Top ten finish for Alvaro Bautista in the British Grand Prix
The English weekend concluded with a top-10 placement for Aprilia. The Silverstone race had a red flag straight away in the first lap due to an accident involving Baz and Pol Espargaró. Following the quick start procedure, hostilities resumed with race distance reduced to 19 laps.
Both Alvaro Bautista and teammate Stefan Bradl got off to a good start when the lights went out, vying for an important placement with a good, consistent pace. However, as he engaged in battle with a few riders, Stefan was the innocent victim of contact that led to a fall, forcing him to retire.
Bautista continued his progress, battling at length with Hernandez and managing to build up a comfortable gap after overtaking him. Managing his tyre wear well, the Spanish Aprilia Racing Team Gresini rider demonstrated very consistent performance, moving into tenth place under the chequered flag. This is an encouraging result in view of the upcoming Italian round, scheduled at Misano in seven days.
ALVARO BAUTISTA
“There was quite a bit of confusion at the first start. Fortunately, both Pol and Loris are fine. At the second start, I tried to find my pace. We struggled throughout the weekend, but I know that in duels with the other riders I would be able to improve. That is the way it was. I recovered a few positions, battling for a long time then with Hernandez. When I overtook him, I changed an electronics setting on the RS-GP to gain a few tenths and increase the gap. I was successful, thanks to the team and the mechanics who worked hard to give me the best possible bike. I am looking forward to Misano optimistically. Aprilia is on their home pitch, so I hope to give the fans a good performance”.
Source: Aprilia