Suzuki travels to San Marino GP

Misano awaits Bautista and Rizla Suzuki

Alvaro Bautista, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

Photo by: Richard Sloop

Rizla Suzuki has made a quick transatlantic dash to Misano in Italy following last weekend’s Grand Prix in America, for the 12th round on this season’s MotoGP calendar.

Álvaro Bautista will be looking to continue with the form he showed in Indianapolis - where he raced to sixth position - at a circuit that should suit both his riding style and the performance of the Suzuki GSV-R. Bautista's result in America was achieved after the strong potential shown by rider and machine in previous races, and the Spaniard now believes the team can go from strength-to-strength and produce even better results as the season continues.

Located near Rimini on the Adriatic Riviera, the Misano World Circuit is a track that features many slower corners taken in first and second gears and where overtaking is very tough. It has a long sweeping curve with two very high-speed right-handers that certainly make for exciting action and is not a circuit where ultimate top-speed is essential, although a consistent and smooth riding style certainly plays a part in mastering the layout.

Bautista will take to the track on Friday 2nd September for the first of two free practice sessions on that day, with a further practice on Saturday morning. Qualifying on Saturday afternoon will see the Suzuki star aiming for the best possible grid position for Sunday’s 28-lap race, which is scheduled to get underway at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT).

Álvaro Bautista:

“I think we have a good reference at Misano from last year and we had a good race there in 2010. I want to improve on that and think that we can. It is a track that has every type of corner, it involves lots of hard braking and plenty of changes of direction – it is a real fun track to ride. I want to start with a similar rhythm to that which we had in the race last year and try to be as close as I can to the top as early as possible. I believe we have the package now to do that and we will keep working hard until we achieve our goals.”