28 July 2009

2010 (Provisional) MotoGP Calendar Revealed


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


26 July 2009

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


"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

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


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." 
 

25 July 2009

Alvaro's Post-Quali Quotes From Donington


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

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


24 July 2009

Alvaro 3rd in FP1 Despite Crash


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."


23 July 2009

British GP, Donington - BBC TV Schedule


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

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



22 July 2009

Alvaro Looks Ahead To Donington


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!"


21 July 2009

BatiFans At The British GP


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 :-)


19 July 2009

Alvaro Bautista: Post-Race Quote, Sachsenring


"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

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


18 July 2009

Alvaro - Post-qualifying quotes; Sachsenring


"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

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


17 July 2009

Alvaro - Friday Quotes; Sachsenring


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."


15 July 2009

Alvaro Looks Ahead To The German GP


"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."


14 July 2009

MotoGP.com Release Awesome iPhone App


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...)



07 July 2009

Alvaro 2009 Caps Available From Speed Genius


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...


02 July 2009

MTECH Leathers - Great Poster Giveaway!

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!