Disappointing 8th place for Bautista in Texas: “I was expecting a better race”

After establishing a good feeling for his bike yesterday, Alvaro Bautista was hoping for better than the eighth place finish he managed in the Grand Prix of the Americas today.

The Spanish rider was in the mix with the second group for the first half of the race, but lost confidence with his bike in the later laps and dropped back.

Alvaro Bautista (8th) “I was expecting a better race after the feeling I had with the bike yesterday in qualifying and honestly thought I could even improve my pace today, but the bike was moving around and I didn’t have the same confidence. I tried to stay with the group, but couldn’t manage it. In the end, after pulling back two seconds on Dovizioso, I got into a nice battle with him, but in the last corner I made a mistake and he passed me. It’s a shame, but we have chance to make up for it in a couple of weeks in my home Grand Prix at Jerez, a place and circuit that I really like.”

Fausto Gresini “It was a difficult race and we struggled. The first half of the race went well and we were running in the second group and I honestly thought we could stay there but it wasn’t possible. It is disappointing but it was also important to finish the race and for Alvaro to bring back some solid points to Europe, as well as a lot of data that will help us improve in the coming races.”

Source: Gresini Racing Press Release