MotoGP, Bautista seventh with Suzuki at Sachsenring

Great performance from Álvaro Bautista aboard Rizla Suzuki who achieved his best dry result of the season today in the German Grand Prix. Bautista knew he had to start well from tenth place on the grid and at the end of the first lap he was in ninth position. Over the next two laps he found himself involved in a battle that would last for the rest of the race, with Ducati rider Nicky Hayden and later with Valentino Rossi. The three took turns leading their group until the end of the race, but Bautista had saved his energy for the end of the race. On the penultimate lap he recorded his fastest lap, then overtook Rossi and Hayden in sequence, at the last corner, and earned a hard-earned and well-deserved seventh place.

Given the weather conditions - cloudy but humid - and the temperatures on the track, the Spaniard opted for soft Bridgestone race tyres. The 101.309 spectators on the circuit didn't just witness the brawl involving Bautista; in the leading group the action was equally hot, with Dani Pedrosa eventually crossing the finish line first, followed by reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo and world championship leader Casey Stoner.

Rizla Suzuki will now leave for the United States for the next round of the season, scheduled for Sunday 24 July at the Laguna Seca Raceway in California.

“I'm happy with today's result because it was a fun race and I'm happy with how it ended. At the beginning I had to start well, because in the first corner you have to be very careful of the other riders” commented Bautista. “I started quite well and found myself in a good position, right behind the leading riders, although with a certain gap and with a pace that wasn't as fast, so I wasn't able to keep up with them. I had a lot of fun together with the two Ducati riders; in the end it was really difficult to overtake Valentino and Nicky because they brake at the last second, it's difficult to overtake like that. On the last lap I overtook Valentino at the end of the straight. Then I got in Hayden's wake and waited for the last two corners because I knew I had a chance of overtaking him at that point. I had to brake with all my strength to overtake him at turn 12, but I ran a little wide and lost a bit of speed. Nicky overtook me at the last corner, but he went in too fast, so I managed to pass him on the exit of the corner. I'm really happy that we are first after the top six riders, who are racing at another level at the moment. For the next race I hope to continue working in this direction and get closer to the leaders."

“I think this weekend at the Sachsenring – a circuit that has always been very difficult for Suzuki – we showed that the GSV-R and the rider have made great strides in 2011, despite the bad luck and the big injury at the start of the season” commented Team Manager Paul Denning. “The accident that Álvaro had this morning at the end of the warm-up was not ideal to prepare us for the race and may have influenced his race pace in some way, but he gave it his all, driving an aggressive race and exciting for 30 laps. Perhaps with a better placing in qualifying – which we need to continue working on – or with a couple of luckier first laps, he could have stayed with the fastest riders. We won't know until we get another chance, next week at Laguna Seca. Today was an incredibly competitive race, all the riders reached the finish line and we were only beaten by the 4 official Honda riders and the two official Yamaha riders. This weekend we definitely took a step in the right direction."