Bautista aims for more progress at unloved French track: “I think we can take another step forward”

After a positive display in the Grand Prix of Portugal two weeks ago Team San Carlo Honda Gresini heads for the Le Mans circuit in France this weekend looking to make further progress towards the front of the pack. Alvaro Bautista is hoping to improve his feeling with the Honda RC213V and join the likes of Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow in their pursuit of the seemingly indomitable top trio of Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa.

Alvaro Bautista “The weather at Estoril finally afforded us some dry track time and we were able to make some changes to the bike and get a good rhythm together before the race. At the start we were struggling for feeling with the front Bridgestone but gradually it improved. In the race I was struggling in T4, because the bike did not feel great in corner entry, so I was just focused on holding my position. Now we go to another circuit where the weather is always unpredictable, so we have to be ready to adapt. With the data we gathered in Portugal I think we can take another step forward and find a few important tenths to close the gap to the guys in front of us. I don’t really like this circuit, unfortunately. Le Mans has a lot of direction changes, short straights and the worst thing is the low grip levels and cool track temperatures. I have never finished on the podium here in the 125 or 250 class but hopefully we can have a good race this weekend and improve on the results from Estoril.”

Fausto Gresini “The next round takes us to Le Mans, a circuit that holds a lot of great memories for the team thanks to some unforgettable victories over the years. Last year we remember Marco Simoncelli having a great ride before the collision with Pedrosa, which caused all sorts of controversy. Hopefully this year we can pick up in a positive way and see Alvaro taking another step forward. He has been making constant progress lately and just needs a little more to be fighting with Dovizioso and Crutchlow. He is very close to gaining the confidence he needs with the bike to be more aggressive on the brakes and faster in mid-corner. There will be no shortage of effort to keep this positive run going.”

Source: Gresini Racing