Some Pics From Jerez Day One

www.alvarobautista.co.uk Gets New Lick Of Paint

I have redesigned and put live a new ’09 version of www.alvarobautista.co.uk to complete a piece by piece overhaul of my network of Alvaro sites ahead of the start of the 2009 season. The other sites (this blog and the forum) have also seen a more subtle updating, largely in typographics and shifts in the presentation of our red-based colour planning.

I felt, however, that www.alvarobautista.co.uk required a bit more work as it hasn't really been touched since the original launch (apart from a colour swap at the start of 2008). It has been a great opportunity to simplify the navigation - this is all now up in the page header, apart from stuff like the sitemap and contact pages which are now linked from the page footer - and to simlultaneously clean down the overall layout and structure, losing the lefthand and righthand navigation and building in simple flat blocks of colour derived from the design of the BatiFans.com Fan Forum.

There may well be other developments across the sites in the coming weeks/months and I'll announce them as and when it's appropriate.
For now, I hope you nejoy the new splash of paint...

gb

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 Bautista Fan's Club Launch Party 21_03_09

Alvaro meets his new Diablo mascot

The presentation of the new Directiva

Fan's Club president Julio César Mendoza with the mascot

Mahou & tapas at the Bar Los Tinajones, 11pm Saturday

Had an excellent time with Michaela on the mad “daytrip” to Talavera de la Reina for Bati’s new Fan’s Club launch party....
Lots of sun, tapas, cold beer, meeting with old and new friends - and even a late night trip to the Bar Los Tinajones (it’d be criminal NOT to go there!)

It was excellent to get to meet the new Directiva (though they were extremely busy and we’ll have to wait till next time for a nice long chat I guess...) and to be back in the friendliest, most special little place I know. (It wins hands down over London!)
It was totally worth the exhaustion and rush to go do this trip. A really happy time - and it was fantastic to be there on such an important day for Alvaro, his Fan’s Club and his fans. Siempre contigo, Alvaro...

Oh, and for any of you who are members of the new Fan’s Club, the shirts for this year are nice red polo shirts with printed logos on front, back and sleeves. This includes a large ’19’ and Fan’s Club logo on the back and the club badge, Mapfre sponsor panel and Talavera Se Mueve logo on the front.

Hola, Gracias y Saludos:
Alvaro y Noelia, Susana y Javier, Armando, Julio, David y la nueva Directiva, José, Juanjo, Miguel, nuestros amigos en el Bar Los Tinajones, y muchos otros.
Y tambien, Xaiver y Toni.... (Encantado).

Juanjo Update - 2 Point Haul In First Race Of 2009

Good news from Talavera regarding young Juanjo Nuñez, who we also follow on the BatiFan Blog, is that he’s made an excellent start in his 2009 season running in the 80cc Copa del Mediterráneo, pulling in a very respectable 2 points at his very first race - held at Castelloli - slugging it out with some of the best young riders in Europe.

Although he appears to have encountered some troubles in the time trials at this complex and technical circuit - eventually qualifying 27th - he seems to have really pulled back in the race itself, having some good fights and coming home in 14th with 2 points to his credit.
He’s happy with this first performance; aware that it’s just the start and that he’s in a very competitive field. And we wish him all the best as we follow his progress through the season.

Nice work Juanjo :-)

Woohooh! It's Talavera This Weekend!

In a moment of madness I’ve been persuaded (like I need much persuading!) to do a completely spur of the moment trip to Talavera de le Reina this weekend to attend the inaugural party / Fiesta of Alvaro’s new “FAN’S CLUB”, which is being held at the town's Parc Commercial "El Golf" complex.
As well as bar, F1 simulator and bouncy castle (bouncy castle? they must have known I was coming!) it’ll be a great opportunity to meet the new directiva and to also hopefully renew many old friendships too.
And of course Alvaro is slated to make an appearance too, which will be fab.

Incredibly excited. Like a bloody kid.

Alvaro Helmet Desktop Icons For Windows XP & Vista

Okay - here are the icons of Alvaro nice red & silver 2008 helmet, prepped for Windows XP and Vista. As with the Mac OSX versions, there are two - one with a drop shadow and one without.
Click here to download the Windows XP / Vista icon set...

Enjoy :-)

MotoGP - Official 250cc Entry List For 2009

*Now all confirmed & sorted...

4. HIROSHI AOYAMA, SCOT RACING TEAM 250cc
6. ALEX DEBON, AEROPUERTO-CASTELLO-BLUSENS
7. AXEL PONS, PEPE WORLD TEAM
8. BASTIEN CHESAUX, RACING TEAM GERMANY
10. IMRE TOTH, TEAM TOTH APRILIA
12. THOMAS LUTHI, EMMI - CAFFE LATTE
14. RATTHAPARK WILAIROT, THAI HONDA PTT SAG
15. ROBERTO LOCATELLI, METIS GILERA
16. JULES CLUZEL, MATTEONI RACING
17. KAREL ABRAHAM, CARDION AB MOTORACING
19. ALVARO BAUTISTA, MAPFRE ASPAR TEAM
25. ALEX BALDOLINI, WTR SAN MARINO TEAM
28. GABOR TALMACSI, BALATON RACING TEAM 250cc
35. RAFFAELE DE ROSA, SCOT RACING TEAM 250cc
40. HECTOR BARBERA, PEPE WORLD TEAM
48. SHOYA TOMIZAWA, CIP MOTO - GP250
51. STEVIE BONSEY, APRILIA MADRID
52. LUKAS PESEK, AUTO KELLY - CP
55. HECTOR FAUBEL, THAI HONDA PTT SAG
56. VLADIMIR LEONOV, VIESSMANN KIEFER RACING
58. MARCO SIMONCELLI, METIS GILERA
63. MIKE DE MEGLIO, MAPFRE ASPAR TEAM 250cc
75. MATTIA PASINI, TEAM TOTH APRILIA
77. AITOR RODRIGUEZ, APRILIA MADRID

Estoril Test - Day Two - 16/03/09

1. Hector Barberá (Aprilia) 1.41,113
2. Álvaro Bautista (Aprilia) 1.41,119
3. Marco Simoncelli (Gilera) 1.41,139
4. Gabor Talmacsi (Aprilia) 1.41,636
5. Mike Di Meglio (Aprilia) 1.41,703
6. Alex Debon (Aprilia) 1.41,851
7. Ratthapark Wilairot (Honda) 1.41,980
8. Roberto Locatelli (Gilera) 1.42,000
9. Lukas Pesek (Aprilia) 1.42,027
10.Tom Luthi (Aprilia) 1.42,298

Estoril Test - Day One - 15/03/09

1. Marco Simoncelli (Gilera), 1.41,282
2. Hector Barbera (Aprilia), a 0,017
3. Mike Di Meglio (Aprilia), a 0,730
4. Alex debon (Aprilia), a 1,387
5. Gabor Talmacsi (Aprilia), a 1,522
6. Roberto Locatelli (Gilera), a 1,526
7. Lucas Pesek (Aprilia), a 1,669
8. Thomas Lüthi (Aprilia), a 1,697
9. Karel Abraham (Aprilia), a 2,084
10. Álvaro Bautista (Aprilia), a 2,405

Alvaro's times (over some 65 laps) are not going to be particularly indicative at this stage; not only was he apparently taking things pretty gently on his collarbone, but also there are reports of his transponder not working much of the time either.

Juanjo Update - Hand Injury Hits Preseason Testing

(*Above: Juanjo during preseason testing at Cheste)

Just to keep you up to date on the news from Talavera de la Reina of young gun Juanjo Nuñez, he’s ready to kick off his 2009 season (competing in the 80cc Mediterranean Cup - "Copa del Mediterráneo") this coming weekend after testing and training since the new year.
Although there’s been a bit of a dint in his progress at his last testing session before the season’s first race at Castelloli, when he fell during a day of rainy, tricky and changeable conditions, hurting his hand.
Juanjo was treated initially at the circuit hospital who feared broken bones and immobilized his fingers - however further tests and x-rays at the Marazuela Clinic back in Talavera de la Reina revealed no breakages, although his fingers were kept immobilized to try and aid the recovery process.

What is it with our Talaverans and their preseason testing injuries?!?! ;-)

Anyway, very best wishes to Juanjo for a speedy recovery ahead of the season start, and we’ll aim to bring you news of his 2009 race schedule - and of his results as they come through to us.
You can also keep track of his career over at his (Spanish language) website at Juanjo29.com

Donington Park 2010 Formula One Track Simulation

Here’s nice clip, found on Donington’s website by 125Brits.com author Richard.
It’s an F1 simulation of the new (new as in not built yet) Donington Park configuration, which is due to be in operation in time for 2010 when F1 comes to the track, and when MotoGP has sadly departed for Silverstone.

It’s a great indication of the gains and losses of the new layout; for instance the omission of the Fogarty Esses which is something of a shame, and the new infield drop and rise - something of a double edged sword as although it’s clearly a really nice feature and looks like it could provide some great racing, it’s also clear just how much of the punters’ viewing areas of the infield have been got rid of. (But then racegoers, punters and fans always seem to come strangely low on authorities’ priorities...)
Still - overall it’s a great lap and it clearly shows how impressive Craner Curves will remain, and what a classy, racey and characterful, charming circuit Donington is.
And it just reminds you how bewilderingly drab and awful Silverstone is by comparison.

Anyway - enjoy the lap, and you can find the full size simulation here on the Donington Park website...

Alvaro Bautista "Angelic Devil" Desktop Wallpaper

We all know that Alvaro's mascot is a little diablo - and that he revels in that image. (although there's nothing actually "serious" in it; it very much a *mischeivous* icon really, rather than an *evil* one.)
But anyone who's met him at races, or seen him in his hometown habitat will also know that there's a very good natured, angelic side to him too. So here's a new "angelic" (sort of... ish... there's the occasional touch of devilish splatters and tendrils) desktop wallpaper design of Alvaro.
Not entirely clear where the actual design / aesthetic idea came from - weird but hopefully cool...
Available in two high quality widescreen JPEG options.
(*Don't bother clicking on the preview image - that's only tiny!)

DOWNLOAD LINKS:
Click here to download the 1440x900 version...
Click here to download the 1280x800 version...

Enjoy :-)
gb

Alvaro Bautista '08 Helmet Desktop Icons For Mac OSX

Alvaro had two main helmet designs in the 2008 season; a standard one (on his new Suomy lid) that was a hotch-potch of blue and red and white - and not terribly elegant - and another that was very much red and silver and which owed more to the cool stylings of his 2007 helmet.
I've converted this second one into a couple of icons for those of you out there who use Mac OSX. (Though I'll get on with sorting out a Windows version soon of course...)
The set comprises of two options: one being a basically 'clean' version, and the other having a nifty little drop-shadow that will look pretty swish on your desktop (particularly if it's a Batifans.com desktop wallpaper download).

Click here to download the Mac OSX 2008 helmet icons...

Enjoy :-)