Bautista Happy With Bike, Confidence & Pace

The closest qualifying session for a long while in the 250cc class took place at Estoril this afternoon, with no fewer than eight riders fighting for pole until the final moments. Once again there was a strong Spanish flavour to the action, with Álvaro Bautista and Héctor Barberá contesting a close battle for pole that was won by the latter, with Marco Simoncelli and Hiro Aoyama ensuring that the front row is made up by the top four in the championship.
 
After winning here for the last three years perhaps this is a lucky circuit for Mapfre rider Bautista, who qualified on the front row for the first time since the German GP back in July. His best time of 1’40.654 came on his 19th lap and was good enough for second place on the grid, although it could have been even better if it wasn’t for intense traffic on track over the final three laps.

2nd Álvaro Bautista 1.40.654 (22 laps):
“It has been a long time since we’ve been on the front row and since we showed good pace in practice so I think we needed this. When you qualify up front you know you have the pace, you have good references and everything is more ‘easy’, so to speak. I’m happy to be on the front row but more for the fact that I feel comfortable and I’m riding the Aprilia how I want to, with a good set-up for the race. We have been strong and made progress all weekend so I think we’re in the right shape for a good race tomorrow, especially because this is a circuit that has brought us luck for the past three seasons so I hope that run continues tomorrow. I want to fight to win with everything I have. Unfortunately I ran into traffic at the end of the session and the three final laps were pretty much wasted but the important thing is the feeling I have with the bike, my confidence and my pace.”