Bautista “feeling very motivated” for Le Mans after positive weekend and testing at Jerez

After a positive third round of the season at Jerez, Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini head for the next date on the MotoGP calendar at Le Mans this weekend with renewed enthusiasm.

Alvaro Bautista is confident of finding a better feeling with his front suspension for the French track and hopefully less sliding on the rear after working hard with Showa’s engineeers in a day of testing following the Grand Prix of Spain. Sixth place in the race there was already a boost for Alvaro and the team, who are now determined to build on it and score even better results in the coming races.

Alvaro Bautista “After the weekend at Jerez and the post-race test I am feeling very motivated. We have worked very hard to find more rear grip from the bike after suffering over the course of the weekend and in the test we found some solutions that make me confident that we are on the right path. We worked closely with HRC and Showa and we improved our pace from the race, so we can go to Le Mans with renewed enthusiasm.

I have not enjoyed particularly good results at this track in the past and the weather usually plays a role here, so we have to be prepared for everything. Last year didn’t go badly for us in the dry, but the race was wet and we struggled because my visor was steaming up. With the progress we are making right now though I am convinced that we have the potential to be battling in the top five again and this is our objective. This is a ‘stop & go’ circuit with a lot of direction changes. It is quite slow and technical that suits a bike that handles well. There are no long straights and that makes it physically demanding, because you don’t get chance for a rest!”

Fausto Gresini “A race like Jerez and the day of testing we had there has given us a boost that we needed. Alvaro, the team and Showa have worked hard together to make some progress, which we hope to confirm at Le Mans. We are making improvements to the front and the rear of the bike and giving Alvaro more confidence. I feel he is ready to take another step forward in quality and start challenging for some top results.”

Source: Gresini Racing