MotoGP: Alvaro Bautista “I like the Sachsenring circuit”

Rizla Suzuki leaves for the Sachsenring, in eastern Germany, for the ninth round of the MotoGP world championship, where Álvaro Bautista will try to exploit the positive aspects of the last race at Mugello. Having returned to 100% fitness, Bautista wants to have a good race in Germany, to start the second part of the 2011 season in a positive way. In the Italian Grand Prix he was fighting to finish in the top six, before an exit of the track which made him waste time and cost him dearly. In post-race testing at Mugello Bautista completed almost 90 laps, recording significant improvements in the set-up, handling and electronics of his Suzuki GSV-R, so he hopes these improvements will serve him well for the rest of the season .

The historic Sachsenring circuit is located near the town of Hohenstein-Ernstthal, approximately 80 km from Dresden. The original road circuit was incorporated into a new one built in the early 900s. Since then the track has undergone several changes, so parts of the old circuit are no longer used. The 3,671 km long track with 13 corners is clearly divided into two parts; the first part winds like other championship tracks, but then the anti-clockwise circuit opens up into a breathtaking right-hander that you take at more than 200 km/h, before moving on to a fast downhill section, some hairpin bends and a 700m long straight.

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will take to the track on Friday for two 45-minute free practice sessions, followed by another free practice session on Saturday morning and an hour of qualifying in the afternoon. Sunday's 30-lap race is scheduled for 14.00pm local time.

Alvaro Bautista:

“I can't wait for the race; it can never be soon enough! At Mugello we made a lot of progress both in the race and in testing. Now we can use all the data collected in the Sachsenring race and in the other races of the season. I think we are capable of racing with the top six or seven riders in almost all the circuits, we still need a little something to do that, I don't know if it's luck or what, but we will keep trying until we figure out what it is! I like the Sachsenring circuit, I finished on the podium 3 times. It's not an easy circuit, it's not easy to find the right setup, but when you do it it's fantastic. We need to find the right grip and try to find the setup as soon as possible.”

Rizla Suzuki