Bautista's crash while running in fourth position

The Rizla Suzuki rider crashed in the Japanese race at Motegi while fighting for his best position since racing in the MotoGP World Championship.

Álvaro Bautista started from 8th place, but he quickly moved up to 6th and was able to avoid a crash involving two riders. Later on, the penalties for two other riders for jumping the start were confirmed, and in addition, he saw Stoner run wide off the track and moved up to 3rd.

Bautista managed to hold that third position for six laps, being attacked by Hayden, but he could not keep up with Casey, who passed him shortly after. But just as the rider from Talavera was riding most comfortably, he went down, although fortunately without any physical consequences.

Statements from Álvaro Bautista:

This was not what we expected. I chose the soft rear tyre because it was colder today and because I needed to find a quick rhythm from the start. I didn’t get a good start, some riders jumped the start; I was confused and then I reacted late to the lights. At the second corner there was a crash and I found myself well placed, then some riders went into the pits with penalties and I moved up to 3rd, but I knew it wasn’t real.

When Casey passed me and I saw the gap between me and Andrea, and how many laps were left, I tried to follow the Australian to close the distance to the Italian. Near the last corner I lost the front end, I crashed and that was it. We have worked very hard this weekend, improving in every session, and in the race we were good. We haven’t had any luck.

I’m sorry for the team, because a result like this would have meant a lot to them, and I’m sorry for Suzuki in their home race because we wanted a great finish. I’ll keep the positives from yesterday, and at the next race we must keep working like this and stay strong.

Source | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

Photo | motogp.com