MotoGP: Bautista’s best starting position at Phillip Island

Bautista, rider of the Rizla Suzuki MotoGP team, will start tomorrow from the second row after qualifying in fourth place.

Bautista set a time of 1:30.714, after completing 28 laps, and improved the behaviour of his GSV-R during the morning session, that is, FP3, and managed to find the grip he needed.

The changes have always been for the better, and this allowed our rider to set the time, slipstreaming Andrea Dovizioso. Bautista’s time was one second faster than the one he achieved on Friday and two and a half seconds faster than last year, in similar conditions. He is now in a good position for the race, and we hope he can maintain the progress shown today.

Today’s conditions were very different from those of Friday, with wind, low temperatures and threatening clouds, which fortunately did not release any rain during the MotoGP session.

This is how Álvaro Bautista (#19) (4th) comments on the situation:

I’m very happy today, because I achieved my best result in a MotoGP qualifying session and at the most difficult track for Suzuki. This shows that we have been doing a great job since last year. It was a fantastic lap behind Dovizioso. When I saw him in front of me on the track, I thought it was my chance – if I couldn’t make a good lap at that moment, I would never do it! The third row wasn’t difficult for us to get, but when I followed him everything seemed easier.

On this type of track, with this wind and these kinds of corners, following another rider helps a lot. You can improve a great deal and riding becomes easy. I have a good feeling for tomorrow and I’m going to try to be strong at the start and stay with the leaders for one or two laps. If I manage that, I think I’ll be competitive, because it’s in the first laps that all the riders push very hard, and after six or seven laps the tyres will lose consistency and rhythm. I’m going to try to run a good race tomorrow and achieve the best result I can.

Paul Denning (Rizla Suzuki Team Manager)

Achieving the best qualifying lap since Mugello in 2009 – and Álvaro’s best – here at Phillip Island is almost funny! Álvaro has had a steady pace throughout the whole weekend, and when it mattered he managed to get behind Dovizioso, use his slipstream, and set an impressive lap.

The potential shown this year is already clear, and what has improved the GSV-R, especially in how it behaves in these cold and windy conditions like today’s, is the result of the hard work of Sahara San and his engineers at Hamamatsu, as well as Tom O’Kane and his team here.

As always, sharing the track with the Hondas and Yamahas tomorrow will be a difficult task, but Álvaro is going to do his part to get a great position, and if he can make a good start, who knows what could happen.