Alvaro Bautista earns points for Rizla Suzuki at Assen Grand Prix – MotoGP news
Rizla Suzuki rider Alvaro Bautista scored some points for his team in the Iveco TT Assen Grand Prix held in Netherlands on Saturday.
The Spaniard started the race from 14th position on grid but was soon able to hop amongst the top ten riders.
The Spaniard was riding flawlessly in the 26-lap race. Earlier he was found sorting his GSVR out for better traction. Along with the Suzuki team, the Repsol Honda riders were also struggling to keep their tyres on tarmac.
Bautista said, “There was no big change in the race from the practice sessions, I still struggled for grip and found it hard to push. For the start of the race we went with the slick tyres, even though it was a little bit wet on the back of the track, but
this was the best decision as the threatened rain never came.”
He explained his feeling during the race that he was not satisfied with the bike’s race performance. From the start of the race weekend, he was eager to tweak his Suzuki for better grip on the circuit and the problem continued throughout the weekend. The
rear end grip was at its minimum and entering corners were tough to do with pace.
During the race, the Spaniard tried to push his GSVR to the limit to finish in top ten positions but the tyre temperatures and lack of grip did not allow him to do so. He said the bike felt like being on the ice which made every corner difficult to enter.
His optimism is still high as the MotoGP action heads to the Italian circuit in the south of the country. Mugello will be the venue for the eighth round of the premier class and higher temperatures will provide optimum conditions for the bikes to perform.
Rizla Suzuki team manager, Paul Denning said, “Today has been a very difficult race to top-off a disappointing weekend. It could have been worse, in that Alvaro kept it on two wheels and brought the bike home safely – unlike many unfortunate riders this
weekend.”
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