Alvaro Bautista writes for AS: “I was hoping for the race to be over already”
Spanish newspaper AS has published the newest column of Alvaro Bautista after the Portuguese Grand Prix. This is the translation in its entirety.
Finally! This is the first article I write having raced, because in Qatar and Jerez I did not compete due to the injury. The challenge was to finish the race and I did it. I followed the argument between Simoncelli and Lorenzo, who complained about the aggressive riding of the Italian. For me there is nothing new. Now I have to get stronger to be at the top for Le Mans.
Álvaro Bautista | 03/05/2011
Finally back. Finally! This is the first article I write having done a race, because in Qatar and Jerez I did not compete because of the injury. I am very happy to be back in the competition. It’s been a very hard month with a lot of work, but fortunately everything went well at Estoril. When I arrived, the first thing to do was pass the medical test to get the green light. I passed it, but the really important thing was to ride the bike to see if the leg would trouble me, if I was going to be able to ride well or not. The feeling was wonderful to get back on my Suzuki.
Without crutches in the box. At the beginning the leg hurt when changing direction, which is normal after a while without much physical preparation. Everything happened very quickly, the next curve comes up with me hardly noticing. It’s a bit like when you start the preseason, when the mind is not used to it. The doctor’s warning was funny. He told me that he didn’t want to see me in the box with the crutch – if he’d see me with it, then I’m not ready to do the race. Upon entering the box I had to put the crutch aside. It was amusing, but I didn’t cheat the doctor!
I finished. Little by little I was getting back the feelng during the weekend. My goal was nothing else than to finish the race, make the 28 laps. It was not easy. Fortunately I finished, although I have a little thorn in my side. I started well, fighting with several riders, but Karel Abraham crashed in front of me and after trying to avoid him I was alone. Maybe it was for the better, because fighting with a rival I might well crash. In the last few laps I suffered more in the changes of direction; the braking and cornering was good, but the direction changes made my leg hurt and I thought: “Can the race be over already!”
Duels and arguments. I didn’t pay much attention to the spat between Simoncelli and Lorenzo, but I did hear that Jorge was complaining about the riding style of Marco. For me it’s nothing new, I’ve had to bear with it, so to speak, since 125cc. I agree with Lorenzo, Marco has an aggressive riding style. The competition is very close and this produces arguments. These won’t be the last. Hopefully I can be be part of one, provided it’s for something positive, like fighting for a podium.
Spaniards. I want to congratulate Nico (Terol) in 125, Julito (Simon) in Moto2 and Dani (Pedrosa) and Jorge (Lorenzo) in MotoGP. This category is very tight and it is good that the Spaniards fight for the world championship. The Honda is going very well, but Lorenzo is motivated. He is the current champion and has that mentality.
Le Mans. We have two weeks until Le Mans. I will train hard and improve the strength, because all the curves there are changes of direction. Yesterday, in the Estoril test, i didn’t ride a lot because my leg was tired. They brought a new chassis and I’ve had a good feeling; coming out of the corners it helps the bike turn better, something we were looking for since last year.
Support for Takahashi. I’d like to send all my support to Yuki Takahashi. His brother Koki died last week and I want to express my condolences to the family. He took a good result to dedicate to his brother.
And to my fans and those on my ‘Twitter’ I promise that I will keep you informed. A hug for everyone.
Source: AS.com
