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

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

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

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."

Bautista Wins In Sepang

Well, Bati *did* do us proud, taking victory in a sweltering Sepang.
It couldn't stop Simoncelli from clinching the WC title, but nonetheless a great ride and a great win.
Congrats Alvaro :)
You may not be the champ this year but you *are* the best rider (and sportsman) in 250.

Here's the results in full...


Pos | Rider | Bike | Time

1. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 42:56.428
2. Hiroshi Aoyama KTM + 2.586
3. Marco Simoncelli Gilera + 8.343
4. Yuki Takahashi Honda + 11.032
5. Aleix Espargaro Aprilia + 13.846
6. Alex Debon Aprilia + 14.274
7. Roberto Locatelli Gilera + 15.101
8. Ratthapark Wilairot Honda + 16.987
9. Thomas Luthi Aprilia + 25.356
10. Lukas Pesek Aprilia + 26.846
11. Fabrizio Lai Gilera + 49.907
12. Karel Abraham Aprilia + 50.088
13. Alex Baldolini Aprilia +1:05.816
14. Simone Grotzkyj Gilera +1:15.544
15. Imre Toth Aprilia +1:19.905
16. Manuel Hernandez Aprilia +1:35.890
17. Daniel Arcas Aprilia +2:00.717
18. Doni Tata Pradita Yamaha +2:28.842



NOT CLASSIFIED/RETIREMENTS:

Rider | Bike | Laps

Mattia Pasini Aprilia 15
Julian Simon KTM 11
Mika Kallio KTM 5
Hector Faubel Aprilia 4

MotoGP - Malaysia: Schedule Of Events

Friday October 17

125cc :: Free Practice 1 :: 09:00-09:45 
MotoGP :: Free Practice 1 :: 10:00-11:00 
250cc :: Free Practice 1 :: 11:15-12:15 
125cc :: Qualifying 1 :: 13:10-13:40 
MotoGP :: Free Practice 2 :: 13:55-14:55 
250cc :: Qualifying 1 :: 15:10-15:55 

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


Saturday October 18

125cc :: Free Practice 2 :: 09:00-09:45 
MotoGP :: Free Practice 3 :: 10:00-11:00 
250cc :: Free Practice 2 :: 11:15-12:15 
125cc :: Qualifying 2 :: 13:10-13:40 
MotoGP :: Qualifying 1 :: 13:55-14:55 
250cc :: Qualifying 2 :: 15:10-15:55

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


Sunday October 19

125cc :: Warm-Up :: 08:40-09:00 
250cc :: Warm-Up :: 09:10-09:30 
MotoGP :: Warm-Up :: 09:40-10:05 
125cc :: Race :: 11:00-11:45 
250cc :: Race :: 12:15-13:00 
MotoGP :: Race :: 14:00-15:00

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


(All times local: Sepang = GMT +8)

The Good & Bad Of Raceday...

Well - ups and downs really.
The crucial thing is the 'down' - Alvaro dropping out of a brilliant fighting race where he was easily going to be on the podium (I'd have said 2nd) when his bike failed on lap 6 of the Malaysian 250cc GP at Sepang.
The race saw plenty of other good scrapping though, and of course also saw J-Lo seal his title bid.

The upside was this...

...The splendid Toby Moody not only plugging us again on Eurosport (is it just my imagination or does he mention us more often than he mentions the Eurosport website???) but also apparently pimping the site to Alvaro himself! Stars, the both of them :)

Anyway, for completeness, here's the results in full...


CLASSIFIED:

Pos | Rider | Make | Time
1. Hiroshi Aoyama KTM 43:09.316
2. Hector Barbera Aprilia + 2.251
3. Jorge Lorenzo Aprilia + 2.957
4. Mika Kallio KTM + 2.965
5. Thomas Luthi Aprilia + 7.305
6. Julian Simon Honda + 8.747
7. R. Locatelli Gilera + 16.105
8. Marco Simoncelli Gilera + 26.101
9. Yuki Takahashi Honda + 28.032
10. Aleix Espargaro Aprilia + 34.754
11. Andrea Dovizioso Honda + 35.888
12. Karel Abraham Aprilia + 42.514
13. Shuhei Aoyama Honda + 48.020
14. Alex Baldolini Aprilia + 48.058
15. Dirk Heidolf Aprilia + 49.190
16. R. Wilairot Honda + 49.273
17. Eugene Laverty Honda + 53.468
18. Taro Sekiguchi Aprilia +1:02.665
19. Jules Cluzel Aprilia +1:15.625
20. Fabrizio Lai Aprilia +1:17.024
21. Imre Toth Aprilia +1:32.646


NOT CLASSIFIED/RETIREMENTS:

Rider | Make | Laps
Federico Sandi Aprilia 17
Doni Tata Yamaha 16
Alex de Angelis Aprilia 10
Efren Vazquez Aprilia 9
Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 6

Bautista 3rd In 1st Qualifying at Sepang

Some excellent running from Alvaro today - spending most of it in P1.
Eventually down to third, but a very good result nonetheless, and judging by his comments he still has more to come form the bike if all goes well...

"The day has been quite positive. In the morning I had a good feeling in the rain, and I have tried to work a bit in the wet, because I have not had much experience of it in 250 this year...
We have worked hard with the bike, because it did not feel completely comfortable. In the end we have improved a little more, although it will be necessary to continue working because there were some things that are still not quite right for me... "

Here's the running order form Quali 1.

Pos | Rider | Make | Time
1. Jorge Lorenzo Aprilia 2:08.876
2. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 2:08.968 + 0.092
3. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 2:09.155 + 0.279
4. Thomas Luthi Aprilia 2:09.387 + 0.511
5. Mika Kallio KTM 2:09.647 + 0.771
6. Marco Simoncelli Gilera 2:09.732 + 0.856
7. Hiroshi Aoyama KTM 2:10.088 + 1.212
8. R.Locatelli Gilera 2:10.509 + 1.633
9. Julian Simon Honda 2:10.528 + 1.652
10. Hector Barbera Aprilia 2:10.696 + 1.820
11. Alex de Angelis Aprilia 2:10.856 + 1.980
12. Aleix Espargaro Aprilia 2:11.318 + 2.442
13. Yuki Takahashi Honda 2:11.335 + 2.459
14. R.Wilairot Honda 2:11.369 + 2.493
15. Shuhei Aoyama Honda 2:11.484 + 2.608
16. Karel Abraham Aprilia 2:11.642 + 2.766
17. Dirk Heidolf Aprilia 2:12.001 + 3.125
18. Jules Cluzel Aprilia 2:12.005 + 3.129
19. Fabrizio Lai Aprilia 2:12.513 + 3.637
20. Eugene Laverty Honda 2:12.647 + 3.771
21. Alex Baldolini Aprilia 2:12.846 + 3.970
22. Imre Toth Aprilia 2:13.241 + 4.365
23. Taro Sekiguchi Aprilia 2:13.505 + 4.629
24. Efren Vazquez Aprilia 2:14.011 + 5.135
25. Federico Sandi Aprilia 2:15.196 + 6.320
26. D.T.Pradita Yamaha 2:15.534 + 6.658

TV Times - Malaysian Grand Prix - MotoGP

Early mornings again here in the UK this weekend if we want to catch all the live action from Sepang...

EUROSPORT MotoGP COVERAGE

Friday 19th October
6.00am - Live Practice 125cc
6.45am - Live Practice MotoGP
8.00am - Live Practice 250cc

Saturday 20th October
6.00am - Live Qualifying 125cc
6.45am - Live Qualifying MotoGP
8.00am - Live Qualifying 250cc

Sunday 21st October
4.45am - Live Race 125cc
6.00am - Live Race 250cc
7.15am - Live Race MotoGP
11.30am - MotoGP Race - Repeat
17.50pm - MotoGP Race - Repeat