Bautista aiming to secure fifth place in the championship in final round at Valencia

The MotoGP World Championship returns from its intercontinental triple-header this weekend to contest the final round of the season on European soil. Alvaro Bautista and Michele Pirro head to Valencia looking to sign off from the 2012 season in the best possible fashion, the Spaniard looking to seal a final championship position of fifth after a challenging first campaign on board the Honda RC213V.

Bautista has confirmed his potential as a consistent frontrunner in this category in the second half of the season and he would like nothing better than to cap it off with a good result in front of his home crowd.

The Spaniard not only scored his first pole and first two podiums this year, but his 2012 points tally is more than he earned in his previous two MotoGP seasons combined. Because of that the Talaverano heads into the season finale with a 12 point lead on the sixth-placed rider, having not finished worse than sixth in his past seven races.

He finished on the podium at Valencia in his final two seasons in the 250cc class, though MotoGP success has thus far eluded him.

Alvaro Bautista “The flyaways were positive for me, with a podium, moving up to fifth place in the championship and signing a new deal with Gresini Racing. It could have been ever better if it wasn’t for a few problems in Malaysia and Australia, but I think we can be satisfied that we did our best. We have picked up important points for the championship and the team have worked hard to give me a bike that I enjoy riding. Now we go to Valencia which is always a special round, because it is the last race of the season and it’s at home. The objective is to secure fifth place in the championship and we will be working hard from Friday to solve the problems we have found with the bike at other circuits. I am really looking forward to getting back on the bike and hopefully having fun again and making the most of the support. Valencia is a very technical and slow circuit, you never a get a break because the bike is constantly leaned over and changing direction. There is a new track surface this year, so we’ll have to wait and see what the grip is like – the data we got from the test last year won’t be of much use. I have been on the podium a few times in the past at Valencia, but it’s not one of my favourite circuits.”

Fausto Gresini “It’s the last race of the season and another year has passed us by. It hasn’t been an easy year for our team without Marco, but we have done our best, stuck together and carried our project proudly forward. Over the last few weeks we have seen Bautista’s true potential, with a splendid podium at Motegi in Honda’s home race and consolidating fifth place in the championship. Both Alvaro and Michele would like to sign off in style at Valencia, which is a technically demanding track, and repeat their past successes at this circuit. ”

Source: Gresini Racing, Honda Pro Racing