alvaro bautista

Redirect and Bookmark ALVAROBAUTISTAFANBLOG.COM

2009-12-16T20:56:00.002Z

Just to let you know that there will be no more posting here on this page - from now on the BatiFan Blog resides as a fully featured site at AlvaroBautistaFanBlog.com so please make sure you get browsing there instead and that you bookmark the new site.

Oh, and it's blue - all ready for 2010 ;-)

See you over there.
Cheers,
gb

Change Is Coming...

2009-12-14T13:36:00.003Z

The BatiFan Blog has looked a lot like it does now for a long long time.
Since it started to be honest...
Okay we have had the odd lick of paint and the occasional refinement but it's remained largely the same ever since it was set up to help share the news and activities of the BatiFans Alvaro Bautista Global Fan Community and the AlvaroBautista.co.uk Fan Site...

Now, though, with Alvaro's step up into the top class it's probably time for a definite change - so I'm looking at a number of ideas; both in terms of structure and ongoing content management (as well as in layout and design / branding) to take us into the 2010 season.

So, in the coming days and weeks you can expect a few disruptions while I mess with the domain at a deep and dirty level.

If there's news to break or trivia or downloads to share then we'll do our best, but hopefully soon you'll see a whole new site here - one that's fully equipped and worthy of taking us forward in supporting Bati in his MotoGP adventure with Rizla Suzuki.

gb

Scott Redding 2010 Campaign - Spreading The Word Further

2009-12-13T18:01:00.003Z

I've just completed a marathon creative dev and build that was a one-day intensive project that I’m dead chuffed with. It’s going to require ongoing development and maintenance, but it’s a good cause and totally worth it.

Basically it’s furthering the work of the pimping of Scott Redding’s campaign to get a 2010 Moto2 ride that I publicised previously. It’s a website called "Scott Redding 2010" and it aims to push publicity and interaction with the cause way beyond Facebook. With the “Scott Redding 2010” project I delivered a website for the Scott Redding Supporters Club to help focus attention on their mission outside of the Facebook environment where it had largely operated before. Whilst over 300 million people use Facebook, over 6.7 billion people use the internet as a whole so it made sense to ensure that the campaign to try and secure Scott a Moto2 ride for the 2010 MotoGP season reached as broad an audience as possible.

The site will serve as an ongoing news magazine to cover events and fundraising activities run by the Supporters Club, to ensure as many internet users as possible find out about the cause and to enable easy access to instant online donation mechanisms.
Like I say, a good cause, and hopefully one that will engage all those many potential fans and supporters who don’t use Facebook.

Please share the news and the link, and ideally make a donation too if you can - Scott’s a superb rider and *anything* that can be done to move his career forward is a good cause.

Support Scott Redding's 2010 Bid By Helping With His Fundraiser

2009-12-05T18:37:00.002Z

As readers will know, although this is fundamentally an Alvaro-related blog it's a place where I'll occasionally go off-topic to help promote a worthy cause.
And if you have a couple of minutes, then that's what I'll do now...

It has been announced that there will be a fundraising event early next year which aims to raise money to help top Brit talent Scott Redding get some kind of Moto2 ride for 2010.

Scott, who's had a bit of pig of a final 125cc season really - a rough and undeservedly unrewarding time for someone so hugely gifted and committed - so far has nothing lined up, and as I'm also the boss of MotoGP Brits I'll take this opportunity to spread the word and pimp the fundraiser, and to say that I hope sincerely that the event can help make a serious contribution to supporting his efforts.

The Fundraising event will take place at Bransons Motorcycles in Gloucester and will include an auction where they will be auctioning off his helmet, leathers, gloves,boots and other items. Scott will be there to meet people and sign autographs. Tickets are £10 and can be purchased through the Scott Redding supporters club on Facebook or can be purchased on the day.

Click here for more information on the Facebook group page...

Please help support one of our top Brit riders in pursuing his career!

FULL DETAILS:

Scott Redding supporters club fundraiser.
Date - Saturday 16 January
Time - 17:30 to 23:00
Location - Bransons Motorcycles,
12-14 Spinnnaker Rd,
Hempsted,
Gloucester, GL2 5FD

Juanjo Update - Campeón CEX 2009!

2009-11-16T14:34:00.003Z

Big congrats are in order to young Juanjo Nuñez - our friend and fellow fanclub member from Talavera de la Reina...
He has just taken the title in this year's CEX championship (extremeño de velocidad, or Championship of Speed, Extremadura) thanks to a fourth place in the season's final race at the Almeria circuit.
This is particularly good news following a worrying crash he'd had there in training prior to the event, but brilliant to see he just picked himself up and went for it.

Superb work Juanjo! Congrautulations - Felcidades - I am sure from our readers and from the BatiFans.com forum members. It's another great title for you after another year of hard work, and another step in a career following in Alvaro's footsteps.
We hope we'll still be cheering you in years to come :-)

JUANJO NUÑEZ
Año 2008 :: Campeón :: Campeonato Madrileño de Minimotos
Año 2009 :: Campeón :: Campeonato Extremeño de Velocidad

"Alvaro Bautista, Suzuki Test" Desktop Wallpaper

2009-11-16T08:18:00.002Z

Here's a new wallpaper to celerbate Alvaro's Suzuki test at Valencia, and the start of an exciting, and challenging, new chapter in his racing career...

Click here to download - 1440x900 pixels
Click here to download - 1280x800 pixels

Enjoy!
gb

(PS: And as always, for more, and exclusive, downloads, join up at BatiFans.com - The Alvaro Bautista Fan Forum)

2010 MotoGP Calendar Gets Revised...

2009-11-11T08:17:00.000Z

The latest provisional 2010 MotoGP calendar has been announced by the FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme).

The newest version of the 2010 Grand Prix schedule includes a number of changes to the calendar to avoid any clashes with other events on the worldwide stage. The season will begin in April when the first event will be a night race at Losail in Qatar.

Date - Grand Prix - Circuit:
11 April - Qatar* - Losail
25 April - Japan - Motegi
2 May - Spain - Jerez
23 May - France - Le Mans
6 June - Italy - Mugello
20 June - Great Britain - Silverstone
26 June - Netherlands** - Assen
4 July - Catalunya - Catalunya
18 July - Germany - Sachsenring
25 July - United States*** - Laguna Seca
22 August - Czech Republic - Brno
29 August - Indianapolis - Indianapolis
5 September - San Marino & Riviera di Rimini - Misano
19 September - Hungary - Balatonring
10 October - Malaysia - Sepang
17 October - Australia - Phillip Island
31 October - Portugal - Estoril
7 November – Valencia - Ricardo Tormo Valencia

* Evening Race
** Saturday Race
*** Only MotoGP class

In the event that one of the circuits is not able to comply with the requirements to hold the scheduled Grand Prix, the Motorland Aragon Circuit in Spain would host a reserve ‘event' on the same day.

Photos From Alvaro's MotoGP Test; Day One

2009-11-09T18:51:00.005Z

We sstayed on after the Valencia GP at the weekend for the testing sessions, where Alvaro made his debut on a MotoGP bike over three days with his new team Suzuki.
There's more pics on our other sites, but enjoy these anyway...

Valencia Photo Album - Part One

2009-11-09T09:01:00.001Z

Alvaro Signs Off With A Great 2nd At Valencia

2009-11-08T18:07:00.004Z

A tremendous final race in 250cc for Alvaro - fantastic to watch it in the stands with the Fanclub (and I'll aim to post up some personal pics form this very soon) - and definitely exciting to the last. Congrats also to Hiro on the title.

Here's Alvaro's words...
"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."

And here's the results...

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1. Hector Barbera Aprilia 44m10.601s
2. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia + 3.663s
3. Raffaele de Rosa Honda + 5.665s
4. Thomas Luthi Aprilia + 5.680s
5. Ratthapark Wilairot Honda + 13.601s
6. Karel Abraham Aprilia + 13.697s
7. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda + 27.438s
8. Alex Baldolini Aprilia + 35.097s
9. Roberto Locatelli Gilera + 35.866s
10. Shoya Tomizawa Honda + 40.176s
11. Shuhei Aoyama Honda + 49.095s
12. Lukas Pesek Aprilia + 53.132s
13. Balazs Nemeth Aprilia + 1m06.014s
14. Mike di Meglio Aprilia + 1m18.692s
15. Valentin Debise Honda + 1m18.876s
16. Bastien Chesaux Aprilia + 1 lap
17. Vladimir Leonov Aprilia + 1 lap
18. William Dunlop Honda + 1 lap
19. Imre Toth Aprilia + 1 lap

Retirements:
Jules Cluzel Aprilia 23 laps
Marco Simoncelli Gilera 20 laps
Axel Pons Aprilia 19 laps
Mattia Pasini Aprilia 11 laps
Hector Faubel Honda 7 laps

Bati Lines Up 9th For Farewell 250 Race

2009-11-07T21:23:00.003Z

Another windy session, though less changeable weather overall. Still a bit of a blustery challenge for many riders, and Alvaro putting in plenty of work only to find himself in lots of traffic in the closing minutes...

"We tried a different setting for the afternoon because we had some traction problems this morning but it didn't work so we went back to the original setting - unfortunately we didn't have time to get many laps in after that. There was a lot of traffic on track at the end of the session too and I wasn't able to improve my lap time. It means that once again we're starting from further back than we'd like but hopefully we can have a good warm-up and gain the confidence to push hard from the start of the race. Everybody wants to win tomorrow so it will be a close race and important to stay in touch with the leaders from the start."

Here's the results in full...

Pos Rider Bike Time Laps
1. Alex Debon Aprilia 1m36.116s 20
2. Marco Simoncelli Gilera 1m36.450s + 0.334s 22
3. Hector Barbera Aprilia 1m36.470s + 0.354s 21
4. R.Wilairot Honda 1m36.563s + 0.447s 20
5. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda 1m36.656s + 0.540s 22
6. Thomas Luthi Aprilia 1m36.985s + 0.869s 23
7. Karel Abraham Aprilia 1m37.271s + 1.155s 22
8. Mattia Pasini Aprilia 1m37.278s + 1.162s 20
9. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 1m37.303s + 1.187s 22
10. Hector Faubel Honda 1m37.318s + 1.202s 21
11. Raffaele De Rosa Honda 1m37.365s + 1.249s 21
12. Alex Baldolini Aprilia 1m37.577s + 1.461s 21
13. Jules Cluzel Aprilia 1m37.749s + 1.633s 17
14. R.Locatelli Gilera 1m37.811s + 1.695s 22
15. Mike Di Meglio Aprilia 1m37.958s + 1.842s 15
16. Shoya Tomizawa Honda 1m38.085s + 1.969s 20
17. Axel Pons Aprilia 1m38.126s + 2.010s 21
18. Lukas Pesek Aprilia 1m38.291s + 2.175s 19
19. Balazs Nemeth Aprilia 1m38.737s + 2.621s 21
20. Shuhei Aoyama Honda 1m38.795s + 2.679s 19
21. Valentin Debise Honda 1m39.283s + 3.167s 16
22. Vladimir Leonov Aprilia 1m40.371s + 4.255s 19
23. Bastien Chesaux Aprilia 1m41.605s + 5.489s 13
24. Imre Toth Aprilia 1m42.418s + 6.302s 20
- William Dunlop Honda 1m42.906s + 6.790s 20

Alvaro Third In Friday FP

2009-11-06T18:24:00.003Z

Okay - today's Friday practice report comes fresh form the infield for a change... well, back at the hotel now, but watched from the infield on a slightly changeable afternoon, mixing sun and cloud, cool calm and wind. You could see some of Bati's exits onto the back straight looking a little wiggly at times, whilst other longer sweeps into the centre of the circuit and round out towards the big long penultimate curve looked gloriously smooth.
For now here's Alvaro's words...

"The conditions were a little strange today. The track surface was dirty and quite cool, so we had to ride carefully. The majority of corners here are to the left so when you flick right you can really notice the lack of grip. Anyway, as the weekend progresses I'm sure the track and the weather will both improve. I felt pretty comfortable with the front end of my Aprilia and we were able to try a few things with the rear aimed at getting more life out of the tyre. We still haven't found the perfect combination so we'll keep trying tomorrow. In general I'm happy with the job we've done and I felt comfortable out there so it's a good start."

And here, for the record, is today's top ten...

1. Barbera (Aprilia) 1min 36.185secs
2. Debon (Aprilia) +0.317sec
3. Bautista (Aprilia) +0.681sec
4. H. Aoyama (Honda) +0.739sec
5. de Rosa (Honda) +0.914sec
6. Simoncelli (Gilera) +0.980sec
7. Faubel (Honda) +1.028sec
8. di Meglio (Aprilia) +1.088sec
9. Wilairot (Honda) +1.241sec
10. Luthi (Aprilia) +1.621sec

Museo Angel Nieto, Madrid

2009-11-03T07:56:00.004Z

I was in Madrid last weekend to see El Canto Del Loco in concert (and they were awesome by the way, totally awesome...) and during the remainder of a weekend of chilling, wandering and enjoying the place, went to the Angel Nieto Museum; dedicated to the Spanish legend.
It's a great place, stacked out with bikes, leathers, photos and trophies from across his entire career, and a wall of messages and signatures from other Spanish riders and names (including Jorge Martinez, but not Alvaro Bautista sadly) - and even has the leathers form the 2008 "90+90" Celebration with Valentino Rossi. If you're in Madrid, it's well worth a look for a MotoGP fan; and you can find it a short way along the Avenida del Planetario, just around the corner from the Mendez Alvaro Metro station.
Here's a few pics...

Alvaro Looks Ahead To Valencia Weekend

2009-11-02T14:46:00.002Z

Although he's not finishing the season as 250 champ, Bati nonetheless aims to end his 2009 campaign on a high and in a really positive frame of mind.
He'll be following the race weekend with testing for Suzuki, to give us a mouthwatering teaser of next year...

Here's his thoughts ahead of the weekend:
"I would have liked to be going to Valencia in different circumstances this weekend but luck hasn't been on our side for the last three races. The championship is over for me but this is my last race in the 250 class and I want to enjoy it in front of my home fans. I'll go out there and give it everything to fight for the win. We have missed out on our main objective so now I just want to enjoy the weekend and sign off from the class in style. It is important to me to end this phase of my career with a win. Cheste holds few secrets for me because I have done so many laps there and it is one of my favourite circuits. There are no excuses and I will be giving it everything from Friday."

Suerte Alvaro!

Alvaro's Title Challenge Ends In Sepang Gravel

2009-10-25T10:37:00.002Z

Well, that's basically it for this year. Alvaro's title hopes ended this morning in the Sepang gravel, and even though he'll surely be longing to deliver a win at Valencia to his fans it's going to be little comfort in a season that had promised so much.
Whilst many of us always believed the initial "cert" status he seemed to be given for the title was unrealistic, we couldn't have predicted the way the momentum and opportunity would desert him in the latter half of the season where mechanical failures, poor luck and - let's be honest - unnecessary errors - combined to decimate his challenge.
It's a shame as it would have been good to see him take a 250 title - and indeed, the last 250 title - before moving up to MotoGP and what must surely be another challenging season.
But it wasn't to be.

RACE REPORT:

At 13:15 local time the lunchtime 250cc race took centre stage in Malaysia. The penultimate round of the series saw a surprise leader in the early stages, as Jules Cluzel took charge from the start. The favourites for victory were soon back in the picture, however, as the race pace upped rapidly under the sweltering heat. Hiroshi Aoyama clocked a new circuit record of 2'07.597, before tyres started to wear away and falls became a regular occurrence. That favoured a break for the top three, with Aoyama eventually taking victory. He holds the advantage in the overall standings, as the class becomes the only one of the three not to have a victor already decided.

Mapfre riders Mike di Meglio and Álvaro Bautista had a productive weekend that turned sour come Sunday. Once again the two were the victims of a certain amount of misfortune, and both hit the asphalt in race-ending crashes that ruined the hard work put in over the previous two days.
Alvaro made another bad start and worked hard at making a comeback through the field to try and take the lead. One lap after Di Meglio's fall, it was Bautista who lost the front end on turn nine, ending his race and any chance of a title push.

Álvaro Bautista (DNF):
"Things were going more or less fine, and I had hooked up to the lead group after making up some places. I felt comfortable riding and wasn't going at full gas, saving a little for the final push. This track is very demanding, and I wanted to be able to seize my opportunity and take the lead when it came around. My goal was to stay in the pack until then. I hit the bakes before going into turn nine, and I crossed the bars and was unable to avoid the crash. It is a pity, because in three races our chance of the title has gone up in smoke, as we gave our all but had some horrible luck. In Valencia I will try to enjoy the last race at home, and look to give the fans a good result to finish off the year."

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda 42m55.689s
2. Hector Barbera Aprilia + 6.397s
3. Marco Simoncelli Gilera + 6.397s
4. Thomas Luthi Aprilia + 14.871s
5. Hector Faubel Honda + 19.177s
6. Ratthapark Wilairot Honda + 19.567s
7. Alex Debon Aprilia + 20.255s
8. Lukas Pesek Aprilia + 34.561s
9. Alex Baldolini Aprilia + 50.937s
10. Shuhei Aoyama Honda + 1m04.186s
11. Balazs Nemeth Aprilia + 1m08.917s
12. Karel Abraham Aprilia + 1m10.616s
13. Valentin Debise Honda + 1m17.945s
14. Bastien Chesaux Aprilia + 1m29.669s
15. Vladimir Leonov Aprilia + 1m43.536s
16. Shoya Tomizawa Honda + 1 lap

Alvaro Secures 5th Spot On Sepang Grid

2009-10-24T12:03:00.001+01:00

Lap times were incredibly close for the 250cc class again today, with the top eleven separated by just a second in this afternoon's single qualifying practice for Malaysian Grand Prix. It made for an exciting session in which pole position wasn't decided until the very last moment, with slipstreams in the final section vital. In the end it was series leader Hiroshi Aoyama who snatched top spot ahead of French rookies Mike Di Meglio and Jules Cluzel, and Spanish pair Hector Barberá and Álvaro Bautista in the intense heat of Sepang.
Alvaro set a solid pace and also topped the time sheets for a spell before settling for fifth place on the grid.

5th Alvaro Bautista 2.07.371 (17 laps):
"It's a shame we missed out on the front row but the lap times are there and our rhythm is good. Luckily Mike was able to make the most of my slipstream so at least the team benefited. I crashed this morning when we were experimenting with things so in the afternoon we stuck to what we thought worked best and just focused on putting a pace together without sending ourselves crazy. There isn't a lot of difference between the guys at the front and it's going to be a close and hard race tomorrow because of the heat. We have to make sure we stay in touch from the start because any kind of fight-back is dangerous in these conditions. The set-up isn't perfect but we are ready to race."

Pos. Rider Team Lap time Gap
1 Hiroshi AOYAMA Scot Racing Team 250cc 2′06.767
2 Jules CLUZEL Matteoni Racing 2′07.099 0.332
3 Mike DI MEGLIO Mapfre Aspar Team 250cc 2′07.232 0.465
4 Hector BARBERA Pepe World Team 2′07.301 0.534
5 Alvaro BAUTISTA Mapfre Aspar Team 2′07.371 0.604
6 Ratthapark WILAIROT Thai Honda PTT SAG 2′07.662 0.895
7 Hector FAUBEL Honda SAG 2′07.828 1.061
8 Marco SIMONCELLI Metis Gilera 2′07.916 1.149
9 Thomas LUTHI Emmi – Caffe Latte 2′07.949 1.182
10 Raffaele DE ROSA Scot Racing Team 250cc 2′07.953 1.186
11 Alex DEBON Aeropuerto-Castello-Blusens 2′07.998 1.231
12 Mattia PASINI Paddock GP Racing Team 2′08.159 1.392
13 Roberto LOCATELLI Metis Gilera 2′08.836 2.069
14 Alex BALDOLINI WTR San Marino Team 2′08.841 2.074
15 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 2′08.908 2.141
16 Shoya TOMIZAWA CIP Moto – GP250 2′09.148 2.381
17 Lukas PESEK Auto Kelly – CP 2′09.336 2.569
18 Axel PONS Pepe World Team 2′09.392 2.625
19 Shuhei AOYAMA Racing Team Germany 2′09.654 2.887
20 Balazs NEMETH Balatonring Team 2′11.611 4.844
21 Bastien CHESAUX Matteoni Racing 2′11.941 5.174
22 Valentin DEBISE CIP Moto – GP250 2′12.171 5.404
23 Vladimir LEONOV Viessmann Kiefer Racing 2′12.813 6.046
24 Imre TOTH Team Toth Aprilia 2′14.831 8.064

Alvaro On Friday Practice, Sepang

2009-10-23T14:21:00.000+01:00

The 250cc riders took to the Sepang Circuit in searing heat late this afternoon as the Malaysian Grand Prix got underway in typically tricky conditions. An unusual session saw a variety of different riders take their turn at the top of the time sheets before series leader Hiroshi Aoyama took control. However, with the top eight riders separated by only a second it is unclear whether the Honda rider will be able to withstand the Aprilia onslaught until the end of Sunday's race.
Alvaro has started out at Sepang with the same attitude and hunger he showed at Phillip Island a week ago, continually improving his lap times until a rear grip problem emerged in the second half of the session. However, after setting the fifth fastest time today and in the knowledge that only a win will do on Sunday in order to keep his title hopes alive the Spaniard is refusing to throw the towel in just yet.

5th - Alvaro Bautista - 2.08.159 (20 laps):
"I felt comfortable with the bike as soon as I went out on the track today and my feeling was good. The only thing was that the bike was running wide in a few corners and when I tried to pull it back in I was losing the rear. We worked hard on sorting it out and by the end I think we found the way forward. I'm more or less happy with the result because it's only the first day and we're only a couple of tenths off the fastest lap. The pace is on lap record and we're there with the frontrunners, so hopefully the weather holds out tomorrow and allows us to continue improving. As far as I'm concerned I think the more riders are fighting for the win on Sunday the better for me, because that would help us. Having said that it is difficult to make any predictions when the conditions are like this and racing is very different to practice. Holding that pace for so many laps is not easy."

Malaysian GP: FP1 Results, 250cc

2009-10-23T14:16:00.001+01:00

Pos | Rider | Team | Laptime | Gap
1 Hiroshi AOYAMA Scot Racing Team 250cc 2′07.875
2 Alex DEBON Aeropuerto-Castello-Blusens 2′07.888 0.013
3 Ratthapark WILAIROT Thai Honda PTT SAG 2′07.927 0.052
4 Mike DI MEGLIO Mapfre Aspar Team 250cc 2′07.973 0.098
5 Alvaro BAUTISTA Mapfre Aspar Team 2′08.159 0.284
6 Hector BARBERA Pepe World Team 2′08.285 0.410
7 Mattia PASINI Paddock GP Racing Team 2′08.763 0.888
8 Lukas PESEK Auto Kelly – CP 2′08.852 0.977
9 Raffaele DE ROSA Scot Racing Team 250cc 2′09.120 1.245
10 Marco SIMONCELLI Metis Gilera 2′09.137 1.262
11 Thomas LUTHI Emmi – Caffe Latte 2′09.159 1.284
12 Hector FAUBEL Honda SAG 2′09.209 1.334
13 Jules CLUZEL Matteoni Racing 2′09.635 1.760
14 Alex BALDOLINI WTR San Marino Team 2′09.804 1.929
15 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 2′09.816 1.941
16 Shuhei AOYAMA Racing Team Germany 2′09.858 1.983
17 Roberto LOCATELLI Metis Gilera 2′10.001 2.126
18 Shoya TOMIZAWA CIP Moto – GP250 2′10.072 2.197
19 Axel PONS Pepe World Team 2′12.612 4.737
20 Valentin DEBISE CIP Moto – GP250 2′12.919 5.044
21 Vladimir LEONOV Viessmann Kiefer Racing 2′13.159 5.284
22 Bastien CHESAUX Matteoni Racing 2′13.265 5.390
23 Balazs NEMETH Balatonring Team 2′13.414 5.539
24 Imre TOTH Team Toth Aprilia 2′14.116 6.241

Malaysian GP Preview & Alvaro Quotes

2009-10-22T08:38:00.002+01:00

The MotoGP World Championship paddock leaves behind the fresh spring temperatures of Australia this week and heads for the heat of Malaysia, host to the fourth and final back-to-back race of the season. The 250cc World Championship title chase approaches an exciting conclusion, with 50 points still up for grabs and the series leader seemingly running out of steam in the crucial part of the season. His rivals are closing in and everything points to a final-race decider at Valencia in two weeks' time.

Meanwhile, our guy Alvaro heads into the Malaysian round hoping for a turnaround in his recent fortunes, having come away empty handed from the last race but one in Portugal following a crash and then suffering another crash when throwing caution to the wind with a stirring challenge for victory in Australia. Having at least been able to return to the track and score points in tenth place at Phillip Island, his hopes of winning the title are still alive although only just, with a 29-point gap to the top and just two races remaining. However, Álvaro will continue to throw everything he has at the cause from the opening practice session on Friday at Sepang, where he hopes to revitalise his season with a victory.

Words from Bati on the weekend ahead...
"Luck hasn't been on our side over the past couple of races. I guess that in this sport, as in any other, you have to prepare yourself properly and believe you can win but you also need a touch of luck too. After Portugal I was sure that we couldn't hold anything back in the races that remained, that it was time to take a few risks and that's what we did in Australia. The gamble didn't pay off but we can't lose heart. Sepang is another circuit I love and I know that the Aprilia can perform much better than the Honda here, so we have to make the most of it. The championship is a very slim possibility but it is still a possibility and we have nothing to lose, so we'll just give it our best shot every time we go out onto the track and try everything we can to win the last two races."

Albacete Names Turn After Alvaro

2009-10-22T08:31:00.003+01:00

As reported by stv21 on TeamAspar.net during the upcoming last round of the European Championship, held at the Albacete Circuit on November 1st, there will be a special ceremony to reveal the newly named curves 11 and 12. The two curves are part of one chicane and will be named after Alvaro Bautista and Julian Simon, in tribute to the two world champions from Castilla La Mancha and the impact they have on the sport for the region.

Invited guests to the event included former world champions and racing legends like Angel Nieto, Jorge Martinez, Manuel “Champi” Herreros, Emilio Alzamora, Carlos Cardús, Julián Miralles and of course the two honoured champions themselves.

I'm guessing that the curve name will be relating to the words Alvaro and/or Bautista rather than the more fun "Bati" or "Baster" options, but hey - brilliant - a genuine honour :-)

Congrats Alvaro, congrats Julian.

Australian GP: Alvaro Post-Race Quotes

2009-10-18T12:54:00.000+01:00

"After the problems that we had in the practices and the work that we had to put in to get back up to the front, it was a pity that I fell. This morning we made an adjustment to the bike and I fell, meaning that I couldn't assess the change fully even though I had felt good. Everything was going great in the race, and I saw that I was strong.
I had rear tyre problems that caused me to slide around, but I still tried to put it all on the line and take some risks. I only wanted to win, second place was not enough. The finale leaves a bittersweet taste, but at least I can say that I gave my all. Even with everything in place for a good ride, sometimes you need a bit of luck on your side, and for the second consecutive GP we didn't have that.
It is a pity, because the title is now even further away, but we just have to think that the next two races can go our way, and we can do much better."

Australian GP: 250cc Results

2009-10-18T12:52:00.000+01:00

Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap
1. Marco Simoncelli Gilera 28m17.403s
2. Hector Barbera Aprilia + 2.434s
3. Raffaele De Rosa Honda + 2.604s
4. Jules Cluzel Aprilia + 12.118s
5. Mike Di Meglio Aprilia + 12.192s
6. Karel Abraham Aprilia + 12.413s
7. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda + 12.455s
8. Hector Faubel Honda + 13.112s
9. Ratthapark Wilairot Honda + 13.560s
10. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia + 27.779s
11. Thomas Luthi Aprilia + 28.222s
12. Lukas Pesek Aprilia + 28.657s
13. Alex Debon Aprilia + 33.892s
14. Shuhei Aoyama Honda + 38.779s
15. Shoya Tomizawa Honda + 40.529s
16. Balazs Nemeth Aprilia +1m23.200s
17. Bastien Chesaux Aprilia +1m24.298s
18. Imre Toth Aprilia + 1 lap
19. Valentin Debise Honda + 1 lap

Alvaro Reflects On Difficult Qualifying

2009-10-17T11:38:00.002+01:00

"This obviously isn't the result I was hoping for. We had some problems with the rear of the bike yesterday and this morning it was the same story. In the afternoon it looked like we'd improved it a little but I'm still not comfortable. We tried a hard front tyre but it didn't work as we'd hoped. It makes the bike very stable in the direction changes but we need to adapt the chassis to it and make the whole thing run sweeter. We can't throw the towel in yet - we have to keep working and do everything we can to improve and make sure we're in a position to try and fight back in the race tomorrow."

Alvaro In 10th For Sunday's Race

2009-10-17T11:35:00.000+01:00

Pos | Rider | Bike | Time | Gap
1. Raffaele de Rosa Honda 1m33.389s
2. Marco Simoncelli Gilera 1m33.614s + 0.225
3. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda 1m33.633s + 0.244
4. Alex Debon Aprilia 1m33.886s + 0.497
5. Hector Barbera Aprilia 1m33.928s + 0.539
6. Mike Di Meglio Aprilia 1m34.030s + 0.641
7. Ratthapark Wilairot Honda 1m34.114s + 0.725
8. Mattia Pasini Aprilia 1m34.192s + 0.803
9. Hector Faubel Honda 1m34.285s + 0.896
10. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 1m34.588s + 1.199
11. Karel Abraham Aprilia 1m34.727s + 1.338
12. Jules Cluzel Aprilia 1m34.921s + 1.532
13. Alex Baldolini Aprilia 1m35.016s + 1.627
14. Lukas Pesek Aprilia 1m35.018s + 1.629
15. Thomas Luthi Aprilia 1m35.374s + 1.985
16. Shuhei Aoyama Honda 1m35.387s + 1.998
17. Roberto Locatelli Gilera 1m36.114s + 2.725
18. Shoya Tomizawa Honda 1m36.711s + 3.322
19. Axel Pons Aprilia 1m36.860s + 3.471
20. Vladimir Leonov Aprilia 1m36.901s + 3.512
21. Balazs Nemeth Aprilia 1m37.525s + 4.136
22. Valentin Debise Honda 1m37.984s + 4.595
23. Imre Toth Aprilia 1m38.346s + 4.957
24. Bastien Chesaux Aprilia 1m38.893s + 5.504

Australian GP: Alvaro Friday Quotes

2009-10-16T08:52:00.000+01:00

"It was pretty windy today and to be honest I noticed it a lot. I had a few problems in some of the corners, where I had no feeling for the bike. It was moving around a lot in the exits and I couldn't open the throttle. We worked on both bikes but the second one, which had a different chassis configuration, didn't work as we had hoped. Anyway, we have to work with what we have and the conditions we're faced with. Hopefully we can improve tomorrow because this wasn't a good start. Apart from Barberá the rest of us are within a second so I guess we'll all be looking to improve. This is the kind of circuit where a few small changes can gain you a lot of time. It's only the first session and we have plenty of work to do to make me more comfortable on the bike."

Alvaro Languishing In 12th In Friday Session

2009-10-16T08:49:00.002+01:00

Alvaro had something of a frustrating Friday at Phillip Island not getting comfortable with his bike in the windy conditions. It's not by any means a "bad" circuit for him, so let's hope this is just a minor issue and he can get things properly lined up tomorrow...

Pos | Nº | Rider | Bike | Time | Gap | Laps | km/h
1 40 Héctor Barberá Aprilia 1'34.338 17 169.738
2 35 Raffaele De Rosa Honda 1'34.911 0.573 24 168.713
3 16 Jules Cluzel Aprilia 1'34.927 0.589 24 168.685
4 63 Mike Di Meglio Aprilia 1'35.013 0.675 23 168.532
5 55 Hector Faubel Honda 1'35.085 0.747 25 168.405
6 75 Mattia Pasini Aprilia 1'35.119 0.781 23 168.344
7 14 R.Wilairot Honda 1'35.132 0.794 24 168.321
8 6 Alex Debon Aprilia 1'35.150 0.812 21 168.290
9 17 Karel Abraham Aprilia 1'35.219 0.881 27 168.168
10 58 Marco Simoncelli Gilera 1'35.318 0.980 25 167.993
11 4 Hiroshi Aoyama Honda 1'35.535 1.197 29 167.611
12 19 Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 1'35.759 1.421 26 167.219
13 52 Lukas Pesek Aprilia 1'35.849 1.511 25 167.062
14 12 Thomas Luthi Aprilia 1'36.002 1.664 30 166.796
15 73 Shuhei Aoyama Honda 1'36.107 1.769 27 166.614
16 25 Alex Baldolini Aprilia 1'36.220 1.882 24 166.418
17 15 R.Locatelli Gilera 1'36.884 2.546 26 165.278
18 11 Balázs Németh Aprilia 1'37.791 3.453 27 163.745
19 10 Imre Toth Aprilia 1'38.222 3.884 25 163.026
20 7 Axel Pons Aprilia 1'38.609 4.271 29 162.386
21 53 Valentin Debise Honda 1'38.817 4.479 25 162.044
22 48 Shoya Tomizawa Honda 1'38.971 4.633 24 161.792
23 56 Vladimir Leonov Aprilia 1'39.002 4.664 19 161.742
24 8 Bastien Chesaux Aprilia 1'39.778 5.440 22 160.484

Alvaro Looks Ahead To Phillip Island

2009-10-12T16:06:00.000+01:00

"Australia is a circuit that holds a lot of good memories for me because I won my World Championship here. It is a wonderful track with some very fast corners and it is always great fun to ride there. We were dealt a severe blow in Portugal but we got to Phillip Island without any pressure on us now because the championship is virtually over. I've taken it well and now that I've got nothing to lose my only objective is to give it everything I have to try and have fun and win my final three races on a 250."

N-n-n-n-n-n-nineteen

2009-10-06T20:32:00.003+01:00

It's okay Bati - you can keep the tattoo....

Our sister site AlvaroBautista.co.uk pretty much confirms what we would all hope and expect of any reasonably sane sport; that Alvaro will retain #19 when he moves up into the top class next season, with Superbike's MotoGP noob Ben Spies relinquishing his current #19 to revert to his old #11.
Good news for all of us with lots of t-shirts and stuff and gunk with the number on; and also excellent news that the groovy big XIX tattoo won't have to be converted into some other weird roman numeral....!

Head over to AlvaroBautista.co.uk for the latest on this and everything else Bati-related that's fit to print.

Alvaro Quotes: Estoril, Sunday

2009-10-04T19:13:00.000+01:00

"The weekend was going pretty well; we'd done a good job and I was feeling comfortable on the bike. I had a good start and was up at the front, with the idea being not to push too hard and to preserve the tyres. This morning we had experienced some tyre wear issues. My goal was to keep calm at the start and then push on later in the race, and things were going perfectly when I was up front and Aoyama was not progressing.
The problem came when I had an engine issue and had my rear wheel jammed on the back straight -I couldn't do anything. The title seems a big ask now after this setback, we will need a little bit of luck, but I have nothing to lose and can go all-out in the final races to at least say that we gave it our best shot and left nothing behind."

Portuguese GP: 250cc Race Result

2009-10-04T16:10:00.001+01:00

CLASSIFIED:

Pos | Rider | Bike | Time
1. Marco Simoncelli Gilera 44m04.298s
2. Mike Di Meglio Aprilia + 5.317s
3. Hector Barbera Aprilia + 5.317s
4. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda + 12.024s
5. Jules Cluzel Aprilia + 14.349s
6. R.Wilairot Honda + 18.256s
7. Thomas Luthi Aprilia + 27.631s
8. Mattia Pasini Aprilia + 34.667s
9. Alex Debon Aprilia + 45.410s
10. Karel Abraham Aprilia + 45.891s
11. Lukas Pesek Aprilia + 46.204s
12. Shuhei Aoyama Honda + 57.641s
13. Valentin Debise Honda +1m21.309s
14. Alex Baldolini Aprilia +1m35.277s
15. Axel Pons Aprilia + 1 lap
16. Balazs Nemeth Aprilia + 1 lap
17. Bastien Chesaux Aprilia + 1 lap
18. Imre Toth Aprilia + 1 lap
19. C.Moretti Aprilia + 2 laps

NOT CLASSIFIED/RETIREMENTS:

Rider | Bike | Laps
Vladimir Leonov Aprilia 24
Shoya Tomizawa Honda 12
R.Locatelli Gilera 9
Raffaele De Rosa Honda 7
Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 4
Hector Faubel Honda 4

FASTEST LAP: Simoncelli, 1m40.863s on lap 17

Portuguese GP: Alvaro's Post-Quali Quotes

2009-10-03T19:01:00.000+01:00

"It has been a long time since we've been on the front row and since we showed good pace in practice so I think we needed this. When you qualify up front you know you have the pace, you have good references and everything is more 'easy', so to speak. I'm happy to be on the front row but more for the fact that I feel comfortable and I'm riding the Aprilia how I want to, with a good set-up for the race.
We have been strong and made progress all weekend so I think we're in the right shape for a good race tomorrow, especially because this is a circuit that has brought us luck for the past three seasons so I hope that run continues tomorrow. I want to fight to win with everything I have. Unfortunately I ran into traffic at the end of the session and the three final laps were pretty much wasted but the important thing is the feeling I have with the bike, my confidence and my pace."

Portuguese GP: Bautista Second In Qualifying

2009-10-03T18:59:00.000+01:00

Pos | Rider | Team | Lap time | Gap
1 Hector BARBERA Pepe World Team 1′40.596
2 Alvaro BAUTISTA Mapfre Aspar Team 1′40.654 0.058
3 Marco SIMONCELLI Metis Gilera 1′40.684 0.088
4 Hiroshi AOYAMA Scot Racing Team 250cc 1′40.879 0.283
5 Alex DEBON Aeropuerto-Castello-Blusens 1′41.008 0.412
6 Raffaele DE ROSA Scot Racing Team 250cc 1′41.169 0.573
7 Mattia PASINI Team Globalgest 1′41.182 0.586
8 Ratthapark WILAIROT Thai Honda PTT SAG 1′41.190 0.594
9 Jules CLUZEL Matteoni Racing 1′41.205 0.609
10 Mike DI MEGLIO Mapfre Aspar Team 250cc 1′41.353 0.757
11 Hector FAUBEL Honda SAG 1′41.537 0.941
12 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1′41.728 1.132
13 Thomas LUTHI Emmi – Caffe Latte 1′41.764 1.168
14 Roberto LOCATELLI Metis Gilera 1′41.794 1.198
15 Shuhei AOYAMA Racing Team Germany 1′42.194 1.598
16 Alex BALDOLINI WTR San Marino Team 1′42.312 1.716
17 Shoya TOMIZAWA CIP Moto – GP250 1′42.348 1.752
18 Lukas PESEK Auto Kelly – CP 1′42.659 2.063
19 Valentin DEBISE CIP Moto – GP250 1′43.427 2.831
20 Axel PONS Pepe World Team 1′43.445 2.849
21 Balazs NEMETH Balatonring Team 1′44.305 3.709
22 Vladimir LEONOV Viessmann Kiefer Racing 1′44.583 3.987
23 Bastien CHESAUX Matteoni Racing 1′45.605 5.009

Out of limit time
88 Christopher MORETTI ITA Matteoni Racing Aprilia
10 Imre TOTH HUN Team Toth Aprilia Aprilia

Alvaro Quotes: Estoril, Friday

2009-10-03T08:09:00.002+01:00

"I'm pretty happy with everything, I just couldn't get a fast lap in during the last fifteen minutes because I kept getting held up by slower riders. It's annoying because we could have set a better lap time but at least we have an idea what our ideal setting is. We started out with the base from 2007, when the race took place at more or less the same time of year, and we don't want to make too many drastic changes to it because it works.
Apart from Barberá, the rest of us are pretty close and there is still a lot of time to get laps in and prepare for the race, so I feel calm - the track isn't even in perfect shape yet so there's no need to worry about our position at this stage. My objective is to have as much fun in the race as possible and cut back the gap to Aoyama."

Friday Practice Times, Estoril

2009-10-03T08:06:00.001+01:00

Pos | Rider | Team | Lap time | Gap
1 Hector BARBERA Pepe World Team 1′40.777
2 Alex DEBON Aeropuerto-Castello-Blusens 1′41.327 0.550
3 Mike DI MEGLIO Mapfre Aspar Team 250cc 1′41.483 0.706
4 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1′41.721 0.944
5 Marco SIMONCELLI Metis Gilera 1′41.729 0.952
6 Alvaro BAUTISTA Mapfre Aspar Team 1′41.750 0.973
7 Hector FAUBEL Honda SAG 1′41.780 1.003
8 Raffaele DE ROSA Scot Racing Team 250cc 1′41.890 1.113
9 Roberto LOCATELLI Metis Gilera 1′42.104 1.327
10 Hiroshi AOYAMA Scot Racing Team 250cc 1′42.135 1.358
11 Ratthapark WILAIROT Thai Honda PTT SAG 1′42.346 1.569
12 Thomas LUTHI Emmi – Caffe Latte 1′42.695 1.918
13 Lukas PESEK Auto Kelly – CP 1′42.778 2.001
14 Alex BALDOLINI WTR San Marino Team 1′42.923 2.146
15 Jules CLUZEL Matteoni Racing 1′43.049 2.272
16 Shuhei AOYAMA Racing Team Germany 1′44.273 3.496
17 Shoya TOMIZAWA CIP Moto – GP250 1′44.487 3.710
18 Valentin DEBISE CIP Moto – GP250 1′44.871 4.094
19 Balazs NEMETH Balatonring Team 1′45.439 4.662
20 Axel PONS Pepe World Team 1′45.603 4.826
21 Vladimir LEONOV Viessmann Kiefer Racing 1′46.204 5.427
22 Imre TOTH Team Toth Aprilia 1′46.344 5.567

Not classified
75 Mattia PASINI ITA Team Toth Aprilia Aprilia Lap

Out of limit time
8 Bastien CHESAUX SWI Matteoni Racing Aprilia
88 Christopher MORETTI ITA Matteoni Racing Aprilia

Portuguese GP: Spanish Rider Factoids

2009-10-01T10:02:00.001+01:00

MotoGP

■ Jorge Lorenzo took his first MotoGP victory last year at the Portuguese GP in only his third race in the elite class which took him to the top of the championship table equal on points with Pedrosa. This was Lorenzo’s first ever win at the Estoril circuit.

■ Dani Pedrosa’s second place finish in 2007 in Portugal after a race long battle with Rossi was his first podium finish in any class of Grand Prix racing at the Estoril circuit. Last year he was again the first Honda across the line in second place. Estoril is one of just four current circuits where Pedrosa has not had a win in any class of GP racing; the others are Losail,Indianapolis and Misano.

■ Toni Elias has a fantastic record at the Estoril circuit having won three times; the 250cc GP race in 2003 and 2004, and the MotoGP race in 2006 after he had qualified down in eleventh place on the grid. Things have not gone as well for the last two years, finishing 8th in 2007 after running off the track early in the race and last year he was 12th but still in front of fellow Ducati riders Melandri and Guintoli.

250cc

■ Alvaro Bautista has won for the last three years in Portugal – the 125cc race in 2006 and the 250cc race in both 2007 and 2008. In 2007 he won after finishing the first lap down in 12th place and then setting a new lap record as he stormed through the field. Last year he was lead- ing by the end of the first lap and maintained the lead throughout the race to win by more than seven seconds.

■ Hector Barbera’s fifth place finish in 2007 is his best result at Estoril since moving up to the 250cc class. Barbera won the 125cc Portuguese GP in 2004 riding an Aprilia.

■ Hector Faubel won the 125cc race at Estoril in 2007. After scoring just 7 points in the first three races of this year Faubel has now had nine successive top ten finishes.

125cc

■ Julian simon’s best result at Estoril is 5th, in 2006 when riding a KTM. Simon needs to score just 43 points from the remaining four races to secure the world title irrespective of the results of other riders.

■ Nico Terol’s third place finish last year in Portugal was his first point scoring finish at the Estoril circuit.

■ Pol Espargaro’s third place finish two years ago at Estoril was his first appearance on a Grand Prix podium.

■ Joan Olive finished second last year at Estoril – one of his four podium finishes of 2008.

Ten Years Of Grand Prix Racing At Estoril

2009-10-01T09:48:00.001+01:00

(*Pictured: Alvaro Bautista celebrates his stunning 2006 win)

This will be the tenth year that the Portuguese Grand Prix has been held at the Estoril circuit. Prior to moving to Estoril there had been two previous Portuguese Grand Prix events, both hosted in Spain; at Jarama in 1987 and Jerez in 1988. The first Grand Prix event at Estoril was in 2000 and it has been on the calendar every year since. Below are the highlights of the previous nine Grand Prix events held at Estoril:

2000 – Garry McCoy had the honour of winning the first 500cc race at Estoril riding a Yamaha, after qualifying on pole for the only time in the premier-class. In the 250cc class Daijiro Kato took his first GP victory outside of Japan from Olivier Jacque, with Marco Melandri finishing third to become the youngest ever rider to finish on a 250cc podium.

2001 – Each of the races were won by riders on their way to winning their respective world titles: 500cc – Valentino Rossi, 250cc- Daijiro Kato and 125cc – Manuel Poggiali.

2002 – Valentino Rossi won a race that was run in very wet conditions, after Sete Gibernau had led for most of the race only to crash out with four laps to go. Fonsi Nieto had an incredible win in the 250cc race after crashing on lap thirteen and re-joining the race down in seventh place.

2003 – Valentino Rossi won in the premier-class for the third successive year at Estoril. Spanish riders were successful in the smaller classes, with Toni Elias winning the 250cc race and Pablo Nieto taking his one and only GP victory in the 125cc class.

2004 – Both Valentino Rossi and Toni Elias repeated the victories of the previous year. The 125cc race was won by Hector Barbera ahead of current MotoGP riders Mika Kallio and Jorge Lorenzo.

2005 – Alex Barros dominated proceedings by winning the race from pole position and setting the fastest lap as well as being fastest in every practice session. This was the last time that Barros stood on the top step of the podium in Grand Prix racing. Casey Stoner won for the first time in the 250cc class, while Mika Kallio took his first ever Grand Prix win in the 125cc class.

2006 – After qualifying down in 11th place on the grid, Toni Elias scored his one and only MotoGP victory to date by just 0.002 seconds from Valentino Rossi to equal the closest ever recorded finish in the premier-class since the introduction of electronic timing. Alvaro Bautista’s win in the 125cc race was his 14th podium of the year – a new record for most podium finishes in a single season in the 125cc class.

2007 – Valentino Rossi won for the fifth time at Estoril after a great battle with Pedrosa. Alvaro Bautista takes the 250cc race after finishing lap one down in 12th place. Hector Faubel won the 125cc race from champions- hip rival Gabor Talmacsi, with Pol Espargaro taking his first ever GP podium in third.

2008 – Last year the Portuguese Grand Prix was the third event of the year and gave Jorge Lorenzo his first MotoGP win after he had qualified on pole for the third successive race. With this victory, Lorenzo became the 100th different rider to win a premier-class Grand Prix. Alvaro Bautista took his first win of the year in the 250cc class while Simone Corsi took back-to-back wins to extend his lead in the 125cc championship chase.

Portuguese GP: BBC & Eurosport TV Schedule

2009-09-29T13:39:00.000+01:00

BBC

Saturday 3 October
Qualifying - 1250-1600, BBC Red Button/online

Sunday 4 October
250cc race - 1105-1205, BBC Red Button/online
MotoGP Race - 1230-1400, BBC Two/online
MotoGP Extra - 1400-1430, BBC Red Button/online
125cc race - 1430-1530, BBC Red Button/online

............................................................................................

EUROSPORT 2

Friday 2 October
1240 – 1615 Live Free Practice 125cc, MotoGP, 250cc Live

Saturday 3 October
1300 – 1600 Live Qualifying 125cc, MotoGP, 250cc Live

Sunday 4 October
1100    250cc Race Live
1430    125cc Race Live
15.45   MotoGP Action (delayed)

............................................................................................

Portuguese GP: Event Schedule

2009-09-29T13:25:00.000+01:00

Friday 2 October
 12.40 – 13.40              125cc Free Practice 1
13.55 – 14.55              MotoGP Free Practice 1
15.10 – 16.10              250cc Practice 1

............................................................................

Saturday 3 October
 09.00 – 09.40              125cc Free Practice 2
09.55 – 10.55              MotoGP Free Practice 2
11.10 – 12.10              250cc Free Practice 2
13.00 – 13.40              125cc Qualifying
13.55 – 14.55              MotoGP Qualifying
15.10 – 15.55              250cc Qualifying

............................................................................

Sunday 4 October
 09.00 – 09.20              250cc Warm Up
09.30 – 09.50              MotoGP Warm Up
10.00 – 10.20              125cc Warm Up

11.15                           250cc RACE (26 laps)
13.00                           MotoGP RACE (28 laps)
14.00                           125cc RACE (23 laps)

............................................................................

Alvaro Looks Ahead To Estoril

2009-09-29T11:39:00.001+01:00

"Estoril isn't one of my favourite circuits but I have won there for the last three years so you could say it is our talisman track. Hopefully luck is on our side again this year so that we can fight for the victory once more. I've done a bit of everything over the last three weeks, mainly training hard to make sure I'm fit and ready for this final sprint to the end of the season. I had a week off relaxing in Mallorca and it was nice to get a total break from racing.
It has been a positive thing to have a month off to focus on these last four races and get over all the fuss that came on the back of the announcement about my future. It has also been good to have a month of training and I think I'm in the right shape to finish the season at full power. Estoril is a circuit with a lot of hard braking, where you need good acceleration to get out of the corners well, and in some areas it will favour the Honda whilst in others - like the long straight - it will be better for the Aprilia. It will be difficult to win but that won't stop us from trying."

Juanjo Update: 4th in CEX Race at Guadix

2009-09-25T09:44:00.002+01:00

A quick news update on Juanjo Nuñez, our fellow Alvaro fanclub member and young Talaveran “next big thing” (“The Future” as friends kept referring to him at the Fans Club party in Talavera de la Reina the other week...)

His latest race - on Sunday September 20th at Guadix, in the CEX - saw him coming home fourth; a promising and useful result after a faltering start to the weekend.
Like many other riders in other leagues and championships, he’s had a summer break and a lack of facilities to get back into training on the 80cc bike led to something of a lack of confidence on the Friday, though thankfully Saturday’s timesheets saw him getting into his stride again and pulling out an impressive 6th position on the grid for Sunday’s race.

The race itself started badly with Juanjo dropping to 12th in the first corner (suggesting he is a lot like his idol, Alvaro!) but knowing he needed a good position to continue his championship lead, he fought through to 4th spot with 5 laps to go - and although he was too far off the leaders to make up any more places, he maintained position to the flag.

Nice work Juanjo.
Oh, and *love* the helmet! ;-)

Juanjo's official site is here...

Alvaro Bautista: Fanclub Summer Fiesta 09

2009-09-14T08:56:00.004+01:00

(*L-R: Me, Alvaro and Michaela, also representing BatiFans)

Another great weekend in Alvaro’s hometown of Talavera de la Reina, where even a downpour didn’t dampen an excellent inaugural Summer “Fan’s Club” Fiesta.

Madrid, where me and Michaela flew into on Friday, was baking. Bright sunshine, barely a breeze and full-on heat.
By the time we arrived at Talavera in the early evening, it was a bit more obvious that there might be rain: you could see storms over the mountains to the north and it was really thick and warm in the air.
Still, it was great to be back - Once you’ve been and you’ve experienced the amazing hospitality of the people and the beauty and tranquility of the town, you always love seeing it approaching.

We checked in to the hotel, and headed off to find the new Fanclub bar - the Sixtina, on the Calle de Alvarado, up near Bati’s dad’s shop, Amotos.
Walking there it became immediately apparent that the hotel was just a couple of minutes from the venue for the fiesta; the large, open car park of the Nuevo Centro shopping complex.
We found the Sixtina pretty easily, and can tell you that it’s great. Very impressive - with a large interior with TV screens for communal race-watching and a huuuuuge Alvaro cut-out, plus some of his old leathers and other memorabilia.
The outside is also really well done, and they’ve clearly gone to town on making sure it’s absolutely branded as the Fanclub venue with flags and banners straddling the sides of the building.

We got beers and were soon joined by members of the Fanclub directiva and other friends from previous trips. Sure enough there was rain (“there’s been no rain for eight months...” we were told, “and then you arrive and bring it with you!”) but it wasn’t too bad at all, and we spent most of a nice long evening sat outside with plenty of Mahou and tapas, renewing old friendships and meeting new people.

We took the morning of the Saturday as free-time and wandered around Talavera, checking out the Basilica and hitting a couple of the ceramics shops. Then we headed off to Nuevo Centro for the fiesta itself, which started at one.
A good crowd was already gathered in the heat and the sun, and we got drinks and started mingling, greeting everyone in the Fanclub booth, and checking out the various stalls and attractions; top of which had to be Alvaro’s bike, looking absolutely gorgeous and gleaming.
As well as the ongoing cooked-up tapas at the bar, Michelin had provided an enormous paella, which was every bit as delicious as it looked.
Late in the afternoon, we took a break and went back to the hotel, loaded down with various bits of merchandise, ready to have a quick rest and then come back early evening for the remainder of the party.

When we came back though, it was pelting down - a total downpour with full-on thunder and lightning. Everyone was taking it incredibly philosophically and stoically though, and wouldn’t let it ruin the atmosphere of the fiesta.
Thankfully, it didn’t last and by the time Alvaro arrived, it was pretty pleasant, if a bit cooler, and with everybody milling around across the venue.
As usual, he was mobbed. Thoroughly mobbed. Lots of photos, lots of autographs, lots of chats. And as usual, he made sure he kept everybody happy.
He came over and said Hello, and we had a good talk about how things were with him, and also about how good it was to be back in Talavera - and after a while, he moved on to do more schmoozing and signing.

Following a careful mopping of the stage, there was also a superb performance of traditional flamenco by Miriam Jiminez and her dancers; highly recommended to us the night before by various people. They put on a great show, and it was a real bonus that the wet hadn’t prevented them from performing.

And following speeches and a raffle, and a nice goodbye chat with Alvaro, we made our way back to the hotel - as always, hugely in love with Talavera and its people. It’s rare that you find somewhere that’s not only a beautiful, charming place in itself, but which also seems to be reflected in everyone you meet - but Talavera is just such a place.
The kindness, hospitality and friendship is extraordinary. And you’re not just made to feel welcome; you’re made to feel special.
If you’ve not been... Go... Simple as that.

BatiFans will aim to have a group trip to the Fanclub winter Cena Navidad, currently almost a certainty, and slated for the first weekend in December - confirmation of the event and of the dates will be posted here and on BatiFans. Think about joining us, and visiting Talavera too; hopefully you’ll see exactly what we mean whenever we rave about going back there.

For now though, we again come away with another set of great memories. A really enjoyable fiesta, which even a bit of British-style weather wouldn’t have a chance of spoiling, and another couple of days of renewing old acquaintances and meeting new friends.
Big big thanks to David, Marcos, Cesar and all the members of the Fanclub directiva, and also to all our friends - old and new - for looking after us so well.
Nos vemos en la Cena!

If you’re a member of the BatiFans.com Fan Forum then you can get a look at a bunch of photos here...
If you’re not... Why not? ;-)

Back To Talavera...

2009-09-09T09:55:00.002+01:00

Can’t wait... Heading off to Spain on Friday for the first annual Fiesta of the (new) fanclub of Alvaro Bautista, which is held this weekend in his hometown of Talavera de la Reina.  It’s being staged in a location more central to town than March’s launch party – Los Aparcamientos Del Centro Comercial Nuevo Centro. Avenida. de la Constitucion, 23 de Talavera de la Reina.  There will be lots going on – starting at midday and going on late into the night.

The launch party was a load of fun - even though it was just a “day trip” from London! This time me and Michaela are hitting Madrid Friday afternoon, so will aim to meet up with some of the Fanclub guys in the “new” fanclub bar - the Sixtina - on the Friday night. They were extremely busied up at the launch party, so the opportunity to get to know each other in a bit more of a relaxed way ahead of the main event should be great.

Hopefully we’ll have photos here, on AlvaroBautista.co.uk and of course extra photos for “members only” over at BatiFans.com... 

Alvaro - Post Race Quotes; San Marino

2009-09-06T17:56:00.002+01:00

“Obviously I started the race thinking that I could be up there at the front. Simoncelli fell halfway through the race, but at the same time my rear wheel was giving me problems and starting to slide about a lot. When I saw Di Meglio and Aoyama ahead I decided not to settle for the place that I was in, so my goal was to overtake them if possible. I fought hard for it, and it was a tough battle because Aoyama was racing each corner as if it were the last lap. We showed that we wouldn’t back down, that we are strong and willing to take risks too, and that we wanted to win. We have cut three points off the leadership advantage, which is a small amount but helpful in morale for the team and myself. From now on the key is going to be winning and continuing to earn more points than Aoyama, at one hundred percent at all times. I think that this month off is going to be good for me to disconnect and return stronger and more refreshed in Portugal.”

San Marino GP: 250cc Results

2009-09-06T13:35:00.001+01:00

A pretty nerve-shredding race today, and thankfully a nice 3rd for Alvaro - perhaps most crucially a spot ahead of Aoyama.
Alvaro can probably go into the final "break" with a smile on his face... ;-)

CLASSIFIED:

Pos | Rider | Bike | Time
1. Hector Barbera Aprilia 43m23.353s
2. Mattia Pasini Aprilia + 0.040s
3. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia + 1.691s
4. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda + 1.697s
5. Mike Di Meglio Aprilia + 1.921s
6. Jules Cluzel Aprilia + 9.202s
7. Alex Debon Aprilia + 10.483s
8. Raffaele De Rosa Honda + 11.360s
9. Hector Faubel Honda + 18.953s
10. Thomas Luthi Aprilia + 24.480s
11. Karel Abraham Aprilia + 24.680s
12. Shoya Tomizawa Honda + 51.521s
13. Alex Baldolini Aprilia + 52.474s
14. Valentin Debise Honda +1m11.675s
15. Balazs Nemeth Aprilia +1m15.515s
16. Axel Pons Aprilia +1m15.666s
17. Vladimir Leonov Aprilia + 1 Lap
18. Imre Toth Aprilia + 1 Lap
19. Aitor Rodriguez Aprilia + 1 Lap

NOT CLASSIFIED/RETIREMENTS:

Rider | Bike | On lap
R.Wilairot Honda 21
R.Locatelli Gilera 20
Toby Markham Aprilia 15
Marco Simoncelli Gilera 12
Bastien Chesaux Honda 3
Lukas Pesek Aprilia 2
Sergio Gadea Aprilia 0

FASTEST LAP: Aoyama, 1m39.039a on lap 23

Spanish Rider Stats - Misano Raceday Factoids

2009-09-06T08:31:00.002+01:00

• Misano is one of just three current circuits at which Dani Pedrosa has not had a MotoGP podium; the others are Indianapolis and Phillip Island.

• Third on the grid, Jorge Lorenzo has maintained his record of qualifying on the front row at every race in 2009. Following his victory at Indianapolis, Lorenzo will be aiming to score back-to-back MotoGP victories for the first time.

• Leading the second row of the grid is Toni Elias, who has equalled his best qualifying performance of the year which he achieved at Brno, where he also finished on the podium for the only time in 2009. Last year at Misano, Elias was the first Ducati rider home in third place.

• Aleix Espargaro, having only his second start in MotoGP, has qualified just one second slower that the fastest Ducati rider on the grid, Nicky Hayden.

• Second on the 250cc grid is Hector Barbera. who is starting from the front row for the eighth successive race.

• Eighth fastest 250cc qualifier Alvaro Bautista, is starting from the second row of the grid for the fourth successive race after having qualified on the front row for the opening eight races of the year. He won the 250cc race last year at Misano after qualifying down in 11th on the grid.

• Second on the 125cc grid, Julian Simon starts from the front row for the eleventh time this year.

• Nico Terol has finished in the top four six times in the past seven races.

• If sixth fastest 125cc qualifier Pol Espargaro wins the race it will be the 50th win for Derbi in the 125cc class. Espargaro will be making his 50th Grand Prix start.

Alvaro Quotes: Post-Qualy, San Marino

2009-09-05T22:44:00.004+01:00

“To be honest I don’t know why we were able to set 39.5s this morning and not this afternoon. For some reason in qualifying I couldn’t get the front to turn into the corners but we haven’t changed anything from the morning – I don’t know what it is but we’ll have to examine it tonight. Tomorrow’s race is at the same time as free practice today so hopefully my Aprilia works the same and I’m comfortable on it. It’s nothing to worry about but we do need to make sure we cover all bases. I felt confident this morning so I’m disappointed with the grid position because I hoped for much more so hopefully we can solve our problems in the morning and be in good shape for the race.”

San Marino GP: 250cc Qualifying

2009-09-05T22:44:00.001+01:00

Pos | Rider | Team | Lap time | Gap
1 Hiroshi AOYAMA Scot Racing Team 250cc 1′38.867
2 Hector BARBERA Pepe World Team 1′38.875 0.008
3 Marco SIMONCELLI Metis Gilera 1′39.038 0.171
4 Mattia PASINI Team Toth Aprilia 1′39.068 0.201
5 Mike DI MEGLIO Mapfre Aspar Team 250cc 1′39.397 0.530
6 Alex DEBON Aeropuerto-Castello-Blusens 1′39.416 0.549
7 Hector FAUBEL Honda SAG 1′39.602 0.735
8 Alvaro BAUTISTA Mapfre Aspar Team 1′39.825 0.958
9 Roberto LOCATELLI Metis Gilera 1′39.915 1.048
10 Ratthapark WILAIROT Thai Honda PTT SAG 1′39.969 1.102
11 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1′39.995 1.128
12 Lukas PESEK Auto Kelly – CP 1′40.040 1.173
13 Jules CLUZEL Matteoni Racing 1′40.066 1.199
14 Thomas LUTHI Emmi – Caffe Latte 1′40.128 1.261
15 Alex BALDOLINI WTR San Marino Team 1′40.136 1.269
16 Raffaele DE ROSA Scot Racing Team 250cc 1′40.832 1.965
17 Shoya TOMIZAWA CIP Moto – GP250 1′41.429 2.562
18 Valentin DEBISE CIP Moto – GP250 1′41.903 3.036
19 Balazs NEMETH Balatonring Team 1′42.092 3.225
20 Axel PONS Pepe World Team 1′42.158 3.291
21 Bastien CHESAUX Racing Team Germany 1′42.957 4.090
22 Vladimir LEONOV Viessmann Kiefer Racing 1′42.992 4.125
23 Imre TOTH Team Toth Aprilia 1′43.079 4.212
24 Toby MARKHAM C&L Racing 1′43.919 5.052
25 Aitor RODRIGUEZ Matteoni Racing 1′45.357 6.490

San Marino GP - Alvaro's Friday Quotes

2009-09-04T22:34:00.002+01:00

"With the exception of Héctor, who had a great session today, everybody else we pretty close. The track was obviously slower today than it was last year because the pace in all three classes wasn't as fast. We have worked well using last year's set-up and I felt more or less comfortable throughout, apart from in a couple of corners in the final sector. We can't afford to back off and we have to squeeze the most out of every session to prepare for the race. We have a full day tomorrow and we need to fight to improve at all cost. I did a practice start today and if I get chance I'll do one at the end of each session to make sure I'm ready for Sunday."

San Marino, Friday Practice - Alvaro 4th

2009-09-04T16:51:00.002+01:00

Pos | Rider | Team | Lap time | Gap

1 Hector BARBERA Pepe World Team 1′39.212
2 Mattia PASINI Team Toth Aprilia 1′39.684 0.472
3 Hiroshi AOYAMA Scot Racing Team 250cc 1′40.048 0.836
4 Alvaro BAUTISTA Mapfre Aspar Team 1′40.189 0.977
5 Mike DI MEGLIO Mapfre Aspar Team 250cc 1′40.262 1.050
6 Hector FAUBEL Honda SAG 1′40.790 1.578
7 Marco SIMONCELLI Metis Gilera 1′40.851 1.639
8 Alex DEBON Aeropuerto-Castello-Blusens 1′41.071 1.859
9 Jules CLUZEL Matteoni Racing 1′41.097 1.885
10 Ratthapark WILAIROT Thai Honda PTT SAG 1′41.106 1.894
11 Roberto LOCATELLI Metis Gilera 1′41.238 2.026
12 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1′41.490 2.278
13 Thomas LUTHI Emmi – Caffe Latte 1′41.628 2.416
14 Raffaele DE ROSA Scot Racing Team 250cc 1′41.759 2.547
15 Alex BALDOLINI WTR San Marino Team 1′42.090 2.878
16 Lukas PESEK Auto Kelly – CP 1′42.348 3.136
17 Balazs NEMETH Balatonring Team 1′43.242 4.030
18 Valentin DEBISE CIP Moto – GP250 1′43.523 4.311
19 Shoya TOMIZAWA CIP Moto – GP250 1′43.714 4.502
20 Imre TOTH Team Toth Aprilia 1′44.351 5.139
21 Axel PONS Pepe World Team 1′44.621 5.409
22 Vladimir LEONOV Viessmann Kiefer Racing 1′44.780 5.568
23 Bastien CHESAUX Racing Team Germany 1′45.079 5.867
24 Aitor RODRIGUEZ Matteoni Racing 1′45.980 6.768

Twitter Updates

2009-09-04T16:32:00.005+01:00

Just a quick note for any of you out there who use Twitter...
As well as hoping that you are following us - BatiFans - it's worth telling you that you can now also follow motogp.com - the Official MotoGP Website who have also now released their own Twitter channel to keep you bang up to date with the news and stats from all categories of MotoGP. Go check them out - and click the Follow button. ;-)

Also we've released our TeamAspar.net channel too, to help spread the news of the team from our new expanded website, as they venture into the top class next season (even if it's sadly without Bati).
Again, follow...!

MotoGP Trivia: This Week In Numbers

2009-09-02T13:36:00.003+01:00

24 – Hungarian 250cc rider Imre Toth will celebrate his 24th birthday on race day at Misano.
23 – The 2005 125cc world champion Thomas Luthi will celebrate his 23rd birthday on race day at Misano.
20 – Colin Edwards’ fifth place finish at the Indianapolis GP was his 20th successive point scoring result.
17 – On race day at Misano it will be exactly seventeen years since Alessandro Gramigni finished third in the final 125cc GP race of 1992 in South Africa to become the first Aprilia rider to win a world title.
12 – Pol Espargaro’s win at Indianapolis on a Derbi ended a run of 12 successive 125cc wins by Aprilia – their longest ever sequence of successive 125cc GP wins.
12 - Misano has staged Grand Prix events on twelve previous occasions, the first of which was in 1980. The ten occasions that a GP was hosted at Misano up to 1993 the races were run in the opposite direction around the circuit to those held in the last two years.
11 – There have been eleven previous San Marino Grand Prix events. The first San Marino Grand Prix was held at Imola in 1981. Three different circuits have hosted the San Marino Grand Prix – Imola twice (1981 & 1983), Mugello four times (1982, 84, 91 and 93) and Misano on five occasions (1985, 86, 87, 2007 and 2008).
9 – Nine different riders have appeared on the podium in the MotoGP class in the last three races. The last time that three successive races in the premier-class has resulted in nine different riders appearing on the podium was back in 1992 at the German, Dutch and Hungarian Grand Prix.
9 – Bradley Smith’s second place finish at Indianapolis secured Aprilia the 125cc constructor’s title for the ninth time.
5 – At the Indianapolis Grand Prix, Nicky Hayden became just the 5th rider to finish on the podium on the 800cc Ducati, joining Casey Stoner, Loris Capirossi, Toni Elias and Alex Barros.
2 – Misano is one of just two current circuits where Rossi has not started from pole riding a MotoGP machine; the other is Laguna Seca.

Alvaro Quotes Ahead Of Misano

2009-09-02T12:22:00.000+01:00

“We’ve been on the podium at the last four rounds but that doesn’t look like being enough. The championship is very finely balanced, with three riders very close together, and nobody wants to concede any ground. As far as we’re concerned we’ll just have to work even harder because third-place finishes are not going to close the gap. We have five races left and we’re likely to lose points in some but make them up in others – I can see it going that way until the end of the season. The important thing is that we stay in the fight for the championship and give everything we have to make sure we’re still in it by the time we get to the final race at Valencia.”

San Marino GP - TV Schedule

2009-09-02T12:20:00.002+01:00

Practice, qualifying and the races will be shown at the following times on British television:

 BBC
Saturday 5 September
Qualifying: 1150-1500, BBC Red Button/online
 Sunday 6 September
125 and 250cc race: 0950-1205, BBC Red Button/online
 MotoGP Race: 1230-1400, BBC Two/online
MotoGP Extra: 1400-1430, BBC Red Button/online

 EUROSPORT 2
 Friday 4 September
1140 – 1515: Live Free Practice 125cc, MotoGP, 250cc Live
 Saturday 5 September
1200 – 1500: Live Qualifying 125cc, MotoGP, 250cc Live
 Sunday 6 September
0945: 125cc race live
1115: 250cc race live
1530 : MotoGP race (delayed)

San Marino GP - Event Schedule

2009-09-02T12:18:00.001+01:00

Friday 4 September
 12.40 – 13.40 125cc Free Practice 1
13.55 – 14.55 MotoGP Free Practice 1
15.10 – 16.10 250cc Practice 1

 Saturday 5 September
09.00 – 09.40 125cc Free Practice 2
09.55 – 10.55 MotoGP Free Practice 2
11.10 – 12.10 250cc Free Practice 2
13.00 – 13.40 125cc Qualifying
13.55 – 14.55 MotoGP Qualifying
15.10 – 15.55 250cc Qualifying

 Sunday 6 September
08.40 – 09.00 125cc Warm Up
09.10 – 09.30 250cc Warm Up
09.40 – 10.00 MotoGP Warm Up

11.00 125cc RACE (23 laps)
12.15 250cc RACE (26 laps)
14.00 MotoGP RACE (28 laps)

Alvaro Quotes: Post-Race, Indy GP

2009-08-30T22:51:00.000+01:00

"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."

Indianapolis GP - Race Result, 250cc

2009-08-30T22:01:00.001+01:00

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

FIM Announces 2009 Regulation Changes

2009-08-30T15:24:00.000+01:00

The Grand Prix Commission, composed of Messrs. Carmelo Ezpeleta (Dorna, Chairman), Claude Danis (FIM), Hervé Poncharal (IRTA) and Takanao Tsubouchi (MSMA), in the presence of Messrs. Vito Ippolito (FIM President), Ignacio Verneda (FIM Sport Director), Javier Alonso (Dorna) and Paul Butler (Secretary of the meeting), in a meeting held on August 29 in Indianapolis (USA) unanimously decided the following:
For immediate application:

Changes to Article 2.9 Tyre restrictions for MotoGP

2.9.1 Delete “and the allocated quantities of each specification of tyre will be the same for every rider”.

2.9.2 In the case of a rider change after the final allocation has been made, the replacement rider must use only the tyres allocated to the original rider.

2.9.3 Teams must inform the supplier of the number of each front slick specification selected by their rider(s) no later than (…)
Any new rider entering the next race after the selection deadline will be allocated 4 front slick tyres of specification A and 4 of specification B.

Changes to the press release dated 25/07/09.
Practice Restrictions.

The Season is defined as the period starting 14 days before the first race of the year and ending 4 days after the last race of the year, both dates being inclusive. The season does not include “Breaks”. A Break is defined as two consecutive week-ends where events are not scheduled. The period of the Break extends from 09h00 on the second day after the Grand Prix until the following Grand Prix.

Indianapolis GP; Alvaro Quotes, Friday

2009-08-29T07:46:00.000+01:00

"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."

Indy GP - FP1 Results - 250cc

2009-08-28T21:44:00.001+01:00

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

Indy GP - BBC TV Schedule

2009-08-28T08:00:00.000+01:00

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

....................................................................

New TeamAspar.net Website Now Online

2009-08-26T18:58:00.003+01:00

A day back from the Spain trip and I've finally put live the new build of the www.TeamAspar.net website, which replaces the old blog page. Now that the team is getting bigger and expanding into the top class of MotoGP I reckoned that we needed to build a completely custom website - a fully-featured and content-managed solution.
That's now been done, and all the old content from here has been imported, and you can find the new site at www.TeamAspar.net though the old blog will remain online as an archive for a while at least.

Hope you like the new site.
Cheers,
gb

Happy Days

2009-08-24T18:47:00.001+01:00

End of a relaxing 7 days in Spain: this is the view from little local bar "Casa Paco" which has been a brilliant and friendly hangout.
I'll be hard at work relaunching the TeamAspar.net site across Weds and Thurs, but expect a spanking new and cool look to it all ahead of the Indy weekend.

Sad to say goodbye to Spain but at least I'm back for Alvaro's fanclub summer party in a couple of weeks, El Canto Del Loco in concert in October and the Valencia GP in November...

> Blogged from my iPhone <

Stop Press: Alvaro Confirmed At Suzuki

2009-08-16T18:45:00.004+01:00

Post-race Brno and Alvaro is confirmed by Suzuki as riding for them in the top class of MotoGP for the next two years.
Here's their statement...

"Suzuki Motor Corporation is pleased to announce that Spaniard Alvaro Bautista will be joining its official MotoGP team in a two year agreement, to contest the 2010 and 2011 MotoGP World Championships...
Suzuki is very pleased to have achieved the signing of one of the brightest young stars in Grand Prix racing and looks forward to developing a strong relationship and exciting races with Alvaro Bautista."

We'll aim to bring you more quotes and reaction as it emerges, both here and on the BatiFans Forum where you can expect much discussion on the matter.

A Wheelie Bad End To The Race!

2009-08-16T18:33:00.003+01:00

Okay - not *that* bad; it at least happened after the chequered flag, but - unlike Assen - the last time when Alvaro disappeared under the arse of his own bike, when I was able to justly blame Hiro - this time I can't really point the finger anywhere but at the Batster himself. Embarrassed giggles in the post-race press conference, but possibly not exactly the same reaction from Mr Aspar himself...?

2009-08-16T18:20:00.000+01:00

"The only good session this weekend was the race. Fortunately everything worked out okay for us when it came to the crucial moment. It took just two laps for the tyres to degenerate, and that was a warning for me not to push things and look out for points. The weekend was a tough one for us, because we never had the right setup. I could have tried to follow Simoncelli and Pasini, but it looked to be too risky and I concentrated on Aoyama instead. I've closed the gap on him in the standings, and if we continue like this we can catch him. I left it until the warmup to choose my setting in the suspension, and I didn't have as much chance in this race, so I'm happy with third."

Czech GP, Brno - Results, 250cc

2009-08-16T18:14:00.000+01:00

Pos. Rider Team Total time Gap

1 Marco SIMONCELLI Metis Gilera 41'06.490
2 Mattia PASINI Team Toth Aprilia 41'07.174 0.684
3 Alvaro BAUTISTA Mapfre Aspar Team 41'10.871 4.381
4 Hiroshi AOYAMA Scot Racing Team 250cc 41'15.236 8.746
5 Roberto LOCATELLI Metis Gilera 41'16.211 9.721
6 Raffaele DE ROSA Scot Racing Team 250cc 41'17.360 10.870
7 Hector BARBERA Pepe World Team 41'22.129 15.639
8 Jules CLUZEL Matteoni Racing 41'24.901 18.411
9 Mike DI MEGLIO Mapfre Aspar Team 250cc 41'25.053 18.563
10 Hector FAUBEL Honda SAG 41'26.448 19.958
11 Ratthapark WILAIROT Thai Honda PTT SAG 41'26.574 20.084
12 Lukas PESEK Auto Kelly - CP 41'37.122 30.632
13 Shoya TOMIZAWA CIP Moto - GP250 41'43.608 37.118
14 Balazs NEMETH Balatonring Team 42'23.974 1'17.484
15 Valentin DEBISE CIP Moto - GP250 42'31.174 1'24.684
16 Axel PONS Pepe World Team 42'31.622 1'25.132
17 Imre TOTH Team Toth Aprilia 42'53.415 1'46.925
18 Aitor RODRIGUEZ Matteoni Racing 42'58.955 1'52.465
19 Vladimir LEONOV Viessmann Kiefer Racing 43'06.284 1'59.794

Not classified
8 Bastien CHESAUX SWI Racing Team Germany Honda 25'36.289 8 Lap
6 Alex DEBON SPA Aeropuerto-Castello-Blusens Aprilia 19'02.327 11 Lap
25 Alex BALDOLINI ITA WTR San Marino Team Aprilia 13'54.614 14 Lap
54 Toby MARKHAM GBR C&L Racing Aprilia 2'19.072 19 Lap

Not finished 1st lap
12 Thomas LUTHI SWI Emmi - Caffe Latte Aprilia
17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing Aprilia

Alvaro - Czech GP - Saturday Quotes

2009-08-15T19:09:00.000+01:00

Alvaro starts 8th on the grid... He found his best setting ten minutes before the end of the free practice - but also had a difficult afternoon, losing the front end of his Aprilia on turn five just minutes before the end of the session, leaving him on the asphalt and unable to get the bike back out in time for a final attempt at pole position. Luckily he suffered no injuries in the lowside crash, and will aim to challenge for the lead from eight on the grid. He predicts a tough battle on Sunday, in which he will be going all-out for points as the title race heats up and after losing ground to Aoyama in the standings.

"The crash was totally unexpected, as I had already put two laps on the new tyres. I got into turn five and everything seized up, causing me to fall. This morning we did various tests on the front suspension and found some things that worked, then we continued with the front end in the afternoon but lost our way.
The changes in place at the end of the practice are the ones that I would favour for the race and I am sure that if we had done more laps with this setting then we would have done better today. We will go back to it tomorrow in the warmup and try again. In the race I wil have to start well in order to be at the front and fight like I have done this season. I will have to take risks if necessary, because I can't afford to lose more points."

Czech GP - Qualifying 250cc

2009-08-15T17:02:00.000+01:00

Pos | Rider | Team | Lap time | Gap
1 Marco SIMONCELLI Metis Gilera 2′01.611
2 Hiroshi AOYAMA Scot Racing Team 250cc 2′01.961 0.350
3 Hector BARBERA Pepe World Team 2′02.064 0.453
4 Alex DEBON Aeropuerto-Castello-Blusens 2′02.386 0.775
5 Mike DI MEGLIO Mapfre Aspar Team 250cc 2′02.426 0.815
6 Roberto LOCATELLI Metis Gilera 2′02.543 0.932
7 Mattia PASINI Team Toth Aprilia 2′02.561 0.950
8 Alvaro BAUTISTA Mapfre Aspar Team 2′02.748 1.137
9 Raffaele DE ROSA Scot Racing Team 250cc 2′02.768 1.157
10 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 2′02.811 1.200
11 Hector FAUBEL Honda SAG 2′02.899 1.288
12 Ratthapark WILAIROT Thai Honda PTT SAG 2′02.921 1.310
13 Thomas LUTHI Emmi – Caffe Latte 2′02.932 1.321
14 Jules CLUZEL Matteoni Racing 2′02.997 1.386
15 Lukas PESEK Auto Kelly – CP 2′03.596 1.985
16 Shoya TOMIZAWA CIP Moto – GP250 2′03.951 2.340
17 Alex BALDOLINI WTR San Marino Team 2′04.100 2.489
18 Balazs NEMETH Balatonring Team 2′05.493 3.882
19 Axel PONS Pepe World Team 2′06.350 4.739
20 Valentin DEBISE CIP Moto – GP250 2′06.571 4.960
21 Bastien CHESAUX Racing Team Germany 2′07.088 5.477
22 Imre TOTH Team Toth Aprilia 2′07.130 5.519
23 Vladimir LEONOV Viessmann Kiefer Racing 2′08.362 6.751
24 Aitor RODRIGUEZ Matteoni Racing 2′08.600 6.989

Alvaro - Czech GP - Friday Quotes

2009-08-14T20:43:00.000+01:00

“After two weeks off my Aprilia this session was useful for checking that everything was in its right place. I am not worried, because we are up front despite some problems with front end chattering. The suspension wasn’t absorbing the bumps like it should have, so we worked on that. If things go well then that will be resolved tomorrow. We don’t have a setting that I like above all the others, but I’m sure that we will find one. We are more than half a second off the top, but I am confident that tomorrow we will catch up. My elbow is fine and I can work at 100%.”

Czech GP - Friday Practice Results

2009-08-14T17:42:00.001+01:00

Pos | Rider | Team | Lap time | Gap
1 Hector BARBERA Pepe World Team 2′02.371
2 Hiroshi AOYAMA Scot Racing Team 250cc 2′02.511 0.140
3 Alex DEBON Aeropuerto-Castello-Blusens 2′03.125 0.754
4 Alvaro BAUTISTA Mapfre Aspar Team 2′03.130 0.759
5 Roberto LOCATELLI Metis Gilera 2′03.427 1.056
6 Marco SIMONCELLI Metis Gilera 2′03.486 1.115
7 Mattia PASINI Team Toth Aprilia 2′03.528 1.157
8 Thomas LUTHI Emmi – Caffe Latte 2′03.588 1.217
9 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 2′03.911 1.540
10 Mike DI MEGLIO Mapfre Aspar Team 250cc 2′03.923 1.552
11 Hector FAUBEL Honda SAG 2′04.094 1.723
12 Ratthapark WILAIROT Thai Honda PTT SAG 2′04.164 1.793
13 Raffaele DE ROSA Scot Racing Team 250cc 2′04.385 2.014
14 Alex BALDOLINI WTR San Marino Team 2′04.851 2.480
15 Jules CLUZEL Matteoni Racing 2′05.076 2.705
16 Lukas PESEK Auto Kelly – CP 2′05.090 2.719
17 Shoya TOMIZAWA CIP Moto – GP250 2′05.707 3.336
18 Bastien CHESAUX Racing Team Germany 2′07.539 5.168
19 Valentin DEBISE CIP Moto – GP250 2′07.665 5.294
20 Balazs NEMETH Balatonring Team 2′07.998 5.627
21 Vladimir LEONOV Viessmann Kiefer Racing 2′08.236 5.865
22 Axel PONS Pepe World Team 2′08.385 6.014
23 Toby MARKHAM C&L Racing 2′08.478 6.107
24 Imre TOTH Team Toth Aprilia 2′08.478 6.107
25 Aitor RODRIGUEZ Matteoni Racing 2′08.952 6.581

Alvaro Previews Brno

2009-08-12T10:38:00.000+01:00

"Brno isn't one of my favourite tracks, but I think it's a good opportunity to get a good result because it's a fast track which should in theory suit my Aprilia. I am keen to get back on track because I wasn't at 100% physically last time out, and I think I could have fought for victory if I had have been. I want to be at the front from the off this weekend, I need to take as many points as possible off Aoyama. My elbow is much better, although still a bit swollen the wound is healing well and I think by Friday it should be all back to normal. I spent these two weeks relaxing and spending time with my family as we had two very important events. They were two busy family weeks, but I continued training hard. I was also at the race in La Bañeza which I really enjoyed and I got to feel the support of the fans."

Decision-Time For Alvaro And Aspar

2009-08-12T08:03:00.002+01:00

For those of us who want to see Alvaro go up into MotoGP with Aspar next season, this weekend looks like being the crunch.
There are reports around from the likes of Marca and GPOne that suggest Bati signed a pre-contract of some kind with Suzuki in the middle of 2008, and that a ride on the vacant Ducati seat in Aspar’s new MotoGP team is by no means a certainty.
Not only would breaking the pre-contract probably ensure a hefty financial penalty of some kind, but also it’s worth bearing in mind that the Rizla Suzuki team are a factory squad who have been given leave not to stick to the controversial “rookie rule” and there may well be benefits to a factory Suzuki ride over a “satellite” Ducati squad such as Aspar’s.

Nonetheless I think many of us would like to see the relationship with Jorge Martinez continue - and continue to develop. There would be a definite expectation of good support from both Ducati and Aspar himself, and of course there’s the possibility of the factory Ducati ride in 2011. And while the Ducati has been, let’s face it, a bit of a handful for pretty much everyone except Casey Stoner, Suzuki have hardly been setting the world on fire either.

There’s a lot to decide. And soon, as it’s suggested that meetings will happen between Martinez and Alvaro’s management on Thursday at Brno and that - whatever - Aspar will, as far as we're aware, be definitely announcing his 2010 line-up this weekend.

New Icons By stv21

2009-08-12T07:38:00.002+01:00

Yay, MotoGP's back this weekend, and to help get you in the mood you should pop over to LiveJournal to grab some excellent new web icons for forums and bulletin boards by the awesome stv21
Please ensure you stick to the crediting/no-linking principles though :-)

Fanclub Party Latest

2009-08-07T08:45:00.005+01:00

The official fanclub has emailed members outlining details for the summer party ("Fiesta de Verano") - now confirmed for Saturday September 12th from 12 noon onwards at Los Aparcamientos Del Centro Comercial Nuevo Centro, on the Avenida de la Constitucion (the venue for March's "launch" party).
There's going to be music, there's going to be Alvaro's bike, and all kinds of other activities. You can very very very probably count on a showing of Alvaro himself too, though they don't mention it in the email.
Accommodation offers from the swanky Hotel Oasis in the town centre are also spelled out.

Although the presence will, as always, be largely local and regional, there will probably be a couple of us from the UK going. So, who knows - maybe see you there!

New Improved AlvaroBautista.co.uk Website Now Live

2009-08-02T19:00:00.005+01:00

I’m very pleased to announce that we have now completed the overhaul of www.alvarobautista.co.uk and that it is once again accessible to all.

It is a major redesign, and has moved away from being a ‘pretty but flat’ set of pages to a completely fully-featured news site with a huge news archive and a site search.

Although we all share and discuss news and ongoing rumours and race weekends on the BatiFans forum, we wanted to make a complete and comprehensive English-language Alvaro Bautista news service available to anybody around the world, and have so far added all of the news, interviews and features from the 2009 season and pre-season (including some videos) to the site, and will hope to add the 2008 news soon as well.

You can also comment on the posts if you wish so long as you use an email address when posting; and you can also share any news item by clicking on one of the buttons below it to post it to Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and many other social bookmarking sites - as well as being able to email it with one click.
You can also subscribe to RSS news feeds of the new site so you can find out instantly whenever news is added.

We have also added some special “relaunch” downloads from the excellent ruushki - icons and wallpapers - which you can find on the site’s new Downloads page.
At the same time, we have also taken the opportunity to add some new E-Cards, so you can now have an even better choice of action pics, arty pics and cute pics from this year right back through all the seasons of Bati’s career in the world championships.

I hope you like the new www.alvarobautista.co.uk website, and I hope it is a useful extra resource for you - and for our many, many thousands of other visitors.

Cheers
gb

2010 (Provisional) MotoGP Calendar Revealed

2009-07-28T11:59:00.003+01:00

The provisional 2010 calendar for MotoGP has been revealed...

April 11 * Qatar Doha/Losail
April 25 Japan Motegi
May 2 Spain Jerez de la Frontera
May 16 France Le Mans
May 30 Italy Mugello
June 6 Great Britain Silverstone
June 26 ** Netherlands Assen
July 4 Catalunya Catalunya
July 18 Germany Sachsenring
July 25 *** United States Laguna Seca
August 15 Czech Rep. Brno
August 29 Indianapolis Indianapolis
September 12 San Marino Misano
September 19 Hungary Balatonring
October 10 Malaysia Sepang
October 17 Australia Phillip Island
October 31 Portugal Estoril
November 7 Valencia Ricardo Tormo - Valencia

*: Evening Race
**: Saturday
***: Only MotoGP class

Alvaro's British GP: "I Went With Prudence"

2009-07-26T19:13:00.001+01:00

"After the crashes on Friday and Saturday I wasn't fully confident, so second is a good result. This morning I felt much more comfortable in the warmup, as my arm wasn't so stiff under braking. The race was strange and hard, as at the beginning we went out with wet tyres and after three laps the asphalt was dry. We then carried on riding. The rain came back at certain points, which was less painful for my arm, even though the bike was moving around a lot. I saw that I was the leader of the chasing pack and went to pull away. I was slowly catching Aoyama, but I risked losing twenty points if I made a mistake, so I went with prudence. On the final seven laps I was really hurting from my arm, so after this complicated weekend taking home twenty points was a good achievement. We will see if I can recover quickly and be back on form for Brno."

British GP, Donington: 250cc Race Result

2009-07-26T18:08:00.001+01:00

CLASSIFIED:

Pos | Rider | Bike | Time
1. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda 45m17.516s
2. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia + 5.723s
3. Mattia Pasini Aprilia + 36.161s
4. Marco Simoncelli Gilera + 36.776s
5. Mike Di Meglio Aprilia + 41.418s
6. Alex Debon Aprilia + 41.938s
7. Raffaele De Rosa Honda + 57.483s
8. Hector Barbera Aprilia + 59.975s
9. Thomas Luthi Aprilia +1m14.852s
10. Hector Faubel Honda +1m16.927s
11. Jules Cluzel Aprilia +1m21.356s
12. Lukas Pesek Aprilia +1m21.665s
13. R.Locatelli Gilera +1m29.576s
14. Karel Abraham Aprilia + 1 Lap
15. Shoya Tomizawa Honda + 1 Lap
16. Alex Baldolini Aprilia + 1 Lap
17. Imre Toth Aprilia + 1 Lap
18. Luke Mossey Aprilia + 1 Lap
19. Valentin Debise Honda + 2 Laps
20. Axel Pons Aprilia + 2 Laps
21. Aitor Rodriguez Aprilia + 2 Laps
22. Bastien Chesaux Honda + 2 Laps
23. Toby Markham Aprilia + 4 Laps

NOT CLASSIFIED/RETIREMENTS:

Rider | Bike | On lap
R.Wilairot Honda 18
Ralf Waldmann Aprilia 5
Balazs Nemeth Aprilia 0

Aspar Celebrates 100 Victories

2009-07-26T17:42:00.001+01:00

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since the Dutch TT of 1984, when Jorge Martínez "Aspar" took on the role of team manager Derbi but still showed his qualities as a rider by taking his first ever victory in the 80cc class. The man he had to beat was none other than local favourite Hans Spaan, which only made his final-lap win even more exciting. Afterwards Ángel Nieto told him: "No matter how many races you have won, savour this moment because you will never forget it."
Four world titles and no fewer than 36 victories later, the 'Apsar' who lined up on the grid in Argentina was an entirely different man to that 21-year-old who came of age ten years earlier at 'The Cathedral'. Ready to race his notoriously difficult Yamaha and with more than one Japanese job at stake, the veteran made a final corner pass on Ueda to secure the final victory of his stellar career. Today Jorge Martínez "Aspar" celebrates again, having watched his team take their 200th podium no long ago he is now left to reflect on a century of victories.

His own 37 wins as a rider have been complimented by another 63 as the leader of the Aspar Team, now a standard-bearing organisation within the MotoGP paddock. The circuit was Donington and the rider lucky enough to take the milestone victory and forever form part of the glorious Jorge Martínez "Aspar" story was Julián Simón. Faubel made his mark with seven wins, Elías and Porto with six each, Fonsi with five and his cousin Pablo with the only victory of his career; each has contributed to the Aspar Team's winning pedigree. However, it has been without doubt Álvaro Bautista, the team's leading light in the 250cc class, who has been the main heir to Jorge's legacy, taking sixteen victories so far in "Aspar" colours.
The world of motorcycling has changed and continues to change dramatically since those early days - the circuits, the bikes, the way it is viewed. but one thing that has always remained is that youthful gaze of a fifteen-year-old who has never stopped dreaming despite the success and the inevitable passage of time...

Jorge Martínez "Aspar":
"Who would have thought back in '79 when I started racing that I could end up in such a privileged position? Looking back on everything we have achieved since then makes me enormously proud and happy. It is incredible to think back to when I was a 15-year-old, when I started racing bikes, and I have never been separated from my life's passion. I am enormously proud to have a team with six riders in the World Championship, with 200 podiums recently and now 100 victories. There have obviously been a lot of hard times with crashes, injuries, operations and lean financial periods - times when you feel like throwing in the towel. However, I think that one of the most important things in life is consistency, as well as self-belief and fighting for your dreams. I would like to thank all the people who have contributed to the success of this team, from the mechanics to the chief engineers and of course all the sponsors and brands who have worked with us and without whom we could have never reached this glorious milestone."

Álvaro Bautista:
"What more can I say other than that it is incredible to form part of this team. Everything I have achieved in my career has been here and I hope I can add to it. My objective is to win at least as many races as Jorge, to whom I will be eternally grateful for showing faith in me from the beginning."

Alvaro's Post-Quali Quotes From Donington

2009-07-25T19:35:00.001+01:00

Alvaro Bautista rode with an injured elbow this afternoon following a crash at Craner Curves five minutes from the end of the morning's final free practice. He qualified sixth fastest but is confident he will be fully recovered in time to challenge for the podium and the series lead tomorrow.
Here's what Bati said post-quali...

"I feel a little better now than I did this morning. I was struggling in free practice after the crash because the elbow was swollen and sore but it has gone down now and I feel better. I was still struggling to turn the bike under heavy braking but I hope to be better tomorrow. It looks like it could be a wet race which isn't nice for anybody, especially with the low grip levels here, but even so we will try and leave Donington with as many points as possible. The objective is to get a good start and stick with the front group, which will be important from the second row. I could have gone a little faster towards the end of the session but I ran into traffic."

British GP, Donington: 250cc Qualifying

2009-07-25T19:33:00.000+01:00

Pos | Rider | Bike | Time | Laps
1. Hector Barbera Aprilia 1m31.802s 24
2. Marco Simoncelli Gilera 1m31.894s + 0.092s 20
3. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda 1m32.055s + 0.253s 21
4. Alex Debon Aprilia 1m32.268s + 0.466s 21
5. Mike Di Meglio Aprilia 1m32.643s + 0.841s 22
6. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 1m32.664s + 0.862s 23
7. Mattia Pasini Aprilia 1m32.883s + 1.081s 18
8. R.Wilairot Honda 1m33.046s + 1.244s 21
9. Karel Abraham Aprilia 1m33.145s + 1.343s 22
10. Lukas Pesek Aprilia 1m33.203s + 1.401s 20
11. Raffaele De Rosa Honda 1m33.218s + 1.416s 24
12. Thomas Luthi Aprilia 1m33.360s + 1.558s 17
13. R.Locatelli Gilera 1m33.405s + 1.603s 22
14. Hector Faubel Honda 1m33.503s + 1.701s 22
15. Jules Cluzel Aprilia 1m33.622s + 1.820s 20
16. Alex Baldolini Aprilia 1m33.768s + 1.966s 20
17. Shoya Tomizawa Honda 1m33.901s + 2.099s 22
18. Imre Toth Aprilia 1m34.661s + 2.859s 21
19. Axel Pons Aprilia 1m35.351s + 3.549s 23
20. Ralf Waldmann Aprilia 1m35.408s + 3.606s 21
21. Valentin Debise Honda 1m35.600s + 3.798s 23
22. Balazs Nemeth Aprilia 1m36.202s + 4.400s 20
23. Bastien Chesaux Honda 1m36.309s + 4.507s 22
24. Luke Mossey Aprilia 1m37.227s + 5.425s 20
- Aitor Rodriguez Aprilia 1m38.638s + 6.836s 14
- Alex Kenchington Yamaha 1m38.657s + 6.855s 23
- Robin Halen Aprilia 1m41.680s + 9.878s 19

Alvaro 3rd in FP1 Despite Crash

2009-07-24T19:11:00.001+01:00

Alvaro suffered a bit of a setback after a comfrotable start to FP1, when negotiating a chicane. He was thrown from his Aprilia due to a problem with the engine, and there was little that he could do to avoid a crash. He finished the session in third place after returning to the garage, assessing his condition and waiting for the second bike to be set up, although he is suffering from a strong ache in his right elbow.
Here's what he said...

"I had a problem with the bike at the end of the back straight. The rear locked up and I was spat off the bike. I took a hard hit on my arm, but I was able to continue and ride the second bike. However, at the end of the session the bruising stiffened up, and it was hard to brake and move the bike. We hardly tried anything today, as we already had a good setting from last year. We wanted to work on this year's setting, but we were about to use it just as I crashed. The track was dirty and that meant that the times weren't so good, but we're not far from the top spot and we were able to pick up the pace again after the crash."

British GP, Donington - BBC TV Schedule

2009-07-23T08:01:00.000+01:00

If you're not at Donington this weekend , then don't miss the coverage on the BBC...

Saturday 25 July

Qualifying
1250-1600, BBC Red Button/online

.............................................................

Sunday 26 July

125 and 250cc race
1220-1435, BBC Red Button/online

Race
1500-1630, BBC One/online

MotoGP Extra
1630-1700, BBC Red Button/online

.............................................................

Alvaro Looks Ahead To Donington

2009-07-22T06:36:00.002+01:00

An upbeat Alvaro looks forward to a full length GP to make the most of his favourite circuit, making a cute little reference to Simoncelli's ludicrous move last year which gifted Mika Kallio the win and the championship lead (D'oh!)...
We're certainly hoping for a top run from our guy, an a cracking race overall...

"Donington is a circuit I love and I had a great race there last year, despite another rider making what you could call an unorthodox pass on me at the end! Anyway, this is another year and I think things have changed for the better. We're up there and we're prepared to go head to head with anybody in any race. We're doing our job well at every circuit and the fiasco at Assen aside our hard work is paying off. Let's hope that nothing weird happens this weekend, that the weather is on our side, even though it could easily rain on at least one of the days, so that we can have another nice battle like the one for third place on Sunday - except this time over full distance!"

BatiFans At The British GP

2009-07-21T08:33:00.001+01:00

Right - well, BatiFans is off to the British GP at Donington this weekend.
We'll be keeping you updated with all the news, stats, quotes and info as usual - plus we'll be having our second annual meet-up of the BatiFans international fan group.
There'll be an HQ on the infield all weekend and there will also be daily meet-ups for those who just want to drop by and say Hello (or possibly Ola, or something else...)
We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible and we've got some information up on the forum already as to the wheres and whens of the weekend. Click here to check maps and notes...

In the build-up we'll continue with team and rider previews etc and we'll be aiming to be online with you if you're not at the track, and with you if you are!

Vamos Bati! Suerte :-)

Alvaro Bautista: Post-Race Quote, Sachsenring

2009-07-19T15:18:00.001+01:00

"With the worn tyre I could still feel very comfortable, but I had an early problem. The bike was sliding about and I couldn't feel at ease riding, so I had to regain my feeling step by step. I wasn't fully comfortable until the middle of the race; when I caught up with Barberá I saw that he was going faster than me, I decided to let him take me up to the front.
When we got to Hiroshi and Faubel It was difficult to pass because of Aoyama's late braking, and there were only a couple of places at which I knew that I could pass him. I tried to overtake with two laps to go, but I saw a yellow flag and couldn't make the move. I got through later on and saw Álex ahead, and knew that catching him would be tough. I was with him on the last lap, but a move would have been risking things. Third is a good result, and Aoyama finished behind me which is important for the title fight."

Bautista Takes 3rd & New Sachsenring Lap Record

2009-07-19T13:06:00.003+01:00

With mixed conditions, an initial red flag and then a load of faffing around over tyre choices before the restart, you could be forgiven for being a bit worried about how chaotic the (reduced) run might go, but it turned out pretty well actually, with Alvaro finally coming home a fine, respectable and close third.
Simoncelli was first and Alex Debon just behind, with just 1.2 seconds covering the first five riders over the finish line.
After a lacklustre start, Alvaro soon warmed up - spending most of the race swapping places with Hiroshi Aoyama and Hector Barbera - and finally took Aoyama heading into the first corner, and then went on to break the circuit lap record on the last lap.
Triffick!

CLASSIFIED:

Pos | Rider | Bike | Time
1. Marco Simoncelli Gilera 27m11.034s
2. Alex Debon Aprilia + 0.479s
3. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia + 0.528s
4. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda + 0.866s
5. Hector Barbera Aprilia + 1.260s
6. Hector Faubel Honda + 5.972s
7. Aleix Espargaro Aprilia + 8.721s
8. Thomas Luthi Aprilia + 8.762s
9. Raffaele De Rosa Honda + 19.176s
10. R.Locatelli Gilera + 27.950s
11. Alex Baldolini Aprilia + 29.601s
12. Lukas Pesek Aprilia + 38.299s
13. Shoya Tomizawa Honda + 51.940s
14. Jules Cluzel Aprilia + 52.919s
15. Bastien Chesaux Honda +1m06.786s
16. Axel Pons Aprilia +1m20.573s
17. Toby Markham Aprilia + 1 lap
18. Imre Toth Aprilia + 1 lap
19. Joakim Stensmo Honda + 2 laps
20. Valentin Debise Honda + 4 laps

NOT CLASSIFIED/RETIREMENTS:

Rider | Bike | Laps
Mattia Pasini Aprilia 16
Mike Di Meglio Aprilia 16
Karel Abraham Aprilia 8
Vladimir Leonov Aprilia 0
R.Wilairot Honda DNS

FASTEST LAP: Bautista, 1m24.552s on lap 19

Alvaro - Post-qualifying quotes; Sachsenring

2009-07-18T21:42:00.001+01:00

"We made a few changes to the wet set-up for qualifying but I didn't feel comfortable, to the point that we just went back to the configuration we had last year and I felt better straight away. It is a shame that I ran into a lot of traffic and couldn't get into a rhythm. I only got on decent lap in but that was enough to get me on the front row. I think if I had the opportunity to get into a flow I could have gone faster.
If it is dry for the warm-up tomorrow I'll try what we know works - the same geometry we had for the wet at the end of this afternoon, which gives me a better feeling on the front. Whatever the weather tomorrow we'll be giving it our best shot - we'll try and get a feeling from the start and run at the front. It is important to be on the front row because the first turn tends to get busy here. It is also a circuit where it is very difficult to pass so the nearer you are to the front of the grid the better."

Alvaro Third On Grid For German GP

2009-07-18T15:35:00.002+01:00

After not looking terribly confident for most of the drenched and piddling down Qualifying session for tomorrow's German GP at the Sachsenring, and possibly seeming a shoe-in for a slot somewhere down on the second row, Alvaro suddenly right at the end bunged in a great lap that puts him up in third behind Dumb & Dumber.
Quite what the weather will bring tomorrow who knows, but hopefully he can ride smart and as usual be aware of the terrible twosome lined up next to him...

Pos | Rider | Bike | Time | Gap
1. Marco Simoncelli Gilera 1m32.962s
2. Hector Barbera Aprilia 1m33.105s + 0.143s
3. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 1m34.246s + 1.284s
4. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda 1m34.285s + 1.323s
5. Karel Abraham Aprilia 1m34.312s + 1.350s
6. Mattia Pasini Aprilia 1m34.333s + 1.371s
7. Alex Debon Aprilia 1m34.632s + 1.670s
8. Hector Faubel Honda 1m34.660s + 1.698s
9. Aleix Espargaro Aprilia 1m34.718s + 1.756s
10. Mike di Meglio Aprilia 1m34.804s + 1.842s
11. Thomas Luthi Aprilia 1m35.019s + 2.057s
12. Alex Baldolini Aprilia 1m35.355s + 2.393s
13. Lukas Pesek Aprilia 1m35.427s + 2.465s
14. Roberto Locatelli Gilera 1m35.637s + 2.675s
15. Jules Cluzel Aprilia 1m35.889s + 2.927s
16. Ratthapark Wilairot Honda 1m36.078s + 3.116s
17. Raffaele de Rosa Honda 1m36.097s + 3.135s
18. Shoya Tomizawa Honda 1m36.387s + 3.425s
19. Imre Toth Aprilia 1m36.767s + 3.805s
20. Vladimir Leonov Aprilia 1m36.880s + 3.918s
21. Valentin Debise Honda 1m37.633s + 4.671s
22. Toby Markham Aprilia 1m37.939s + 4.977s
23. Bastien Chesaux Honda 1m39.234s + 6.272s
24. Axel Pons Aprilia 1m40.422s + 7.460s
25. Joakim Stensmo Honda 1m42.138s + 9.176s
26. Robin Halen Aprilia 1m41.581s + 8.619s
27. Marcel Becker Yamaha 1m46.868s + 13.906s

Alvaro - Friday Quotes; Sachsenring

2009-07-17T21:43:00.000+01:00

11th Álvaro Bautista 1.25.836 (30 laps):
"We usually have set-up problems at this circuit and today I tried a couple of new configurations, one of which I like quite a lot. Being a second off the pace is a big gap but it could have been worse so we have to stay optimistic and be prepared to improve tomorrow. Sachsenring is a difficult circuit in that the faster you try to ride the slower you end up going, and you find yourself with more and more work to do. Let's wait and see if we can improve things tomorrow, mainly on the front end. The key to it is in T2 and if we can improve through there we will be much closer. We knew things wouldn't be easy here and now we're even more determined to work at it tomorrow. I have confidence in the team and we'll all give 100% to improve the set-up of the bike for the race."

Alvaro Looks Ahead To The German GP

2009-07-15T14:28:00.000+01:00

"We head to Germany full of motivation and strength, having left with the taste of honey on our lips at the last Grand Prix. We have to respond to what happened there but without losing our heads. Even though we lost the championship lead there is no need to panic because the gap is not a huge one and it is important we just continue to work as we have been doing, picking up as many points as possible.
The Aprilia is perhaps not best suited to the Sachsenring circuit and the Honda will definitely be a more effective package here so we have to work as hard as we can on the set-up to make sure we are ready for Sunday. It is a twisty circuit that is more suited to go-karts than motorcycle racing. I've spent the last two weeks relaxing and putting the Assen crash behind me, having taken a heavy blow to my elbow. I've also been able to keep up my training regime and stay in good shape."

MotoGP.com Release Awesome iPhone App

2009-07-14T11:55:00.000+01:00

I have a (possibly ever-so slightly deserved) reputation as a bit of a geek / nerd / saddo when it comes to anything Mac or iPhone related. So, imagine my joy then, when I was pointed at a dedicated iPhone app from MotoGP.com

Let's face it, MotoGP and Dorna have been way more innovative, smart and genuinely rewarding in their approach to online delivery than F1 - and far better at doing something of genuine interest to punters (like the excellent After The Flag podcasts).
And so perhaps this Application is no great surprise. Doesn't mean that it's not worth a bit of a rave though...
It's a thoroughly tasty piece of work from start to finish, playing both to their own strengths in content and data, and the iPhone's strengths in interface and usability.

The key to it of course is dynamic data - in this case, live timing with race lap, rider position, lap time, gap time, and top speed. And nice touches like rotating the iPhone into 'horizontal' position to get a full live timing view, and live commentary from the MotoGP crew as well.
The app also provides access to race results, championship results, latest news, rider profiles, competition calendars and schedules, and a huge photo gallery.
Aside from all the good functionality, it also has the MotoGP.com excellent branding DNA, and attention to detail, in buckets. It's one of the slickest looking apps I've seen. (*And I've seen more than enough to prove I should get out more...)

To be honest it's a steal at only £1.79 and certainly an invaluable addition to the tech tools of anyone who loves MotoGP and their gadgets.

For some bizarre reason MotoGP.com have disabled 'embedding' of their Youtube demo of the app - which is a real shame as it'd be nice to just plonk it on the page here and share it on other sites and blogs, but if you click on this link then you can watch it anyway...

Finally, if you need no further persuading then just click here to go directly to the app in iTunes...

(*Oh, and don't forget that you can keep up with all the news and chat over at BatiFans with our very own iPhone Web App...)

Alvaro 2009 Caps Available From Speed Genius

2009-07-07T08:30:00.007+01:00

Although we've yet to see the full *2009* range of Alvaro Bautista official fan merchandise showing up on the Speed Genius website, a couple of items from the new stuff are certainly there; including two kinds of baseball cap.
They're pretty sharp looking, and feature the "new" squiggly graffiti style of Bautista logo on the black which makes up the side panels and rear of the cap, plus of course a big yellow "19" on the hot red of the cap front and peak. Well worth a look, and certainly decent value especially if you combine the postage with a couple of other items. We'll aim to let you know as soon as new items are released onto their website (we're not only anticipating some nice new Alvaro Bautista shirts and tops, but also some other items like rucksacks, flags, helmet bags and umbrellas) but for now, we reckon these are really nice pieces of fan gear and well worth investigating...

MTECH Leathers - Great Poster Giveaway!

2009-07-02T10:46:00.003+01:00

MTECH - the company which supplies Alvaro's leathers - has very kindly donated 50 extremely cool A3 sized posters for us to give away to our forum members over at BatiFans - The Alvaro Bautista Fan Forum.
To find out if you're one of the lucky winners in PART ONE of our great giveaway click here - and if you're not a member, then come and join in! We're a delightful bunch, and we have lots more competitions and giveaways coming up for our members.

PS: Thank you MTECH - we love you!

MTECH Leathers Launches Special "Racing Service"

2009-06-29T08:28:00.004+01:00

MTECH, as you may know is a partner to Alvaro Bautista, supplying him with leathers for the 2009 season - and it's with this kind of involvement with the sport globally, that MTECH has this year launched its “Racing Service”.

A truck equipped with all accessories to service the riders is ready on all Road Racing World Championship tracks, starting every Thursday before the race. With this initiative, MTECH has reached its goal of “being” on the tracks with a dedicated service, managed by its qualified technicians.
In this way MTECH ensures that it is always near the riders, that it gives them the best assistance and gets their feedback and tips to continuously improve and increase the garment performance.

The pictures show the "Racing Service" truck, and also a set of Alvaro's MTECH leathers being given attention onsite by MTECH's expert crew.

Sorry Alvaro. Wish It Ended Better.

2009-06-27T18:47:00.000+01:00

Assen 250cc GP - Results In Full

2009-06-27T17:47:00.001+01:00

Pos | Driver | Bike | Time
1. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda 40m44.008s
2. Hector Barbera Aprilia +4.424
3. Marco Simoncelli Gilera +10.339
4. Aleix Espargaro Aprilia +11.383
5. Roberto Locatelli Gilera +11.596
6. Alex Debon Aprilia +14.265
7. Karel Abraham Aprilia +17.982
8. Hector Faubel Honda +19.012
9. Rattapark Wilairot Honda +20.926
10. Raffaele de Rosa Honda +21.033
11. Mike di Meglio Aprilia +32.128
12. Lukas Pesek Aprilia +41.329
13. Alex Baldolini Aprilia +1:05.321
14. Valentin Debise Honda +1:12.451
15. Imre Toth Aprilia +1 lap
16. Vladimir Leonov Aprilia +1 lap

Retirements

Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 22 laps
Bastien Chesaux Honda 19 laps
Axel Pons Aprilia 16 laps
Toby Markham Honda 14 laps
Steve Bonsey Aprilia 13 laps
Mattia Pasini Aprilia 13 laps
Thomas Luthi Aprilia 10 laps
Jules Cluzel Aprilia 5 laps
Shoya Tomizawa Honda 0 laps

Assen 250cc GP - Alvaro Wiped Out By Hiro

2009-06-27T17:42:00.005+01:00

Less said the better quite frankly...
A brilliant run from Alvaro (on for second or first spot) cut short with about a lap to go when Hiro Aoyama amde a mistake in the final chicane, running wide and slowing right down only to come back onto the track to take out Alvaro who was on the correct line, very close behind.
It was an accident... yeah - I know... and it was by one of the *good* riders in the class... but that doesn't stop it from hurting - particularly as Hiro was able to nurse his bike to the win swapping Bati's 12 point championship lead over him to a 13 pint deficit. And that's galling.

Anyway, here's Alvaro's words on the race...
"My plan was to take it right to the end with Aoyama, because I saw that in the final sector I was quicker than him and I could try a pass. I think that I could have done it, but maybe he had a problem with the bike that stopped him in the chicane. I ran into the back of him and couldn't do anything. The crash is a pity because we could have taken at least twenty points, and the incident has lost us the leadership of the championship. We have to look at the good side though, we had a good race and showed that we are very strong. The results will keep coming if we keep working like we are now."

Assen GP - 250cc Qualifying Times

2009-06-26T19:47:00.001+01:00

Pos | Rider | Bike | Time | Laps
1. Hector Barbera Aprilia 1:40.019 22
2. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda 1:40.192 + 0.173 21
3. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 1:40.210 + 0.191 22
4. Marco Simoncelli Gilera 1:40.320 + 0.301 19
5. Aleix Espargaro Aprilia 1:40.796 + 0.777 21
6. Alex Debon Aprilia 1:40.830 + 0.811 20
7. Raffaele De Rosa Honda 1:41.023 + 1.004 21
8. Mattia Pasini Aprilia 1:41.055 + 1.036 21
9. Mike Di Meglio Aprilia 1:41.072 + 1.053 19
10. Lukas Pesek Aprilia 1:41.190 + 1.171 20
11. Ratthapark Wilairot Honda 1:41.235 + 1.216 20
12. Roberto Locatelli Gilera 1:41.347 + 1.328 20
13. Hector Faubel Honda 1:41.462 + 1.443 16
14. Karel Abraham Aprilia 1:41.533 + 1.514 22
15. Thomas Luthi Aprilia 1:41.545 + 1.526 21
16. Shoya Tomizawa Honda 1:42.038 + 2.019 19
17. Jules Cluzel Aprilia 1:42.628 + 2.609 14
18. Stevie Bonsey Aprilia 1:42.697 + 2.678 13
19. Alex Baldolini Aprilia 1:43.075 + 3.056 13
20. Axel Pons Aprilia 1:43.470 + 3.451 21
21. Valentin Debise Honda 1:43.653 + 3.634 19
22. Imre Toth Aprilia 1:43.913 + 3.894 20
23. Bastien Chesaux Honda 1:44.704 + 4.685 21
24. Vladimir Leonov Aprilia 1:44.743 + 4.724 17
25. Toby Markham Honda 1:46.758 + 6.739 14

Alvaro Lines Up 3rd For Assen GP

2009-06-26T18:15:00.001+01:00

"I had a few problems with the front end in corner entry this afternoon, which I think is because we were running a used front tyre and a new rear. About halfway through this afternoon's qualifying we started to make some progress with the bike and I began to enjoy myself. In the end it was a good session, with a good pace, so I hope I can keep riding like I want to tomorrow in both the warm-up and the race. We were really close to pole but the most important thing was to be on the front row and we've done that. I'd like to improve the bike a little more before the race tomorrow just to be on the safe side but I think the fight will be between the same people as Barcelona, with Aoyama and Barberá both looking good. This morning we tried a few things with the front-end set-up and went down the wrong route at one point, which is what led to the crash, but I'm not worried because we know what the problem was."