Alvaro Bautista fought through from last place on the grid to battle for fifth in a gritty ride at Sachsenring, a circuit where it is notoriously difficult to overtake. The Team San Carlo Honda Gresini rider pulled off some brave manoeuvres to move into the pack chasing the podium positions although he had to settle for seventh in a final lap skirmish. His team-mate Michele Pirro made a good start and was in the battle to be the top CRT when he was forced to retire with a technical problem.
Alvaro Bautista ( 7th ) “I am happy because to start from last and finish seventh is a good result. It's just a shame that I lost so much time at the start trying to pass the CRTs. I was trying to do it without taking too many risks and then once I got past them I had a lot of sliding from the rear tyre, which made it a long and difficult race. I tried to adapt my riding style and use the throttle in a different way and in the second half of the race I was able to close down the guys in front of me. I actually managed to pass Rossi and Bradl on the penultimate lap but I lost the front and almost crashed. I wanted to try again on the last lap but as we came into the braking zone at the bottom of the hill I could see the yellow flags so that was that. I had another look in the last corner but couldn't make the pass. Anyway, the result is good and for that I want to thank the team for giving 100% all weekend even though they knew this would be a tough race. ”
Michele Pirro (DNF) “There is not much I can say after another unlucky race. We didn't need the crash yesterday and today we had the same problem that caused me to retire in Qatar. It's a shame because we could have had a good race and made life difficult for the top CRT. I am disappointed for me and the team but we will try to make up for it at Mugello.”
Fausto Gresini “A wonderful race from Alvaro – it's just a shame he had to start from the back of the grid. Obviously it was always going to be a tough race for him but he showed the belief and the spirit to fight back. Alvaro made a huge effort and had a great race. Unfortunately he arrived a little bit late to the battle for fifth, otherwise the result could perhaps have been even better, but we're happy anyway. We had a problem with the chain jumping off on Michele's bike, which already happened once in Qatar, so the engineers will have to look at that and make sure it doesn't happen again. I am disappointed because Michele had made a good start and had every chance of fighting to be the top CRT. ”
Honda Gresini Press Release
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