Álvaro Bautista Column, Season Review: I learned a lot
The year has gone very quickly for me, maybe because of the injury I suffered in the first race and because how much I’ve enjoyed racing. I had to work alone at Suzuki to develop the bike and I finally returned to enjoy riding. In Valencia we finished the championship and did a great tribute to Simoncelli.
It went by quickly. That’s it. Another year has passed and, as always, it felt short for me. Perhaps because I had to recover from the major injury that I suffered in the first race and as time went on I felt better and that was what I wanted, that time passes so I can get back to being like before the injury. And well, also because when you’re having fun, everything happens faster. In fact, I think last year went by faster for me than the five days in the hospital in Qatar.
Alone. It was a season in which I had everything, good times, bad times, joy, anger. A year in which I learned a lot, in which I worked alone, directly with the factory to develop and improve a bike. It is difficult to do if you only have your own references, without any other data to compare or see where you could improve. The only option was to see where we lost out compared to the other riders on track and then draw conclusions about where we could improve. Still, the work this year has been very positive and I am happy, because the bike was working better because of the work my team and I did, and this allowed me to enjoy myself again. Maybe the only thing we missed in some races, especially at the end, was a bit of luck, but that’s racing, the sport in general has that little luck factor which in little time decides if it’s a good or a bad result, but the work has been done.
For Simoncelli. For sure, the best way to end the season is to do it in Spain. Here in Valencia, it is always special to race and especially for the Spanish riders. I like how much they love us here, the passion they give us. Although the weekend was not the best in terms of weather, there were many people supporting us and, above all, paying tribute to Simoncelli. All riders had the 58 on their bike, helmet or leathers. The minute of noise was very special. The lap around the circuit was the most emotional one I’ve ever had on a bike. For sure he will always be in our memory.
In the first corner. I wanted to finish the year with a great result and came with my batteries fully charged after spending a few quite somber days following the race in Sepang. But we had to recover and I think what helped most was riding a motorcycle again. You start having fun again and your mind is only focused on riding, you forget everything. In fact, with every passing day I felt better, more motivated. And especially after I did the fastest time in the wet on Friday, the first time I’ve finished on top in a MotoGP session. On Saturday, in the dry, I finished fifth in qualifying, a good result and I was highly motivated to try and do a great race on Sunday. But as I said before, in sports you have the little luck factor and it all went up in smoke in the first corner. Under braking Dovizioso touched me, of course unintentionally because his rear wheel was sliding into my front wheel and I could do nothing to prevent the crash. The worst thing was that I took three more riders with me, I’m sorry for them. The good thing is that something serious could have happened and it didn’t. I went to apologize and explain what had happened. They understood, because these are things that can happen in the races.
Terol, Bradl and Marquez. Congratulations to Nico (Terol) for the championship. It’s always special to be world champion, but if you can win it at your home race in front of your fans, your family, friends, it’s incredible! He’s the rider who deserved it and in the end he got it. Enjoy it, Nico! In Moto2 congratulations to Bradl, although I’m sure he would have liked to win it fighting against Marquez. Next year we will come back to watch the spectacle of this category.
Great experience. And that’s all, I hope you have enjoyed my columns this year. For me it was a great experience, because I could tell you a bit from my point of view from the races and get closer to you. Hopefully I have the opportunity to continue writing here, if you want. If not, write letters of complaint to AS, haha!
Well folks, this is already a farewell. I don’t know if when you read this I have already decided my future or not, but soon you will know. A big hug and see you. THANKS.
Source: AS.com
