Alvaro Bautista crashes out at Jerez

The MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix featured a home podium, with a trio of riders on the rostrum at the fourth race of the year. Dani Pedrosa was the winner at Jerez, joined by teammate Marc Márquez and Ducati rider Jorge Lorenzo in the Top 3.

The Spanish trio were separated by some 14 seconds in a largely uncontested race. Behind them, the top privateer was Frenchman Johann Zarco in fourth, ahead of Andrea Dovizioso. Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales, who had topped the standings on their arrival at Jerez, finished tenth and sixth, respectively. Although they remain first and second overall, Marc Márquez has closed the gap to Rossi to 4 points. Pedrosa is 10 points off the lead.

The Pull&Bear Aspar team experienced a bittersweet Grand Prix at Jerez, with Álvaro Bautista crashing out when fighting to enter the Top 10. Bautista was left ruing his crash, which also saw Jack Miller taken out. The Spaniard was moving up from seventeenth position of the grid and was already into twelfth when, trying to overtake the Australian, he lost the front end of his bike and fell.

Álvaro Bautista (DNF):
“I tried to overtake Miller and enter the corner on the inside, and maybe the track was more delicate there. I lost the front and unfortunately I fell, taking him with me. When you start from so far back, these things can happen. Our pace was better, and we were gaining positions. I understand that tempers flare at that time, but a rider pushing another is never a good image for the sport. I think the kick to my bike was uglier than the push, because it wasn’t the bike’s fault. I won’t say if it deserves a sanction or not –that’s down to whoever has to decide. I wouldn’t do that because it’s a racing incident. Miller came to the garage later to ask for an explanation. It’s true that at the start we saw riders going wide trying to overtake, and took others off track. I was simply following my own line and lost the front. He understood, apologised for the push and we put it down to something that can happen in racing. I feel bad about crashing and taking out another rider. At the time of the crash I was behind Petrucci, who was seventh, but I felt good. I was taking things calmly, because I knew that the second half of the race was important.”