Alvaro Bautista described his qualifying result as a “big disappointment” after a crash left him 12th on the grid for the United States Grand Prix at Laguna Seca. The Rizla Suzuki rider was inside the top ten in final practice but a mistake at turn three proved costly as lost positions to the two Tech 3 Yamahas.
The Spaniard has admitted that a fast start is crucial as he looks to make use of a strong race pace.
“It has been a very big disappointment for me and the whole team this afternoon. We had done well in every practice, but in the qualifying – where it is really important to make a good position for the race – I crashed and lost the opportunity to make a good lap. I think we need to be positive for tomorrow though, and take some encouragement from the fact that we did our best time on a 27-lap used tyre, so this is good for the race. The bad thing is that we are near the back of the grid tomorrow, so I will have to make a good start like I have in the last two races and try to get a good position in the first corner. Tomorrow we will be trying our hardest and I will be giving it full gas!”
Team Manager Paul Denning is confident that Bautista will be able to put Saturday's disappointment behind him and score solid points in today's race.
“There's not much to add to what Ãlvaro has already said! It was a disappointing qualifying result after building speed so well over the rest of the weekend. Given that the tyre that we did our fastest time on had done 27-laps, it's clear that we could have gone quite a bit faster than we did. The crash made things tough though, and it is what it is. The boys have a fair bit of work ahead of them to rebuild the bike, but we're over it now and all looking forward to the race tomorrow.”
