1.263 23 153.122
14 19 Alvaro Bautista Suzuki 1’34.506 1.609 20 152.561
15 65 Loris Capirossi Suzuki 1’34.864 1.967 18 151.986
16 7 Hiroshi Aoyama Honda 1’34.904 2.007 22 151.921
17 71 Carlos Checa Ducati 1’35.172 2.275 20 151.494

List of the fastest laptimes from all three days of testing.

Pos No Rider Bike Time Diff Day
1 27 Casey Stoner Ducati 1’31.899 0.000 Day 3
2 99 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1’31.939 0.040 Day 2
3 3 Dani Pedrosa Honda 1’31.944 0.045 Day 3
4 46 Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1’32.528 0.629 Day 2
5 69 Nicky Hayden Ducati 1’32.804 0.905 Day 3
6 4 Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1’32.825 0.926 Day 3
7 33 Marco Melandri Honda 1’32.935 1.036 Day 3
8 11 Ben Spies Yamaha 1’32.942 1.043 Day 2
9 36 Mika Kallio Ducati 1’32.988 1.089 Day 3
10 14 Randy de Puniet Honda 1’33.111 1.212 Day 2
11 65 Loris Capirossi Suzuki 1’33.211 1.312 Day 2
12 41 Aleix Espargaro Ducati 1’33.275 1.376 Day 3
13 40 Hector Barbera Ducati 1’33.786 1.887 Day 3
14 58 Marco Simoncelli Honda 1’33.857 1.958 Day 3
15 5 Colin Edwards Yamaha 1’33.929 2.030 Day 1
16 19 Alvaro Bautista Suzuki 1’34.163 2.264 Day 3
17 400 Hiroshi Aoyama Honda 1’34.821 2.922 Day 3
18 0 Toni Elias Gresini Moto2 1’37.279 5.380 Day 2
19 9 Kenny Noyes Promoracing Moto2 1’37.881 5.982 Day 2
20 5 Joan Olive Promoracing Moto2 1’39.227 7.328 Day 3
21 14 Ratthapark Wilairot Stop & Go Moto2 1’41.989 10.090 Day 1

Loris Capirossi and Álvaro Bautista continued in a positive direction during the penultimate day of testing at Valencia, as the pair made use of the improved conditions in Spain today.

Capirossi (1’33.211, 58 laps) produced his quickest ever lap on a Suzuki GSV-R around the 4,005m Ricardo Tormo circuit on race tyres, as he resumed from where he left off yesterday by trying the new parts that Suzuki has supplied for this test. Capirossi tested new-spec engine parts as well as continuing the evaluation of the Akrapovic exhaust systems and some new electronic strategies.

Bautista continued with his acclimatisation of the Suzuki GSV-R following his step-up in class to MotoGP. Using the same specification bike as was raced the previous weekend – without any on the new parts – he circulated the Spanish circuit a further 73 times today, eventually fishing with a best time of 1’34.540, over a second quicker than his fastest lap from Monday.

The Rizla Suzuki pair has a further half-of-a-day of testing tomorrow morning at Valencia, which will signal Capirossi’s final outing on the GSV-R for 2009, with only Bautista travelling to Estoril next week to join Nobuatsu Aoki for a further three-day test.

Loris Capirossi:
“It has been a positive day because we have continued to develop the bike and we tested many different things. We tested a new engine specification and a couple of sets of pipes, as well as a different electronics system on the bike. We have improved today and the whole team is quite happy and for sure the way to go quicker is now not so far away. We have a couple more important things to try tomorrow, especially on the electronics side. I think that the condition we had in the bike today was easily the best for the whole weekend and this is why we went much better. We still need to concentrate really hard and tomorrow will be an important day as will the test next week in Portugal for Álvaro and Nobu, because we need to understand as much about the bike in these tests as possible.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“We’ve got through a lot of work today and the conditions have been quite kind so that has helped us as well. The time difference from Loris to the front guys has reduced massively compared to race-day and this has been due to a number of modifications to the bike that the factory has introduced here. The most important one of those has without doubt been the change to the engine spec, which has helped a lot with the smoothness of power delivery and the way the bike exits the corners.

“Alvaro has been quietly impressive today. On every pit exit he has made 10 or 12 lap runs which have been ultra consistent and he has lifted his pace steadily all day. His bike is completely the same specification as was used in Sunday’s Grand Prix – without any of the test parts Loris has been running – so bearing that in mind his pace looks encouraging for the future. So far – in summary – it’s been a better test already than we expected and a little bit of light is on the horizon.”