Alvaro Bautista in the points in chaotic Misano thriller

At Misano the true main player of the MotoGP race turned out to be the weather. Starting under grey skies but on a dry track, the riders were forced to make two bike changes during the race: once just a few laps after the start to use the wet setup bike on a rain dampened track, only to go back to the dry configuration in the second half of the race.

The Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders, off the line well when the lights went out, returned to pit lane for the first bike change.

Bautista, however, was unable to find the right feeling with the new configuration, struggling more than expected. Bradl also lost confidence in the wet with a bike which was new to him, whereas his feeling on the dry setup was decidedly positive.

Once the rain stopped and the track had begun to dry out, it was time for the second change with ten laps to go and both riders in points positions: Alvaro Bautista was lying thirteenth and Bradl was holding on to fifteenth place.

Both riders left pit lane after dropping four positions, but with the tarmac drying out more and more, Alvaro and Stefan resumed their pace to come back and finish respectively in fifteenth and sixteenth place.

ALVARO BAUTISTA
“This was a race where we could have done better. When I switched to the wet bike I wasn’t able to ride the way I would have liked because of the poor grip and we may have waited a bit too long to switch back when the track was drying out. By risking a bit more today we could have had a good chance to finish with an even better result. But I must thank the team for all the very hard work they did throughout the weekend. Now we’ll think about the tests on Tuesday where we are keen to take an important step forward with development for the next race and the season finale.”

Source: Aprilia