Bautista delighted with fantastic race result

Rizla Suzuki, Álvaro Bautista and Loris Capirossi all recorded their best race finishes of the season so far at the Catalunya Grand Prix in Spain today.

Bautista scored a career best MotoGP result of fifth, as he controlled his race from start to finish, before bringing his Suzuki GSV-R home for the team’s best result of the season. He got a good start from ninth on the grid and was up into sixth place at the end of lap one. Bautista benefitted from Andrea Dovizioso and Marco Simoncelli crashing out when they were in front of the Rizla Suzuki man, but he then never looked like giving up his fifth position, even as he came under pressure from Ben Spies on the final lap. This was a strong end to a very promising weekend for the Spaniard in front of his home fans – many of whom were sporting the colours of his own fan club.

Today’s’ race was held in very warm conditions and 81,426 fans witnessed another home star take victory as Jorge Lorenzo won his third consecutive Grand Prix to strengthen his lead at the top of the championship.

Rizla Suzuki now has a weekend off, after the busy three-week back-to-back races, before it heads to Sachsenring in Germany for the next round of the season on Sunday 18th July.

Álvaro Bautista:
“I am very happy because this fifth position is like winning the race after the last few races we’ve had. We really needed this result, for me, for my team and especially for Suzuki. I was very strong all weekend and was confident that I could do a good race here. I was very concentrated at the start because I knew if I could start well I could stay with the group in front. I did that, but I did have a bit of a problem in the race with the hard-braking places because I didn’t feel that the bike was entering the corners like in the practice. I got a good rhythm in the race and tried to control what was going on behind me and go for a good result. In the last laps I saw that Spies was coming very fast and I tried to push a bit more, but the rear tyre was used up and I couldn’t do any more, so I rode tight for the last lap to make sure I got fifth position. I want to say thank-you to all my team, to Suzuki and the sponsors Rizla and especially everybody that is here to support me, all my fans and family.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“I am so pleased for Álvaro here today, because to see him come back from his injury – and the problems it’s caused him in the last few weeks – to such a high level, is a fantastic achievement. He thoroughly deserved his top-five finish. Loris also looked strong – especially in the middle of the race – and only lost out to Ben in the final laps when a finish rather than a crash – as his rear grip dropped away significantly – was the right decision. The team prepared well for the race today, but most importantly the riders have some belief back in the bike and in their ability to push hard. From a riding performance and a bike setting point of view, hopefully this is the start of our season.”

Source: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP