Juanjo Update - 1st Place In 80cc Race At Jerez

Congratulations to our young Talaveran friend Juanjo Nuñez on his excellent victory at the Circuito de Jerez at the weekend; romping home first in his 80cc race.
Also, as a member of the new Alvaro Bautista Fan's Club, he did the honours of taking to the podium in the new Fan's Club shirt and cap over his race kit in respect to his, and our, hero.
Top work Juanjo!
Congrats on the victory - and kudos on your podium style! :-)

One Man And His Fans

Just a reminder of that very special bond between Alvaro and his fans - and let's be honest, most of the crowd in general!

Great to see the new Fan's Club already very visible too :-)

Jerez GP - Alvaro Quotes

2nd Álvaro Bautista:
"This second place tasted like victory for me. Obviously I know that first is always better, but we were really battling out there at 100%. Before the race I wasn't sure of what my race pace would be like, not knowing if I could keep up, as during the practice sessions I couldn't find the right pace.
In the warmup we worked on the setting and found a new configuration that I really liked, and when I saw the crowd I knew that I had to leave any excuses behind me and go for a good result. Jorge told me to remember 2007 just before I went out, and the motivation worked. At the end of the race I tried to take the victory, but it was a pity that Hiroshi is so fantastic on the brakes. I tried to do it later but it wasn't possible, he was at the limit.
We finished second but it is almost a victory, and I learnt that we will never back down."

Jerez GP - Alvaro Comes Home 2nd In Major Heart Stopper

Well, even though he wasn't on the top step of the podium, Alvaro Bautista still looked pleased as punch today at Jerez where he came home second behind Hiroshi Aoyama in the 250cc Grand Prix.
It was a real ding-dong of a battle between the two of them in the closing laps, having shaken off Barbera and Simoncelli.
The cheering of the fans clearly got to Bati and he made big efforts to go and acknowledge them all across the main straight once he was off his bike, having already taken massive applause elsewhere around the track.
He really seemed on the defensive in the closing stages, his bike not nearly looking as sharp as the Honda which was - in the capable hands of Hiro - very very good indeed.
A great race. Not the best result. But still somehow a very positive day - and Alvaro's reaction and conduct showing why he's just the kind of guy you want to support - as cheerful and graceful in defeat (after a great, fair and hard battle) as he is in victory.
Nice work Alvarito. Nice work... :-)


Here's the results...

Pos | Rider | Bike | Time

1. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda 45m08.805s
2. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia + 0.132s
3. Marco Simoncelli Gilera + 2.706s
4. Hector Barbera Aprilia + 2.769s
5. Thomas Luthi Aprilia + 17.946s
6. Mattia Pasini Aprilia + 17.950s
7. Gabor Talmacsi Aprilia + 26.288s
8. Jules Cluzel Aprilia + 26.472s
9. Roberto Locatelli Gilera + 27.646s
10. Raffaele de Rosa Honda + 32.369s
11. Mike di Meglio Aprilia + 32.617s
12. Shoya Tomizawa Honda + 34.241s
13. Lukas Pesek Aprilia + 36.889s
14. Hector Faubel Honda + 37.237s
15. Ratthapark Wilairot Honda +1m16.786s
16. Imre Toth Aprilia +1m25.509s
17. Bastien Chesaux Honda + 1 lap
18. Aitor Rodriguez Aprilia + 1 lap
19. Vladimir Leonov Aprilia + 1 lap
20. Valentin Debise Honda + 1 lap


Retirements:

Axel Pons Aprilia 22 laps
Ivan Maestro Aprilia 18 laps
Alex Baldolini Aprilia 10 laps
Alex Debon Aprilia 9 laps
Karel Abraham Aprilia 3 laps

Jerez GP - Qualifying: Alvaro Bautista Quotes

4th Álvaro Bautista 1.43.451 (20 laps):
"It was very blustery this afternoon and it made it difficult to hold your line in the corners, but it was the same for everybody. We tried a few changes to the engine setting but the results were not what we'd hoped for and I couldn't get out of the corners well.
I just tried to stay focused on getting the most out of my Aprilia and qualifying as high up the grid as possible. The front row is important and tomorrow we'll go back to the setting we had yesterday, which we know works perfectly well.
There were a lot of fast guys out there today but we'll have to wait and see how the race develops. Obviously the Spaniards will be giving everything because we all want to win. It will be a close race and whoever wants to win it will have to be prepared to fight all the way. Hopefully it goes right to the wire and it would be great if we had an all-Spanish podium."

Jerez GP - Qualifying: Alvaro 4th

Alvaro Bautista lines up on the front row of the gird in 4th position for tomorrow's Spanish 250cc Grand Prix at Jerez.
Ahead of him are Alex Debon on pole, and "Dumb & Dumber" as they are known in some parts - Hector Barbera and Marco Simoncelli.
Alvaro's starts haven't been great this season, and for once you almost hope he does drop back a bit to allow any craziness up front to sort itself out. (Ideally in the gravel somewhere...)
Preferably though, all will be well following some possible engine issues today and he can just get straight on with the job.

Here's the top ten from Qualy...

1. Debon (Aprilia) 1min 43.028sec
2. Barbera (Aprilia) +0.289sec
3. Simoncelli (Gilera) +0.348sec
4. Bautista (Aprilia) +0.423sec
5. Cluzel (Aprilia) +0.493sec
6. Aoyama (Honda) +0.563sec
7. di Meglio (Aprilia) +0.764sec
8. Luthi (Aprilia) +0.836sec
9. Faubel (Honda) +0.863sec
10. Talmacsi (Aprilia) +1.030sec

Suerte Alvarito!!! :-)

Alvaro Looks Ahead To Jerez

"After the win in Japan I'm feeling happy, strong and confident about going to Jerez this weekend and picking up another good result. I hope that there can be a group of Spanish riders running at the front and putting on a good show for the home supporters. Discounting Qatar, where our performance was severely affected by the conditions, I think we've started the championship well and I'm convinced that all the set-up work we did in the winter will help us be competitive from Friday. Whatever happens, racing at Jerez is always special, I don't know why but feeling the support from the fans in every corner somehow brings out the best in a rider and helps you to win."

And don't forget there's thousands and thousands and thousands of us elsewhere too, cheering you on Bati!!!
Buena suerte!
:-)

Jerez Test Times - Day Three - 27/03/09

Session 1

1 Alvaro BAUTISTA MAPFRE ASPAR TEAM 1:43.205 -
2 Hector BARBERA PEPE WORLD TEAM 1:43.306 +0.101
3 Alex DEBON AEROPUERTO-CASTELLO-BLUSENS 1:43.397 +0.192
4 Marco SIMONCELLI METIS GILERA 1:43.417 +0.212
5 Roberto LOCATELLI METIS GILERA 1:43.702 +0.497
6 Hiroshi AOYAMA SCOT RACING TEAM 250cc 1:43.793 +0.588
7 Mattia PASINI TEAM TOTH APRILIA 1:43.877 +0.672
8 Gabor TALMACSI BALATON RACING TEAM 250cc 1:43.954 +0.749
9 Mike DI MEGLIO MAPFRE ASPAR TEAM 250cc 1:43.985 +0.780
10 Ratthapark WILAIROT THAI HONDA PTT SAG 1:43.995 +0.790
11 Karel ABRAHAM CARDION AB MOTORACING 1:44.012 +0.807
12 Thomas LUTHI EMMI - CAFFE LATTE 1:44.160 +0.955
13 Hector FAUBEL HONDA SAG 1:44.254 +1.049
14 Alex BALDOLINI WTR SAN MARINO TEAM 1:44.359 +1.154
15 Lukas PESEK AUTO KELLY - CP 1:44.421 +1.216
16 Jules CLUZEL MATTEONI RACING 1:44.746 +1.541
17 Raffaele DE ROSA SCOT RACING TEAM 250cc 1:44.816 +1.611
18 Imre TOTH TEAM TOTH APRILIA 1:45.355 +2.150
19 Shoya TOMIZAWA CIP MOTO-GP250 1:46.269 +3.064
20 Bastien CHESAUX RACING TEAM GERMANY 1:47.379 +4.174
21 Vladimir LEONOV VIESSMANN KIEFER RACING 1:48.138 +4.933
22 Axel PONS PEPE WORLD TEAM 1:48.295 +5.090


Session 2

1 Marco SIMONCELLI METIS GILERA 1:42.477 -
2 Alvaro BAUTISTA MAPFRE ASPAR TEAM 1:42.674 +0.197
3 Jules CLUZEL MATTEONI RACING 1:43.078 +0.601
4 Alex DEBON AEROPUERTO-CASTELLO-BLUSENS 1:43.189 +0.712
5 Hiroshi AOYAMA SCOT RACING TEAM 250cc 1:43.244 +0.767
6 Roberto LOCATELLI METIS GILERA 1:43.425 +0.948
7 Gabor TALMACSI BALATON RACING TEAM 250cc 1:43.470 +0.993
8 Thomas LUTHI EMMI - CAFFE LATTE 1:43.611 +1.134
9 Karel ABRAHAM CARDION AB MOTORACING 1:43.658 +1.181
10 Ratthapark WILAIROT THAI HONDA PTT SAG 1:43.744 +1.267
11 Lukas PESEK AUTO KELLY - CP 1:43.837 +1.360
12 Mike DI MEGLIO MAPFRE ASPAR TEAM 250cc 1:43.847 +1.370
13 Mattia PASINI TEAM TOTH APRILIA 1:43.912 +1.435
14 Raffaele DE ROSA SCOT RACING TEAM 250cc 1:43.926 +1.449
15 Alex BALDOLINI WTR SAN MARINO TEAM 1:43.928 +1.451
16 Hector FAUBEL THAI HONDA PTT SAG 1:43.982 +1.505
17 Imre TOTH TEAM TOTH APRILIA 1:45.994 +3.517
18 Axel PONS PEPE WORLD TEAM 1:46.767 +4.290
19 Bastien CHESAUX RACING TEAM GERMANY 1:47.233 +4.756

Jerez Test Times - Day Two - 26/03/09

1.Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia), 1.43.068
2.Héctor Barberá (Aprilia), 1.43.093
3.Marco Simoncelli (Gilera), 1.43.196
4.Mike Di Meglio (Aprilia), 1.43.358
5.Lukas Pesek (Aprilia), 1.43.467
6.Gabor Talmacsi (Aprilia), 1.43.515
7.Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda), 1.43.545
8.Roberto Locatelli (Gilera), 1.43.749
9.Alex Debón (Aprilia), 1.43.819
10.Rattapark Wilairot (Honda), 1.43.951

Some Pics From Jerez Day One

Jerez Test Times - Day One - 25/03/09

1. Héctor Barberá – Aprilia – 1.43.156
2. Marco Simoncelli – Gilera – 1.43.438
3. Alvaro Bautista – Aprilia 1.43.596
4. Ratthapark Wilairot – Honda – 1.43.785
5. Gabor Talmacsi – Aprilia – 1.44.005
6. Hiroshi Aoyama – Honda – 1.44.127
7. Thomas Luthi – Aprilia – 1.44.199
8. Mike Di Meglio – Aprilia – 1.44.273
9. Héctor Faubel – Honda – 1.44.644
10. Roberto Locatelli – Gilera – 1.44.821
16.Alex Debón – Aprilia – 1.46.154
20.Axel Pons – Aprilia – 1.49.114

Alvaro's Message To His Fans...

Thanks to Pringle for managing to translate this post from Alvaro to his official (Spanish) forum, following up the Jerez weekend.
(*All the jejeje type stuff is Spanish for laughing by the way!)

Hello everybody!! How are you?? I’m fine but I could be better jejejje
It was a pity in Jerez, because the whole weekend went pretty well, ok I had some small problems with the bike on Friday but they were resolved very well on Saturday and I had fun riding again and had a lot of confidence for Sunday… The race went brilliant, I felt strong and I wanted to win no matter what, I had it clear and under control, and I wanted to celebrate a victory with all of you, but I didn’t expect what happened, of which you know all already and there’s no need to tell you again, no??? jejejejej
You know what especially impressed me most and what moved me??? As well as all of you who did not stop to support me during the weekend, which was noted!!! After the race on the grandstand on the straight, when the people started to call my name… wow!!! That was very cool, really I felt loved and supported and I would like to say thanks (not only to them, but also to everybody who supports me) for doing this, I did not hope for it and I got it anyway… and above all it cheered me up and it made me think it wasn’t all bad, that the next time I would be stronger and fight hard to reach my objective, as soon as possible, in Portugal (good memories) I intend to be like always a 100% and fighting!!! Those of you who will be there have a lot of fun and those who can’t be there, I’m sure you’ll be supporting from home…
Ok people, I dismiss myself now, really many thanks for your support and encouragements and that sooner or later luck will be with us no??? ajjajajajjaja
A hug and a kiss!!!

A great demonstration of somebody who's got it all in perspective, and a perfect example of why we support him.
Let's hope Estoril brings us (and Bati) better...

Alvaro Bautista: Quote from Jerez

"All weekend was fantastic, we did formidable work, but we are not having luck," says Alvaro. "I improved my pace from the beginning and was riding very well and having fun, head to head with Simoncelli. Just before entering the curve though the engine went and the bike stopped, I was not been able to do anything at all. At the end of race I spoke with Simoncelli and he knows it was neither's fault that we crashed, because it wasn't my fault either. I hope that in Portugal luck has a smile for us and we are able to be successful with all the good work that we have done up to now. "
(*Source: Mapfre Team Aspar)

The Moment...

This is the moment where there was all that cheering during the 250cc podium.
And rightly so...

"YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!"

Spanish GP: Alvaro Takes 250cc Pole At Jerez

Well, after yesterday's slightly middling sessions, today's FP2 practice (in which Alvaro as 1st) was followed up by a storming final qualifying session in which he nabbed pole very effectively.
Maybe it was that snazzy new helmet design that helped?! (pics of that to follow... it's very nice...)

In the post-qualifying press conference, Alvaro looked really, really happy - and couldn't stop grinning with one of his typically widescreen smiles. He said he hoped to follow up today's result with victory. He said yesterday they had a lot of problems - in the front particularly, he had no confidence, but that today was very good and the team had worked hard.
He thinks he has a good setting for tomorrow and he is happy to do well in Jerez - as it is a home race - and he hopes to do well for the fans.

Anyhoo - here's the results in full:

Spanish GP; Jerez, 250cc - Final Qualifying

1 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team APRILIA 1'43.071
2 Mika KALLIO FIN Red Bull KTM 250 KTM 1'43.198
3 Alex DEBON SPA Lotus Aprilia APRILIA 1'43.286
4 Thomas LUTHI SWI Emmi - Caffe Latte APRILIA 1'43.596
5 Julian SIMON SPA Repsol KTM 250cc KTM 1'43.629
6 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN Red Bull KTM 250 KTM 1'43.640
7 Hector BARBERA SPA Team Toth Aprilia APRILIA 1'43.748
8 Roberto LOCATELLI ITA Metis Gilera GILERA 1'43.823
9 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA Metis Gilera GILERA 1'43.921
10 Mattia PASINI ITA Polaris World APRILIA 1'43.935
11 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN JiR Team Scot 250 HONDA 1'44.022
12 Fabrizio LAI ITA Campetella Racing GILERA 1'44.032
13 Hector FAUBEL SPA Mapfre Aspar Team APRILIA 1'44.166
14 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing APRILIA 1'44.249
15 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Lotus Aprilia APRILIA 1'44.335
16 Alex BALDOLINI ITA Matteoni Racing APRILIA 1'44.754
17 Lukas PESEK CZE Auto Kelly - CP APRILIA 1'44.818
18 Manuel POGGIALI RSM Campetella Racing GILERA 1'44.854
19 Ratthapark WILAIROT THA Thai Honda PTT SAG HONDA 1'45.753
20 Eugene LAVERTY IRL Blusens Aprilia APRILIA 1'46.503
21 Manuel HERNANDEZ SPA Blusens Aprilia APRILIA 1'46.835
22 Imre TOTH HUN Team Toth Aprilia APRILIA 1'47.005
23 Doni Tata PRADITA INA Yamaha Pertamina Indonesia YAMAHA 1'47.989


*******************************************************************

Free Practice 2 - Results in full...

1 Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 1'43.379
2 Hector Barbera Aprilia 1'43.644 0.265
3 Alex Debon Aprilia 1'43.647 0.268
4 Hiroshi Aoyama KTM 1'43.718 0.339
5 Marco Simoncelli Gilera 1'43.864 0.485
6 Thomas Luthi Aprilia 1'43.866 0.487
7 Mika Kallio KTM 1'43.919 0.540
8 Julian Simon KTM 1'43.946 0.567
9 Aleix Espargaró Aprilia 1'43.955 0.576
10 Fabrizio Lai Gilera 1'44.079 0.700
11 Mattia Pasini Aprilia 1'44.375 0.996
12 Yuki Takahashi Honda 1'44.619 1.240
13 Karel Abraham Aprilia 1'44.666 1.287
14 Alex Baldolini Aprilia 1'44.864 1.485
15 Hector Faubel Aprilia 1'44.991 1.612
16 R.Wilairot Honda 1'45.002 1.623
17 Lukas Pesek Aprilia 1'45.013 1.634
18 Manuel Poggiali Gilera 1'45.500 2.121
19 R.Locatelli Gilera 1'45.584 2.205
20 Imre Toth Aprilia 1'46.075 2.696
21 Eugene Laverty Aprilia 1'46.585 3.206
22 Manuel Hernández Aprilia 1'47.269 3.890
23 D.T.Pradita Yamaha 1'48.243 4.864

Spanish Grand Prix - TV Schedule

Don't forget you can follow practice, qualifying and the races at the following times on British Eurosport with the excellent Toby Moody and Julian Ryder...

Friday 28 March
14.30 – 15.00 250cc Practice Live
15.00 – 16.00 MotoGP Practice Live
18.00 – 19.00 MotoGP
23.30 – 00.30 MotoGP

Saturday 29 March
12.00 – 14.00 125cc and MotoGP Qualifying Live
21.00 – 22.30 MotoGP

Sunday 30 March
08.45 – 14.00 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP Races Live
18.00 – 19.30 MotoGP

Spanish Grand Prix - Event Schedule

(*Event Schedule - All Timings Local)

Friday 28 March
09.00 – 09.45 125cc Practice
10.00 – 11.00 MotoGP Practice
11.15 – 12.15 250cc Practice
13.10 – 13.40 125cc Qualifying 1
13.55 – 14.55 MotoGP Practice
15.10 – 15.55 250cc Qualifying 1

Saturday 29 March
09.00 – 09.45 125cc Practice
10.00 – 11.00 MotoGP Practice
11.15 – 12.15 250cc Practice
13.10 – 13.40 125cc Qualifying 2
13.55 – 14.55 MotoGP Qualifying
15.10 – 15.55 250cc Qualifying 2

Sunday 30 March
08.40 – 09.00 125cc Warm Up
09.10 – 09.30 250cc Warm Up
09.40 – 10.05 MotoGP Warm Up

11.00 125cc RACE (23 laps)
12.15 250cc RACE (26 laps)
14.00 MotoGP RACE (27 laps)

Jerez testing - 21/02/08 - Looking Good :)

Very encouraging time and position on day three...

1. Thomas Luthi – Aprilia – 1.43.208
2. Marco Simoncelli – Gilera – 1. 43.209
3. Alvaro Bautista – Aprilia – 1. 43.601
4. Julian Simon – KTM – 1. 43.802
5. Mika Kallio – KTM – 1. 43.859
6. Hiroshi Aoyama – KTM – 1. 43.869
7. Hector Faubel – Aprilia – 1. 44.183
8. Yuki Takahashi – Honda – 1. 44.333
9. Aleix Espargaro – Aprilia – 1. 44.373
10. Lukas Pesek – Aprilia – 1. 44.405
11. Mattia Pasini – Aprilia – 1. 44.626
12. Hector Barbera – Aprilia – 1. 44.777
13. Fabrizio Lai – Gilera – 1. 44.882
14. Karel Abraham – Aprilia – 1. 44.909
15. Alex Baldolini – Aprilia – 1. 44.977
16. Manuel Poggiali – Gilera – 1. 45.761
17. Alex Debon – Aprilia – 1. 46.046
18. Eugene Laverty – Aprilia – 1. 46.089
19. Russel Gomez – Aprilia – 1. 46.432
20. Ratthapark Wilairot – Honda – 1. 46.984
21. Doni Pradita – Yamaha – 1.49.900

Jerez testing - 20/02/08

DAY TWO...

1. Marco Simoncelli – Gilera – 1.44.602
2. Thomas Luthi – Aprilia – 1. 44.829
3. Hiroshi Aoyama – KTM – 1. 45.207
4. Alvaro Bautista – Aprilia – 1. 45.374
5. Mika Kallio – KTM – 1. 45.664
6. Julian Simon – KTM – 1. 46.068
7. Yuki Takahashi – Honda – 1. 46.118
8. Hector Faubel – Aprilia – 1. 46.183
9. Karel Abraham – Aprilia – 1. 46.246
10. Alex Debon – Aprilia – 1. 46.287
11. Lukas Pesek – Aprilia – 1. 46.374
12. Mattia Pasini – Aprilia – 1. 46.506
13. Alex Baldolini – Aprilia – 1. 46.743
14. Manuel Poggiali – Gilera – 1. 47.337
15. Eugene Laverty – Aprilia – 1. 47.364
16. Imre Toth – Aprilia – 1. 47.619
17. Hector Barbera – Aprilia – 1. 48.005
18. Fabrizio Lai – Gilera – 1. 48.449
19. Ratthapark Wilairot – Honda – 1. 49.079
20. Russel Gomez – Aprilia – 1.49.900
21. Doni Pradita – Yamaha – 1.50.031