Bautista still looking for more despite season’s best qualifying result

Álvaro Bautista (P8, 2’02.394, 24 laps) continued with his strong run of form to record his best qualifying position of the year. He will start from the middle of the third row, but could have easily been higher up the grid if he had not made a mistake on his final flying lap. Bautista is happy with his set-up for race day and is convinced that he can go faster tomorrow.

Today’s qualifying was again held in very hot conditions with track temperatures reaching 52ºC. World Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo took his sixth pole position of the year, as he attempts to secure the title at Sepang tomorrow.

Sunday’s event is round 15 of the season and the 20-lap race will get underway at 16.00hrs local time (08.00hrs GMT), with both Rizla Suzuki racers and the rest of the field hoping that the late afternoon Malaysian rain stays away and allows for a dry and exciting race.

Álvaro Bautista: “It’s strange because this has been my best qualifying position of the season but I feel like it is not enough. We still need to be positive about it though because we are in a better position than we have been before and we have to try to make the most of that. I did a long run on the softer compound tyres today and was able to cover a race distance, maybe grip went in the final lap, but in this category the first laps are very important so we still have to decide if we are going to use the softer option and get the maximum early on. I used a new rear tyre at the end of the session and improved my lap-time and in the last lap I made a mistake in T2, but my T1 and T3 was better than my fastest lap so maybe I could have improved my time and been further up the grid. The time between first and me is not too big and if I can get a good start tomorrow I think I can stay with the group in front and follow them – the first laps here will be very important so I must make the most of them.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“Álvaro’s session was really strange because he didn’t find the rhythm or the track position to realise his true potential and when he was in the right position he made a couple of uncharacteristic mistakes. Despite that his qualifying place of eighth is the best of the season and he believes strongly that he can improve during the race – we believe completely in his potential and we’re looking forward to the Grand Prix.”

Source: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP