“Unexpected” fifth place for Bautista after yet another strong podium battle in Australia

Alvaro Bautista managed to produce another challenge for the podium today, but with the decision forced on him to run a hard tyre that did not suit the setting of his bike the Spaniard was unable to break into the top three at the end.

Alvaro missed out by just two tenths following a thrilling battle with Valentino Rossi and Cal Crutchlow, although his race was further proof of his competitiveness in the second half of this season.

Alvaro Bautista (5th) “We have managed to salvage a race that we knew was going to be difficult for us because of the enforced tyre choice. We knew it didn’t work with our bike, but we fought hard and thanks to the exceptional work of the team we have come away with a result we didn’t expect. I gave my best, did everything I could on the bike and I have to be happy, because I was fighting for a podium finish until the very end. Unfortunately on the last lap I just felt that I couldn’t push the tyre any harder and it’s a shame, because I know that on the soft option we would have been able to get on the podium and achieve the objective we have set ourselves for before the end of the season.”

Fausto Gresini “That was a difficult race for us, because we were forced to use a tyre that didn’t suit the setting of our bike and Alvaro was losing a lot of drive out of the final turn. Alvaro still did an incredibly good job though and kept fighting against the odds, almost getting a podium as his reward. Overall it’s a much better result than we expected and I am grateful to the whole team for doing an excellent job.”

Source: Gresini Racing