25 October 2009

Alvaro's Title Challenge Ends In Sepang Gravel


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


24 October 2009

Alvaro Secures 5th Spot On Sepang Grid


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


23 October 2009

Alvaro On Friday Practice, Sepang


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

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


22 October 2009

Malaysian GP Preview & Alvaro Quotes


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


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.


18 October 2009

Australian GP: Alvaro Post-Race Quotes


"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

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


17 October 2009

Alvaro Reflects On Difficult Qualifying


"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

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


16 October 2009

Australian GP: Alvaro Friday Quotes


"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


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


12 October 2009

Alvaro Looks Ahead To Phillip Island


"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."


06 October 2009

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

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.


04 October 2009

Alvaro Quotes: Estoril, Sunday


"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

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


03 October 2009

Portuguese GP: Alvaro's Post-Quali Quotes


"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

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


"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

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


01 October 2009

Portuguese GP: Spanish Rider Factoids


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

(*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.