After a positive third round of the season at Jerez, Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini head for the next date on the MotoGP calendar at Le Mans this weekend with renewed enthusiasm. Alvaro Bautista is confident of finding a better feeling with his front suspension for the French track and hopefully less sliding on the rear after working hard with Showa's engineeers in a day of testing following the Grand Prix of Spain. Sixth place in the race there was already a boost for Alvaro and the team, who are now determined to build on it and score even better results in the coming races. Bryan Staring's confidence was also given a major boost in Spain, where he scored his best result of the season so far and only narrowly missed out on the points. The Australian's adaptation to MotoGP continues apace and with the determination and willingness to learn that he continues to show he will no doubt be taking more steps forward this weekend.
Alvaro Bautista
“After the weekend at Jerez and the post-race test I am feeling very motivated. We have worked very hard to find more rear grip from the bike after suffering over the course of the weekend and in the test we found some solutions that make me confident that we are on the right path. We worked closely with HRC and Showa and we improved our pace from the race so we can go to Le Mans with renewed enthusiasm. I hav e not enjoyed particularly good results at this track in the past and the weather usually plays a role here so we have to be prepared for everything. Last year didn't go badly for us in the dry but the race was wet and we struggled because my visor was steaming up. With the progress we are making right now though I am convinced that we have the potential to be battling in the top five again and this is our objective. This is a 'stop & go' circuit with a lot of direction changes. It is quite slow and technical that suits a bike that handles well. There are no long straights and that makes it physically demanding because you don't get chance for a rest!”
Bryan Staring
“I am still really happy with the result from Jerez because it has given us a nice boost to try and do even better in the races coming up. Lap by lap I am adapting my riding more and more to MotoGP and I am pushing the bike with more conviction. I can't wait to get out on track at Le Mans, which is a place that fascinates me even though I have never been before. In fact out of the next seven tracks I only know one of them so I have to concentrate hard on learning them and adapting quickly so that we can start working on set-up. We have been making progress lately so we need to keep going like this and I am sure we will soon achieve our first objective of scoring points. ”
Fausto Gresini
“A race like Jerez and the day of testing we had there has given us a boost that we needed. Alvaro, the team and Showa have worked hard together to make some progress, which we hope to confirm at Le Mans. We are making improvements to the front and the rear of the bike and giving Alvaro more confidence. I feel he is ready to take another step forward in quality and start challenging for some top results. Bryan Staring is also making solid progress and thanks to his determination he is adapting to the demands of MotoGP. Now it feels like the points-scoring pos itions are a realistic objective and I am sure he will be amongst them soon.”
Go&Fun Honda Gresini Press Release
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