Rizla Suzuki‘s Ãlvaro Bautista lost out on a top ten finish to the Italian Grand Prix after finishing in a lowly 13th. The Spaniard started well from 14th on the grid and immediately was in contention for 6th place, scrapping with Hector Barbera.
On Lap 16 however, Bautista encountered a large front end slide. Luckily he managed to recover it but in doing so, also managed to knock the gear lever into neutral, causing him to run off track. After rejoining and continuing to set competitive laps, 13th place beckoned.
Speaking after the race, Bautista said, “It was always going to be a difficult race today because we were starting from the back of the grid and that is never easy. I made a good start and had a couple of strong laps to get up to sixth position. I tried to push to get to the group at the front because they were still close, but I was already starting to have a bit of trouble with the grip from the front of the bike. I nearly crashed two of three times on several corners and my elbow touched down and saved me once! I tried hard to keep my position in the group and my overall feeling was good, even though I couldn't enter the corners exactly as I wanted to.”
He continued, “To finish the race in sixth or seventh today was certainly possible, but as I entered turn 12 I lost the front completely. I went into neutral and went off the track and lost a lot of positions. I am happy with the first part of the race, but disappointed for the last part, because as I said before sixth or seventh was there for us today. We have to remain positive though and to keep heading in the right direction and improve over the next races.”
