Bautista looking to make amends: “This won’t happen to me again”
After a bittersweet weekend in the Netherlands Team San Carlo Honda Gresini head directly to their next appointment across the border in neighbouring Germany. Alvaro Bautista travels to the Sachsenring circuit still feeling aggrieved at the decision of Race Direction to penalise him for his mistake in the first corner of the Dutch TT by making him start from the back of the grid in this Sunday’s race.
However, the Spaniard is determined to put his frustration to good use and secure a positive result before heading to the team’s home race at Mugello the following weekend.
The Sachsenring circuit boasts a long motorcycling tradition dating back to 1927, when a 14km road circuit first played host to two-wheeled racing. Nowadays the modern circuit is located within the confines of the old track layout in the forests surrounding the town of Hohenstein-Ernstthal, midway between the cities of Chemnitz and Zwickau.
Alvaro Bautista “I am truly sorry for the crash in the first turn at Assen, because we had done a great job in practice and I think we had the base for a great race. I made a mistake in calculating my braking marker and I braked so hard trying not to hit anybody that I lost the front and ended up taking Lorenzo out with me. It is the first time this has happened to me and it’s especially bitter that another rider was involved and also unable to finish the race, losing important championship points. Luckily there were no serious consequences in terms of injuries. I am certain of one thing: this won’t happen to me again. I am sorry for the team, who always give 100% and more and they deserved a better result, but unfortunately this is all part of the game.
At Sachsenring we’ll be starting from the back of the grid and I think, from my point of view, it is an excessive penalty for a racing incident and whilst I accept it, I do so reluctantly. Our goal remains to continue working in the same way as we’re doing so far and try to pick up as many points as we can in the race. Sachsenring is a short and twisty circuit with no long straights. There are a lot of left-handers and that gets demanding over race distance. The atmosphere is fantastic, because it is a real celebration of motorcycling with so many fans packing the grandstands.”
Fausto Gresini “Practice for Alvaro at Sachsenring will be more relaxed. We have accepted the penalty and we will start from the back of the grid, but we’ll try and get the best possible result before heading to our home race at Mugello.”
Source: Gresini Racing
