Fly The Flag For Alvaro - With BatiFans.com

Fancy helping us show Alvaro he has a great fanbase worldwide?
Well, maybe you’d like to join us - the BatiFans - by sharing flag-bearing duties on our brand new race banner.

We’ve designed a great groovy flag - 2.25 metres x 1.14 metres - dressed out in Spanish colours with a big fat number 19 on it, along with a “Go Bati!” message and our web address.
We’ve also included a list of all the current countries visitors to our website come from (that’s about 80 in all!) just to make sure nobody’s in doubt of Alvaro’s international appeal...

If you fancy taking this flag to a Grand Prix - either this season or next season (we’re always thinking ahead) then please join as a member at BatiFans.com - The Alvaro Bautista Fan Forum and have a chat with us and we’ll take it from there.

We're hoping it may be ready for the Sachsenring, although this isn't definite as yet - but fingers crossed! If not, then it'll surely be ready for Brno and the other remaining races this season.

Come on, join in and help us show Alvaro more support than ever!

Post-race Quote From Alvaro: Assen

1st Alvaro Bautista:
"I am very happy about this result, above all because after the past two races when we weren't able to win in the final moments. This victory is very important for us, because it gives confidence and continues our run of podium finishes. The conditions were difficult, and we had to tweak the bike five minutes before the race. The asphalt was dry, but they declared a wet race, and at the midway point I wasn't going to push when leading. All except for Luthi were far back. It rained again and things were back to normal. Sooner or later this result was going to come, so we'll try and continue this form, the desire to win remains as strong as ever for myself and the team."

Dutch GP - Assen - 250cc: Race Results In Full

Pos | Rider | Nation | Team | Total time

1 A. BAUTISTA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team 40'54.117
2 T. LUTHI SWI Emmi - Caffe Latte + 4.597
3 M. SIMONCELLI ITA Metis Gilera + 6.003
4 A. DEBON SPA Lotus Aprilia + 9.034
5 H. BARBERA SPA Team Toth Aprilia + 9.079
6 H. AOYAMA JPN Red Bull KTM 250 + 11.515
7 M. KALLIO FIN Red Bull KTM 250 + 12.874
8 Y. TAKAHASHI JPN JiR Team Scot 250 + 13.622
9 R. LOCATELLI ITA Metis Gilera + 21.168
10 J. SIMON SPA Repsol KTM 250cc + 28.789
11 H. FAUBEL SPA Mapfre Aspar Team + 37.607
12 R. WILAIROT THA Thai Honda PTT SAG + 37.741
13 F. LAI ITA Campetella Racing + 38.729
14 A. BALDOLINI ITA Matteoni Racing + 39.165
15 L. PESEK CZE Auto Kelly - CP + 43.037
16 E. LAVERTY IRL Blusens Aprilia + 54.171
17 A. ESPARGARO SPA Lotus Aprilia + 54.334
18 F. WATZ SWE Jaap Kingma Racing + 1'24.430
19 D. PRADITA INA Yamaha Pertamina Indonesia 1 Lap
20 I. TOTH HUN Team Toth Aprilia 1 Lap

Not classified
M. POGGIALI RSM Campetella Racing 7 Lap
M. PASINI ITA Polaris World 13 Lap

Not finished 1st lap
R. GOMEZ SPA Blusens Aprilia

Not starting
K. ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing

Pic Of The Day. Without A Doubt...

Alvaro Kicks Assen!

Brilliant job from Alvaro Bautista today, putting the disappointment of Donington squarely behind him to take a definitive victory in a race of mixed and unpredictable conditions.

Initially I'll admit to worrying as he pulled one of his occasional naff starts, dropping from pole down to somewhere around 9th I think, before - even within the first lap - regaining his composure and starting to creep up through the field.
'Creep' is probably the wrong word actually, as his progress was pretty rapid; clearing the likes of Debon and Kalio to soon move in front of Luthi and take the lead.

He lost the lead again for a short while when a few drops of rain unsettled the field, only to take it back and pull away again to an easy win.

Other entertainment in the race came from Hector Barbera inventing new corners and straights occasionally (almost taking out Kallio on one of his jaunts), and Simoncelli getting some of his own medicine in a first corner tangle with Luthi (something which he for some reason didn't appear to see the funny side of in the press conference. Either a superb attempt at irony, or 100% lack of self-awareness...)

Anyway - superb job Alvaro, and it's brilliant to see the smile again.
And great to see you bumped back up to 4th in the championship.
Estupendo Bati! :)


Here's the results in brief
(will post the full list when they're available)...

1. Bautista (Aprilia)
2. Luthi (Aprilia) +4.597secs
3. Simoncelli (Gilera) +6.003secs
4. Debon (Aprilia) +9.034secs
5. Barbera (Aprilia) +9.079secs
6. Aoyama (KTM) +11.515secs
7. Kallio (KTM) +12.874secs
8. Takahashi (Honda) +13.622secs
9. Locatelli (Gilera) +21.168secs
10. Simon (KTM) +28.789secs

Congratulations! 5th Pole This Season

Alvaro Bautista - Quote After Quali 2, Assen

1st Álvaro Bautista: 1.39.510 (21 laps):
"This is my fifth pole of the season and I'm delighted about it. The lap times didn't come down today because the conditions were worse than yesterday but I feel comfortable with the bike, even in the wind. The track wasn't as grippy as yesterday but I was happy on the bike. We have changed a few details with the configuration and we got more and more competitive each time. The initial objective for the race is the same as usual - to do my job properly and have fun. Once we see the situation in the race we'll decide on a strategy. We have to stay cool on track and be ready for anything. It will be a tough race if the wind is as strong as it was today but I think we're ready and even stronger than we were for the last race, which was in similar conditions."

What Future Now For *Decent* MotoGP Coverage On TV In The UK?

Absolutely horrifying news for any UK MotoGP fans...
(Source - crash.net)


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

Dorna Sports has announced that the 2008 MotoGP World Championship will be the last to be broadcast by Eurosport.

"After many years of successful collaboration, MotoGP rights-holders Dorna Sports would like to announce that coverage of the MotoGP World Championships will no longer be available on Eurosport from the 2009 season," read a statement from Dorna.

"Dorna would like to thank Eurosport for a partnership which has been of mutual benefit for several years, having helped take MotoGP to new levels of popularity and coverage whilst also offering the pan-European broadcaster impressive viewing figures.
"The decision is part of Dorna's new strategy of working with national network broadcasters around Europe, always focusing first and foremost on free-to-air coverage to bring MotoGP to wider audiences.

"This means that in the UK, the BBC will enjoy exclusive coverage of MotoGP next year, whilst in Spain and Italy, where MotoGP enjoys long-term agreements with TVE and Mediaset respectively, negotiations are ongoing about extending coverage to more hours during the weekend.
"In Germany, a deal has been signed with a privately owned free-to-air channel, giving the commercial network exclusive coverage for three years until 2011. Meanwhile, negotiations are ongoing in France and other major European territories with various mainstream networks; further details will be announced shortly."

The British Eurosport commentary line-up of Toby Moody, Julian Ryder and former 500cc star Randy Mamola is considered one of the best in the business, while Eurosport's extensive live coverage often includes all three days at each grand prix.

The BBC will be broadcasting both F1 and MotoGP next season, with F1 certain to be given preference in the event of a clash.

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


Expect to hear more on this, as I'm absolutely appalled and, as things stand, have no confidence in the BBC to deliver anything approaching the coverage (particularly of 125 and 250 classes) or quality we have come to expect.
I'm going to be writing to them outlining all my concerns and asking for a response on their plans regarding coverage and scheduling.
If I get anything useful back I'll post it here.

Alvaro - Quote after Quali 1, Assen

1st Álvaro Bautista: 1.39.510 (22 laps):
"I'm really happy because even though it's only the first day we've lapped really well. I've improved my lap time from last year and even improved on the lap record at this track so I'm very satisfied. We didn't have the perfect set-up this morning and I crashed at the end of the session. But in qualifying we changed the geometry of my Aprilia and I felt much more comfortable, to the point that I was able to set that lap time. The adjustments to the engine also worked and we've gained in acceleration. Because of the way the track is here you need the engine to be working perfectly. At the end of qualifying there was a lot of traffic on track and I was only able to get one fast lap in. Hopefully we can improve tomorrow and set a better pace - I'm sure everybody else will so we can't go to sleep."

Dutch GP - Assen - 250cc: Qualifying 1

Pos | Rider | Nation | Team | Lap time

1 A. BAUTISTA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team 1'39.510
2 H. BARBERA SPA Team Toth Aprilia + 0.231
3 M. SIMONCELLI ITA Metis Gilera + 0.468
4 A. ESPARGARO SPA Lotus Aprilia + 0.700
5 T. LUTHI SWI Emmi - Caffe Latte + 0.945
6 J. SIMON SPA Repsol KTM 250cc + 1.176
7 L. PESEK CZE Auto Kelly - CP + 1.232
8 A. DEBON SPA Lotus Aprilia + 1.234
9 Y. TAKAHASHI JPN JiR Team Scot 250 + 1.286
10 M. KALLIO FIN Red Bull KTM 250 + 1.339
11 F. LAI ITA Campetella Racing + 1.352
12 H. FAUBEL SPA Mapfre Aspar Team + 1.668
13 M. POGGIALI RSM Campetella Racing + 1.670
14 R. LOCATELLI ITA Metis Gilera + 1.775
15 H. AOYAMA JPN Red Bull KTM 250 + 1.896
16 R. WILAIROT THA Thai Honda PTT SAG + 2.033
17 M. PASINI ITA Polaris World + 2.123
18 K. ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing + 2.170
19 I. TOTH HUN Team Toth Aprilia + 3.598
20 E. LAVERTY IRL Blusens Aprilia + 3.735
21 A. BALDOLINI ITA Matteoni Racing + 3.754
22 D. PRADITA INA Yamaha Pertamina Indonesia + 5.957
23 F. WATZ SWE Jaap Kingma Racing + 6.326
24 R. GOMEZ SPA Blusens Aprilia + 6.464

Dutch GP - Assen - Event Schedule

Thursday June 26

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

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

Friday June 27

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 :: 13:15-13:40
MotoGP :: Qualifying 1 :: 13:55-14:55
250cc :: Qualifying 2 :: 15:10-15:55

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

Saturday June 28

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

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

(*All times local)

Some Photos From Donington

Here's a small selection of my photos from the British GP weekend (for a much fuller set, join up at BatiFans.com and go check out the "Members Only" area)...
Here though, we have Alvaro's scooter in the paddock (where I met him and was able to get him to sign a copy of his photo-biography and a printout of the BatiFans.com website, and also a couple of shots of him during Friday afternoon's session, taking on the Melbourne Hairpin...

Bautista Third At Donington - British GP

Mika Kallio took another gifted win this season, when a ludicrously optimistic and basically impossible move by the reckless Marco Simoncelli pushed Alvaro Bautista wide in avoiding a coming-together and let Kallio through.

Kallio's rise through the field was impressive certainly - but this was just such an annoying, frustrating and unnecessary end to the GP weekend. You always feel nervous when Simoncelli's around (as the commentators at the track said - "at least when he's in front of you, you can see what he's doing...") and today proved the truth of it again.
Although the outcome wasn't as downright dangerous or ugly as his Mugello move on Hector Barbera, it was still hugely crass. And to what effect? He still came second, pissed a few more people off, and let Kallio continue to lead the table (which he wouldn't if Alvaro had come first!)
At least Alvaro rode really well (and professionally) all weekend, taking an excellent pole on his Friday times, the Saturday being a bit piddled on...

Apparently Alvaro 'had words' after the race - and I'm not a bit surprised.
Here's his official quotes:

"I adapted very well to the wind, and felt progressively more comfortable on the Aprilia, riding hard. It is important that we have two consecutive podiums under our belts, something that we hadn’t achieved up until now this year.
We will see if in Holland we can continue this way and fight for the win.
I was going for victory today, but Simoncelli cut me off. You can pass a rider, but you have to brake a little harder to do it, and it’s not normal to pass if you aren’t able to and throw whomever is in your path into the grass. I think that some action will be taken on the matter.
He is a different rider to the rest, very aggressive and one for whom what he wants to do exceeds what he can do. The slow pace of the race meant that Kallio could catch us."

I couldn't agree with the comments more; in fact it's almost exactly what I said about Simoncelli before - that his ambition far exceeds his ability.


Here's the results in full...

Pos | Rider | Bike | Time
1. Mika Kallio KTM 42:14.410
2. Marco Simoncelli Gilera + 0.353
3. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia + 1.237
4. Hector Barbera Aprilia + 8.875
5. Thomas Luthi Aprilia + 11.359
6. Hiroshi Aoyama KTM + 16.124
7. Alex Debon Aprilia + 16.136
8. Julian Simon KTM + 18.007
9. Yuki Takahashi Honda + 33.271
10. Aleix Espargaro Aprilia + 49.681
11. R.Locatelli Gilera + 52.534
12. Karel Abraham Aprilia + 55.311
13. Lukas Pesek Aprilia + 57.399
14. Manuel Poggiali Gilera + 57.641
15. Hector Faubel Aprilia +1:04.329
16. R.Wilairot Honda +1:06.156
17. Fabrizio Lai Gilera +1:15.812
18. Russell Gomez Aprilia + 1 Lap
19. D.T.Pradita Yamaha + 1 Lap


NOT CLASSIFIED/RETIREMENTS:

Rider | Team | On lap
Eugene Laverty Aprilia 20
Alex Baldolini Aprilia 14
Mattia Pasini Aprilia 13
Imre Toth Aprilia 12

I'm Away At Donington This Weekend :)

Okay - just a quickie - I'm off to Donington very early tomorrow morning for the GP weekend.
This means that I may not be able to update the blog over the coming days (I'm taking my MacBook Pro and camera, but simply don't know if I'll actually get online).
To keep up with all the chat on 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP for the British Grand Prix I couldn't do better than point you at BatiFans.com... (Of Course!)

Buena Suerte Bati! :)
Have a fab race, and go one better than Catalunya ;)