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)

Lightbox - Jerez

A Reflection & A Correction

In the time that’s passed since the race yesterday, and since my initial posting, “information has come to light” as they say, that paints a bit of a different picture in many, but not all, respects of what happened - and what’s worth taking out of it.

Firstly it turns out that it wasn’t as simple and clear-cut an incident as I (and pretty much all who witnessed it) originally believed. Several hours after the race it was posted that Alvaro had suffered an engine problem and that Simoncelli was unable to take avoiding action (as has been pointed out below in a post by “Anonymous”).
This certainly helps explain why Alvaro was able to share a man-hug in the dust immediately after the off.
And for that - and for suggesting that the incident was no more than Simoncelli riding like a complete git - I apologise.
It does not alter the fact, however, that he *was* riding like a complete git (that’s precisely the reason he “wasn’t able to take avoiding action”...). The guy was behaving like an accident waiting to happen, and the dicing across the laps was not enjoyable to watch as it is with say Mika and Alvaro - where you can enjoy 2 talented, gifted people *in control*; what was clear to see was someone not in control of his bike, riding erratically and recklessly, as I posted during the race, that you clearly felt you couldn’t trust.
I maintain that and, despite admitting that subsequent news has shown an engine problem at the centre of the incident, feel that his riding leaves a lot to be desired; I was genuinely surprised he hadn’t already wiped both of them out earlier. Nonetheless I accept that the incident was not his fault - although he may want to weigh up the balance of his skill against his ambition next time he is so close to a good result.

Perhaps the most important thing to have taken out of yesterday was Bati’s extraordinary graciousness, sportsmanship and humility in what must have been a heartbreaking moment. Even back in the box - no toys out of pram (unlike me I am ashamed to admit), no stropping or sulking - just a quiet sit-down and a “taking it all in”.
It’s no surprise there was a big roar in the middle of the podium ceremonies when he stepped out of the garages.

So there you go; a bit of a reflection and a bit of a correction.
Hope that sets the record straight and stands as a clear apology.
Time to put the crushing disappointment behind and to look forward to Estoril...

The Moment...

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

Bring Me The Head Of Marco Simoncelli

BAD LANGUAGE WARNING
Just as Simon Bates used to be on at the start of all videos in the 80s and 90s, warning you that it would contain "sexual swear words" I'm going to have to precede this entry by saying there's going to be a bit of an outpouring of anger ands bitterness that will involve some language that I'd usualy not stoop to.
Quite frankly it's so heated and deep and bottled up in me that I'm liable to have some kind of anger-stroke if I don't let it all flood out.
So, here goes...


Today has left me extremely upset and angry. Fucking angry: incensed, furious, fuming, apoplectic, incandescent... and more.
Alvaro Bautista's basically certain win - and what would have been a famous win - was totally blown apart on the last lap by Marco Simoncelli, with a move described by Autosport as "overoptimistic" - though more accurately described by me as "fucking idiotic" and "frankly shit".
Simoncelli had been on Bati's tail pretty much since the start as the two of them left the field far behind.
Nonetheless his proximity and his erratic lunges had me nervous the whole race, with me posting in our Live Race Topic at The Alvaro Bautista Fan Forum that I wished he'd back off as I didn't trust him.
And I was right to worry - he carried on dicking around, and eventually not only threw away his own first 250cc podium but also totally fucked Alvaro's championship challenge, driving straight through the back of him, when you could see the complete iniquity of closing speeds AGAIN.
Fucking idiot. There have been a couple of reports that Bati lost his engine, but I can't say that his corner entry looked any different to previous ones; all that changed was Simoncelli's lack of talent and skill exposing itself so clearly.
(*Incidentally - even if it WERE the case that Alvaro's engine was losing it, then I'm still no nearer forgiving such rank and crap riding from Simoncelli who could then have come home first with Bati making it to the line??? - Still that's all hypothesising - what happened happened, and it was his bloody imbecilic, erratic, crapness that made it end the way it did - full stop.)

Having gone into this season as pretty much the favourite, Alvaro is now very much on the back foot - 11th in the championship would you believe.
A brilliant race wasted by stupid bloody fartarsing around by a complete tosser.
Alvaro even managed to have some kind of hug with him, which makes him a far better person than me, currently feeling little more than very real bitterness and resentment over the whole incident.
I don't know if Simoncelli needed bodyguards to get out of the circuit, but he certainly might want to consider hiring some for Donington where I'll be looking out for his stupid fucking hair-do.
And after using the F word just once more to say just how hugely fucked off I am, I'll apologise again for the language and put this race 'report' to bed...
I'll be at home to Mr Grumpy for the rest of the day.

Here's the results in full...

CLASSIFIED:

Pos Rider Bike Time
1. Mika Kallio KTM 45:27.908
2. Mattia Pasini Aprilia + 4.277
3. Yuki Takahashi Honda + 4.287
4. Hiroshi Aoyama KTM + 4.876
5. Hector Barbera Aprilia + 5.968
6. Alex Debon Aprilia + 13.633
7. Julian Simon KTM + 16.372
8. R.Locatelli Gilera + 22.571
9. Aleix Espargaro Aprilia + 28.606
10. Lukas Pesek Aprilia + 32.726
11. Alex Baldolini Aprilia + 38.602
12. R.Wilairot Honda + 43.371
13. Karel Abraham Aprilia + 54.159
14. Manuel Hernandez Aprilia +1:21.938
15. Imre Toth Aprilia + 1 lap
16. D.T.Pradita Yamaha + 1 lap

NOT CLASSIFIED/RETIREMENTS:

Rider Bike On lap
Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 26
Marco Simoncelli Gilera 26
Thomas Luthi Aprilia 23
Manuel Poggiali Gilera 21
Fabrizio Lai Gilera 18
Eugene Laverty Aprilia 9
Hector Faubel Aprilia 3

"YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!"

Polite Message To British Eurosport...

Please please please please please will show you show more 250cc coverage.
Practice of course, and most crucially - qualifying!!!
Can there be any reason why it's okay to show us 125cc qualifying and NOT 250cc???

Sort it please - cute as my laptop is, I'd rather watch it happening on the telly than in a teensy embedded web video... ;)

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 GP, Jerez, 250cc - QP1

250cc - QP1

Pos | Rider | Team | Time | Laps
1. Mika Kallio Red Bull KTM 250 1:43.111 19
2. Alex Debon Lotus Aprilia 1:43.321 + 0.210 17
3. Julian Simon Repsol KTM 250cc 1:43.830 + 0.719 19
4. Hiroshi Aoyama Red Bull KTM 250 1:43.877 + 0.766 18
5. Thomas Luthi Emmi - Caffe Latte 1:44.002 + 0.891 20
6. Alvaro Bautista Mapfre Aspar Team 1:44.040 + 0.929 18
7. Lukas Pesek Auto Kelly - CP 1:44.228 + 1.117 19
8. Hector Barbera Team Toth Aprilia 1:44.270 + 1.159 22
9. Mattia Pasini Polaris World 1:44.355 + 1.244 19
10. Yuki Takahashi JiR Team Scot 250 1:44.385 + 1.274 19
11. Marco Simoncelli Metis Gilera 1:44.502 + 1.391 13
12. Fabrizio Lai Campetella Racing 1:44.551 + 1.440 16
13. Manuel Poggiali Campetella Racing 1:44.754 + 1.643 18
14. Hector Faubel Mapfre Aspar Team 1:44.782 + 1.671 19
15. Aleix Espargaro Lotus Aprilia 1:44.785 + 1.674 18
16. Roberto Locatelli Metis Gilera 1:45.827 + 2.716 15
17. Ratthapark Wilairot Thai Honda PTT SAG 1:46.015 + 2.904 16
18. Eugene Laverty Blusens Aprilia 1:46.034 + 2.923 15
19. Alex Baldolini Matteoni Racing 1:46.342 + 3.231 12
20. Karel Abraham Cardion AB Motoracing 1:46.428 + 3.317 5
21. Imre Toth Team Toth Aprilia 1:46.710 + 3.599 17
22. Manuel Hernandez Blusens Aprilia 1:47.940 + 4.829 17
23. Doni Tata Pradita Yamaha Pertamina 1:48.918 + 5.807 20

Spanish GP, Jerez - FP1

250cc - FP1

1. Alex DEBON 1'43.739
2. Marco SIMONCELLI 1'44.209
3. Mika Kallio 1'44.229
4. Hiroshi AOYAMA 1'44.240
5. Alvaro BAUTISTA 1'44.312
6. Hector BARBERA 1'44.703
7. Julian SIMON 1'44.730
8. Fabrizio LAI 1'45.016
9. Yuki TAKAHASHI 1'45.017
10. Thomas LUTHI 1'45.311
11. Mattia PASINI 1'45.348
12. Karel ABRAHAM 1'45.712
13. Lukas PESEK 1'46.028
14. Hector FAUBEL 1'46.265
15. Roberto LOCATELLI 1'46.388
16. Aleix ESPARGARO 1'46.399
17. Manuel POGGIALI 1'46.481
18. Alex BALDOLINI 1'46.858
19. Ratthapark WILAIROT 1'46.934
20. Eugene LAVERTY 1'47.024
21. Imre TOTH 1'47.650
22. Manuel HERNANDEZ 1'48.570
23. Doni Tata PRADITA 1'49.348

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)

Alvaro's Team In The Box

For those of you who like to know that there's a good bunch backing up your guy across the season, here's the crew who look after Alvaro race in race out.
Take a bow chaps...
Technical Director: Andrea Orlandi
Data Analyst: Davide Tagliatesta
Mechanic: Miguel Gallego
Mechanic: Juan Manuel Alcaniz
Mechanic: Nacho Cabeza
Assistant Mechanic: Salvador Moraleda
Suspension Technician: Paul Trevathan
Tyres & Fuel: Salvador Moraleda

Keep up the good work, and look after Bati for us ;)

Final Picture & Words From Qatar

And here's Bati's post-race quotes; some measured disappointment, but a typically mature perspective on it all...

"Today was our day, but bad luck made it a bad one. I have started well and went to the front without problems, but from the 9th lap on the back tyre began to slide and it has been very difficult to maintain the race lead.
Lap by lap the situation got worse because I could neither enter the curves nor open the throttle in the curves. Today we had that bit of bad luck and I hope that it does not happen again during the season. This lesson teaches us that it is not enough to have the bike perfectly set up, but that sometimes it is also necessary to be lucky. When I realized that the fight with Barberá was lost, I tried to give my best to finish in a good position."

End of chapter one.
Onto Jerez... ;)