BatiFan Blog | The Alvaro Bautista Fan Blog | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

“It hasn’t been a good weekend for us if we are talking about the world title, because Simoncelli is closer to us and Aoyama is now further ahead. I had a lot of problems in practice, just like at Brno where I didn’t feel at all comfortable on the bike. I didn’t manage to find that decent setting that I needed. Yesterday afternoon I felt more confident, and believed that today I could fight at the front. It was a pity that I made such a slow start, because I got stuck behind Debón and it was hard to pass him. When I got through I tried to regain ground with the front two, but they were already too far away. I tried to push at the limit, but on such a bumpy track it is hard to feel comfortable enough to do that when you know that you could fall easily. It hasn’t been the weekend that we expected, but at least we didn’t lose too many points in the standings. We’ll see if at the next few races we can work better in practice, in order to have a setup ready for Sunday.”

Pos | Rider | Bike | Time
1. Marco Simoncelli Gilera 45m43.599s
2. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda + 1.943s
3. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia + 4.661s
4. Mike Di Meglio Aprilia + 12.776s
5. R.Locatelli Gilera + 15.475s
6. Hector Barbera Aprilia + 19.471s
7. Lukas Pesek Aprilia + 22.682s
8. Hector Faubel Honda + 32.809s
9. Thomas Luthi Aprilia + 49.321s
10. Karel Abraham Aprilia + 49.845s
11. Raffaele De Rosa Honda + 53.567s
12. Alex Baldolini Aprilia +1m29.717s
13. Valentin Debise Honda +1m37.837s
14. Axel Pons Aprilia +1m46.672s
15. Vladimir Leonov Aprilia +1m46.821s
16. Balazs Nemeth Aprilia + 1 lap
17. Imre Toth Aprilia + 1 lap
18. Barrett Long Yamaha + 1 lap
19. Adam Roberts Yamaha + 1 lap
NOT CLASSIFIED/RETIREMENTS:

Rider | Bike | On lap
R.Wilairot Honda 23
Alex Debon Aprilia 18
Jules Cluzel Aprilia 7
Mattia Pasini Aprilia 5
Bastien Chesaux Honda 0

“It looked as though the track was drying but then it rained again, which made it a difficult session because it was impossible to get into a consistent rhythm. I tried to gradually get a feel for the track and the conditions and I got more and more comfortable until we had to stop early because the engine temperature dropped too low. By that time the conditions were really bad anyway and the bike was aquaplaning. The old part of the circuit is quite bumpy but has good grip, whilst you have to take care on the part they re-laid last year because it is slippery. Hopefully we get a dry day tomorrow so that we can check out how our settings from last year work.”

Pos | Rider | Team | Lap time | Time
1 Jules CLUZEL Matteoni Racing 1′53.512
2 Hector BARBERA Pepe World Team 1′54.244 0.732
3 Marco SIMONCELLI Metis Gilera 1′54.699 1.187
4 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1′55.007 1.495
5 Mike DI MEGLIO Mapfre Aspar Team 250cc 1′55.114 1.602
6 Hector FAUBEL Honda SAG 1′55.383 1.871
7 Alex DEBON Aeropuerto-Castello-Blusens 1′55.481 1.969
8 Roberto LOCATELLI Metis Gilera 1′55.501 1.989
9 Alex BALDOLINI WTR San Marino Team 1′55.525 2.013
10 Alvaro BAUTISTA Mapfre Aspar Team 1′55.559 2.047
11 Mattia PASINI Team Toth Aprilia 1′55.778 2.266
12 Thomas LUTHI Emmi – Caffe Latte 1′55.955 2.443
13 Raffaele DE ROSA Scot Racing Team 250cc 1′56.010 2.498
14 Hiroshi AOYAMA Scot Racing Team 250cc 1′56.243 2.731
15 Lukas PESEK Auto Kelly – CP 1′56.287 2.775
16 Ratthapark WILAIROT Thai Honda PTT SAG 1′56.724 3.212
17 Shoya TOMIZAWA CIP Moto – GP250 1′56.906 3.394
18 Imre TOTH Team Toth Aprilia 1′58.297 4.785
19 Vladimir LEONOV Viessmann Kiefer Racing 1′58.744 5.232
20 Valentin DEBISE CIP Moto – GP250 1′59.179 5.667
21 Axel PONS Pepe World Team 1′59.442 5.930
22 Bastien CHESAUX Racing Team Germany 2′00.919 7.407
23 Balazs NEMETH Balatonring Team 2′01.216 7.704

Out of limit time
29 Barrett LONG USA Longevity Racing Yamaha
30 Adam ROBERTS CAN Rat Racing Yamaha

With it being a big old gap between us and Indy on the other side of the pond – or a completely different gap depending on where you live of course! – this weekend is one to plan carefully for TV coverage.
Here’s the BBC schedules…

Saturday 29 August
Qualifying
17:50-21:00, BBC Red Button/online

…………………………………………………………..

Sunday 30 August
125 and 250cc race
16:50-18:05, BBC Red Button/online

MotoGP Race
19:45-21:00, BBC Three/online
Race repeat
02:20-03:35, BBC Three

…………………………………………………………..

Pos | Rider | Nation | Team | Lap time
1 M. SIMONCELLI ITA Metis Gilera 1′45.168
2 H. BARBERA SPA Team Toth Aprilia + 0.369
3 M. KALLIO FIN Red Bull KTM 250 + 0.395
4 A. DEBON SPA Lotus Aprilia + 0.433
5 H. AOYAMA JPN Red Bull KTM 250 + 0.682
6 A. BAUTISTA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team + 1.006
7 M. PASINI ITA Polaris World + 1.154
8 H. FAUBEL SPA Mapfre Aspar Team + 1.192
9 L. PESEK CZE Auto Kelly – CP + 1.202
10 J. SIMON SPA Repsol KTM 250cc + 1.519
11 Y. TAKAHASHI JPN JiR Team Scot 250 + 1.571
12 A. ESPARGARO SPA Lotus Aprilia + 1.667
13 R. WILAIROT THA Thai Honda PTT SAG + 1.679
14 R. LOCATELLI ITA Metis Gilera + 1.881
15 K. ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing + 2.806
16 S. BIANCO ITA Campetella Racing + 3.452
17 M. HERNANDEZ SPA Blusens Aprilia + 3.856
18 D. PRADITA INA Yamaha Pertamina Indonesia + 3.921
19 S. GROTZKYJ ITA Campetella Racing + 4.498
20 I. TOTH HUN Team Toth Aprilia + 4.590
21 A. BALDOLINI ITA Matteoni Racing + 5.526
22 E. LAVERTY IRL Blusens Aprilia + 5.929
23 B. LONG USA Longevity Racing + 7.216

Not classified
T. LUTHI SWI Emmi – Caffe Latte Lap

Out of limit time
K. FERRIS USA Team Infinity Replicast