Despite some early problems in practice at Silverstone last time out the weekend finished in style for Bautista, who battled to the line with Valentino Rossi and missed out on fourth place to the multiple World Champion by just 0.065 seconds. Bautista's recent efforts on board the RC213V are a credit to him but also the fruit of a lot of hard work from the team, Showa, Nissin and Honda. Alvaro's goal is to continue in the same vein at Misano, a circuit that he likes and where he scored his first ever MotoGP podium just one year ago. It is also an important weekend for Bryan Staring, who is looking to end a disappointing recent run of results at a circuit he knows well.
Alvaro Bautista
“We had another fantastic weekend at Silverstone, working hard with the team on the setting of the bike, which wasn't ideal on Friday. We managed to put together an excellent race, not far off the back of the lead group and I really enjoyed myself in another great battle with Valentino, who finally beat me by a matter of a few centimetres. Our current run of form is very positive so we have to keep doing the right things and this will keep us moving forwards. Misano holds some good memories for me and it is also my team's home track. I have been on the podium there many times, including my first in MotoGP last season after a big battle with a bunch of riders but especially with Dovizioso. This year it won't be easy because the level in MotoGP has gone up another notch but we will try our best to continue our excellent moment. The goal is to close the gap even further to the top three and try to break them if we can. It is not a great track for overtaking and overall it is quite slow, despite a fast section at the end. It will be important for us to concentrate hard from the start on finding a set-up with good stability under braking and plenty of acceleration out of the corners. This is a more important aspect at Misano than top speed.”
Bryan Staring
“The Grand Prix of San Marino is an important event for me. I know the track well and with this being the team's home race I really want to give everything I can to make sure we celebrate with a good result. I want to put our recent disappointments behind us with a performance that sets us up for the final stage of the season. With the help of the team I think I can achieve the objectives we have set ourselves for the weekend ahead.”
“The Grand Prix of San Marino is an important event for me. I know the track well and with this being the team's home race I really want to give everything I can to make sure we celebrate with a good result. I want to put our recent disappointments behind us with a performance that sets us up for the final stage of the season. With the help of the team I think I can achieve the objectives we have set ourselves for the weekend ahead.”
Go&Fun Honda Gresini Press Release
