The first practice session of the season for Ãlavro Bautista did not live up to expectations for him and the Rizla Suzuki squad. The Spaniard had to sit out part of the session after a combination of new gloves and a new front braking system which were required after his huge shunt at the end of the final pre season test 2 days ago, left him suffering arm cramp.
Things didn’t get better when he returned to the track. Having completed only 15 laps, Bautista ended 16th on the timesheet, 1.5s behind his quickest time in the pre season test.
Speaking after the session, Bautista said, “the words I want to say cannot be used in a press release!”
“It was an impossible practice because we wanted to try a different setting, but I had a problem with the front brake feeling right from the beginning and after that I also had some pain in my right arm – which was probably because I had new gloves on and they were too tight – so I wasn't able to ride like I can. At the end I used the other bike, but the problem hadn't gone away. I think we need to forget today and concentrate on tomorrow because we have two more practices to improve things.”
