Bautista comments on choosing Suzuki

Thursday, 20 August 2009

Spanish 250cc star Álvaro Bautista spoke to motogp.com about his move into MotoGP with Suzuki in 2010.

Suzuki Motor Corporation’s announcement late on Sunday night at the conclusion of the Brno weekend that they have signed Álvaro Bautista for 2010 ended a lengthy period of speculation about the Spanish rider’s future.

Given his high profile and undoubted talent Bautista had plenty of options for his move into the big time, with many expecting him to stay with Aspar in their new Ducati MotoGP project, but the former 125cc World Champion has elected to go with a more established premier class structure in the form of Rizla Suzuki.

As the 24 year-old rider told motogp.com, “There were a lot of rumours about my future for a long time and in the end there were two clear options, Aspar and Suzuki. Obviously I wanted some of the details of the Aspar MotoGP project to be finalised before making my decision because I’m very happy with the team in 250cc. So between Donington (when Aspar confirmed their Ducati MotoGP deal) and Brno I was able to fully weigh up the pros and cons. It was a really difficult decision but going to Suzuki means I am with a factory team and from a sporting perspective that is what I wanted, so that was my choice.”

“In terms of my expectations for next year, I’m still not sure yet as I am still focusing on 250cc. I know that everything will be new and I will be working with people I don’t know, the majority of them being English. I come from a mainly Spanish and Italian team so that will be a big change and then of course the bike will be totally different. We will have to work very hard in the pre-season to adapt. If (Loris) Capirossi is my team-mate I think that would be a big bonus for me, as he is Italian, with a similar personality to me, a very nice guy with so much experience and someone to learn a lot from.”

Asked what his current Aspar employers made of his decision to join Suzuki, Bautista replied, “Well I think they understand it but they don’t agree with it. Jorge (Martínez) wanted me to be his MotoGP rider and after four years together in 125cc and 250cc it is a shame not to be going into MotoGP together from a professional perspective, but I have made a choice which I believe is correct for me. Jorge is a great person and the whole team are extremely focused, they respect my decision.”

“As Jorge told me, ‘that’s what will happen next year, but we still have a lot of work to do this year!’,” added Bautista.

Meanwhile, giving the Suzuki perspective on signing Bautista, team boss Paul Denning stated, “We are very happy to have signed Álvaro Bautista for next season and we’re excited about the plans. He is still currently contracted with Mr Martínez and the Aspar team though so we don’t want to say too much at this stage as he has to focus on his job to become the 250cc World Champion.”

Barberá to ride for Aspar Ducati in MotoGP

Wednesday, 19 August 2009

Jorge Martínez ‘Aspar’ has announced that he will have Héctor Barberá riding in his new MotoGP team next year.

Following months of intense speculation it has been confirmed that Héctor Barberá will ride for the new Aspar team on Ducati machinery in the premier class in 2010.

Currently riding an Aprilia in the 250cc World Championship for the Pepe World Team, Barberá sits fourth in the general standings with one 2009 victory and two additional podiums to his name. He is to rejoin the Aspar structure for whom he rode in the 125cc class in 2002 and 2003.

Team owner and manager Jorge Martínez ‘Aspar’, commented: “This is excellent news for us, to be reunited with Héctor Barberá after so many years. We won the Spanish championship together and Grands Prix in 125cc and I’m sure this will be another great project. We hope for good results next year and we want this to be a long term agreement. Hopefully Héctor can earn factory machinery with his results. For our team it is a dream to be competing in all three World Championship categories.”

Pasini to remain on 250cc machinery this season

Tuesday, 18 August 2009

A good test with Pramac Racing on Monday did Mattia Pasini’s profile no harm, but he will focus on the 250cc championship until the end of the year despite rumours to the contrary.

Although he was tipped to make his MotoGP debut at Indianapolis on the spare Pramac Racing Desmosedici, following the news that he would test for the premier class outfit in Brno on Monday, Mattia Pasini has decided to focus on the 250cc championship until the end of the year.

Rumours suggested that Pasini could ride for Pramac at Indianapolis and Misano, with Casey Stoner still unavailable due to illness and Mika Kallio covering for the Australian in the factory team – and with Michel Fabrizio just making a one off appearance for the satellite Ducati team in the Czech Republic.

But Pramac will have to find another rider for the forthcoming two rounds, despite Pasini’s initial good showing on the MotoGP machine, after the rider, Pramac Racing boss Paolo Campinoti and Pasini’s current 250cc team Team Toth collectively decided it would be best for him to focus on his current challenges in the quarter litre class.

Campinoti commented, “We all know how hard it is to jump on a MotoGP bike and get used to it. Our sincere compliments go to Mattia as he is a guy who never gives up, is tenacious and fully deserved this opportunity, even if we are sorry that he will not be able to ride with us in the next couple of races.”

Pasini himself stated, “It was a sensational feeling to go so fast. I went from doing 255km/h on my 250cc bike on Sunday, to over 300 km/h on the Ducati. It is a really spectacular bike to ride, with such incredible power. Overall I am very satisfied with how things went, but for now I will have to concentrate on the 250cc championship as I still have the possibility to aim for the title.”

Suzuki confirm Bautista for 2010

Sunday, 16 August 2009

Suzuki Motor Corporation have confirmed that Álvaro Bautista will be joining their official MotoGP team on a two year contract.

Suzuki have announced the signing of 250cc frontrunner Álvaro Bautista, to contest the 2010 and 2011 MotoGP World Championships with their official team.

Bautista was Spanish 125cc champion in 2003 and crowned 125cc World Champion in 2006. He moved up to the 250cc class in 2007 and earned the ‘Rookie of the Year' title for his impressive results. Bautista was runner-up in the 2008 title race and he is currently in contention for this season's 250cc championship, sitting in second place with six races remaining. Since his Grand Prix debut in 2002 Bautista has scored 43 podiums including 16 victories (eight in each class). The 24-year-old hails from Talavera de la Reina in Spain, a town approximately 130kms west of Madrid.

Rossi reviews another successful weekend

Sunday, 16 August 2009

After another Grand Prix which decidedly swung things in his favour Valentino Rossi was in a typically upbeat mood at the conclusion of the Brno race.

Taking a 50-point lead into the final phase of the season, with six races to go at some of his favourite tracks, MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi is on course for yet another World title courtesy of his Czech Republic success.

Although Rossi started on pole the practice performances of his team-mate and closest championship rival Jorge Lorenzo suggested the pair would be set for another head-to-head duel at the front of the race. That proved to be the case but Rossi got the better of the young Spaniard again in front of the huge Czech crowd as Lorenzo overtook him towards the end of the race only to hit the ground with five laps to run.

Afterwards Rossi stated humbly, “First of all I have to say thanks to all my team because this weekend we did a great job from Friday. During the practice we were struggling a little bit with front feeling and we were quite fast but not enough. After today’s warm up we made another small modification which gave me a better feeling with the front tyre.”

The Italian star continued, “I knew that today would be tough because Jorge had gone with a fantastic pace in the practices. So I tried to make the perfect race, great start, stay at the front and push like a devil! I was making it hard work for him and then when he overtook me with six laps to go I was ready for battle and to put on a good show.”

“On turn three he lost the front and it is very bad for Jorge, it is a pity, but it is good for us as we now have a 50-point lead. There is still a long way to the end of the season but we have a good advantage, so we have to keep pushing and stay focused.”

Front row starter Pedrosa happy with third

Dani Pedrosa will be going all out to stop Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo at Brno on Sunday.

Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa reviews the Saturday action at the Cardion ab Czech Republic Grand Prix after he qualified third on the grid at round eleven.

Pedrosa looked quick in the morning practice and finished in a close second place, just 0.131s from the fastest time. He was quickest early in the afternoon session, setting a best lap of 1’56.528s, well inside the circuit race lap record. Traffic in the final moments of qualifying apparently prevented Pedrosa from challenging for pole position, but the Spaniard was satisfied to get on the front row and give himself an excellent chance of a clean getaway tomorrow.

Dani Pedrosa – third
“I’m happy enough with today because we’re on the front row and that’s the most important thing to achieve in qualifying. I think I could have gone even quicker at the end of the session, but on my final run lap I had a lot of traffic and I had to do two slow laps until I found a clear track. Still, I think we had some more potential to go faster so this is positive. For tomorrow we still have to improve the set-up and achieve a little more consistency in our lap times so that I can run at the front. I like this circuit and I’ve had some good results here previously, so I hope I can make a quick start and fight for the win tomorrow.”

Rossi on pole in Czech Republic despite crash

Saturday, 15 August 2009

A rare qualifying crash for the MotoGP World Champion at Brno did not prevent him from securing pole position for Sunday’s eleventh race of the 2009 season.

Valentino Rossi survived a late crash during qualifying at the Cardian ab Czech Republic Grand Prix to take his fifth pole position of the season, in clear and sunny conditions at the undulating Brno track.

At one of his favourite venues on the calendar Rossi took his Yamaha M1 round the circuit in 1’56.145 on the 21st of his 23 laps after a battle for supremacy with his team-mate and closest World Championship rival Jorge Lorenzo – who trails him by 25 points in the standings and was 0.05s behind the Italian in this session.

Lorenzo has looked good throughout the weekend and will be confident of pushing Rossi hard in Sunday’s race. Perhaps the Spaniard will take heart from Rossi’s late crash as he keeps the pressure on from the other side of the Fiat Yamaha pit-box.

In the absence of Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa could be the biggest threat to Rossi and Lorenzo, with the talented Repsol Honda rider having qualified in third place, just under four tenths down on Rossi.

Toni Elías, meanwhile, reacted well to the news that he will not be riding for the San Carlo Honda Gresini team next year, placing himself at the front of the second row on his RC212V.

With Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini) qualifying in fifth to seventh respectively the top seven was dominated by Yamaha and Honda.

De Angelis will be joined on the third row by Ducati’s Nicky Hayden and Suzuki’s Loris Capirossi, who survived a scary moment to qualify ninth. There was a crash for temporary factory Ducati stand-in Mika Kallio who placed tenth, whilst Randy de Puniet ran off track at one stage and qualified 13th.