Bautista looking for a weekend without problems to build up confidence

The MotoGP World Championship paddock makes the 600km trip directly from Jerez to Estoril this week as the season gathers pace with the third round of eighteen. For Team San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Alvaro Bautista the Grand Prix of Portugal provides another opportunity to build up his confidence on board the Honda RC213V at a circuit where he has won races in both the 125 and 250 classes, having struggled for dry track time at his home event last weekend.

Alvaro Bautista “It was a difficult weekend at Jerez because of the weather and my crash in practice but thankfully we found some confidence for the race and picked up a result that gives us a platform to build on in the next round. We need to build my confidence still further with this bike at a circuit that I don’t particularly like even though I have three wins here, one in 125 and two in 250. It is a circuit with some hard braking and the grip levels aren’t great but I have had luck there in the past so hopefully that will prove to be the case again. It is important for us to get through a whole weekend without problems so that I can build the confidence I need to push the bike as hard as I want to.”

Fausto Gresini “We don’t have much time to sit down and reflect on the last race with the next one coming around so quickly but we are all keen to improve on the performance from Jerez. Alvaro has the potential to do that and by working with the team with the same amount of determination and calmness he can do that. A weekend of consistent weather and no crashes would certainly be a big help in terms of finding the confidence required to take another step forward.”

Source: Gresini Racing