“Not really a good race” as Bautista struggles with stability and brake issues but still happy to finish

The end result may not have been spectacular for Alvaro Bautista and Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini, but the main goal of completing the Dutch TT was achieved. After two DNFs at Mugello and Barcelona, the Spaniard was looking to take the chequered flag at Assen and did so with seventh place – despite a rear brake issue midway through the race.

Alvaro Bautista (7th) “We finished the race and this was above all the main goal of this weekend. It’s a small consolation, but after two setbacks this was very important. In the race I didn’t have a perfect feeling with the bike, because it was unstable and moving around a lot. Unfortunately, with the weather conditions being so variable we did not have the time required to find the best setup. At first I tried to stay calm by getting heat into the tyres, trying not to take excessive risks. Maybe I lost a bit too much time then and later from the middle of the race I had problems with the rear brake and I could not slow down as well as I would have liked. It took a few laps to be able to adapt to the situation and after that I tried to finish in the best possible way. It was not really a good race, but it was important to finish in order to think about the future with greater serenity.”

Fausto Gresini “After two races that we could not finish, the good thing today was that we completed the distance. Of course, the result does not really satisfy us, but we must also bear in mind that for over half of the race Alvaro had a problem with the rear brake that affected him a lot. We certainly haven’t had much luck recently, so let’s hope that this spell ends soon and that we can look forward to better days. We are working well and we would like that the results reflect our efforts.”

Source: Gresini Racing
Photo Copyright: Simona Vogel for Vroom Media