Japanese GP – 250cc Previews

Álvaro Bautista:
“I’m really excited about going to Japan and I hope the result is better for us than Qatar. We had quite a good race at Motegi last year and set the circuit record, so hopefully we can use the data to do a good job during practice and then carry that into the race. You need to be very good under braking at this circuit and even though it is not one of my favourites I know we can be fast and this has to be the most important thing. Hopefully our pace can be as good as it was in practice last year because I want to have a better race and go home with the win.”

Mike Di Meglio:
“I’m really happy with a podium in my first race on a 250 and it means I go to Japan full of confidence. The truth is that the team are doing a magnificent job and I hope we can keep it up. I’ve never ridden at this track on a 250 before and we won’t have much practice time available, so this is when we’ll really see who has done their homework. We’ll have to give our maximum to get the bike set-up as quickly as possible. Our performance in the opening race proved that we’ve adapted well to the new category and we’re ready to tackle the rest of the season.”

Gábor Talmácsi:
“It honestly feels strange to be going to Japan so early in the year, but in any case after the opening race in Qatar two weeks ago, which left us feeling a little bit short-changed after the reduced race, I’m really looking forward to getting through some more work on my 250cc Aprilia. We did a good job at the Grand Prix of Qatar and even though there were a lot of crashes in the race, to take a top ten finish on my debut made me happy. This weekend at Motegi we have another chance to continue learning the new category and I think that if we keep working like we have been doing then we can look forward to another good result. The team and myself are giving their best so hopefully we can make up a few positions on the first race.”