BAUTISTA CONCLUDES A POSITIVE WEEKEND IN THE POINTS MELANDRI ALSO MAKES PROGRESS IN THE RACE
Jerez (Spain), 3 May 2015 – It was a positive weekend for Aprilia Racing Team Gresini at Jerez, the setting for the first 2015 MotoGP European race.
Finishing in fifteenth place and earning a point, Alvaro Bautista confirmed his good performance which earned him a spot on the fifth row of the starting grid during practice yesterday. And in the end the Spaniard had a few things to complain about with contact during the race and a problem with the brakes that kept him from doing better. With this result the Italian team strengthens its performance which brings it closer to the middle pack and that is the main objective at the moment. Melandri also showed improvement in the race, finishing in nineteenth place.
ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)
“Overall we’re taking home a very positive weekend, especially in terms of consistent performance and end results. After the qualifiers yesterday the race was also decidedly positive. It’s a shame that there were a couple problems, a race incident and a technical problem with the brakes that slowed Alvaro down. The feeling has also improved significantly and I’m pleased for Marco as well, who took a giant step forward in the race, gaining more confidence. The entire Jerez weekend has left us more optimistic for the rest of the season.”
FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)
“I’m very happy with the result today. With Bautista we managed to start from a good position even if we did lose the advantage straight away. In fact, in the third turn Alvaro made contact with someone in the pack and had to sit the bike up which cost him a few positions. Without that incident he probably would have been able to do better. In any case it was a good race and now our goal is to earn points so we are satisfied. Melandri’s performance is also positive, with him taking a step forward compared to Argentina. These are all positive signs, even if we obviously know that there is still a lot of work to do.”
ALVARO BAUTISTA
“And it could have gone much better! I had a good start but I made contact with Barbera right at the beginning in the pack, which was nobody’s fault, and it cost me at least five positions. After three laps I had a problem with the brake which I was able to fix by adjusting the lever distance but it made it very inconvenient in the braking sections. Then I tried to maintain a constant pace to look after the tyres, especially the rear. In the final part I pushed harder and could see the pack in front of me battling for tenth place. It’s a good sign but it’s a shame that I wasn’t able to get closer to them earlier. In any case, things went well but they could have gone even better. I want to thank the team for their great work improving the bike which was really in top shape today compared to the qualifiers. Now we just need to keep going in this direction.”
MARCO MELANDRI
“Starting from behind doesn’t help, so I struggled a lot in the early laps and then finally I was able to set my pace. When I caught up Miller I was faster than him but unfortunately we are still struggling with grip on the rear and even though he didn’t brake very hard it took me several laps to overtake him and that cost me a lot of ground behind those who were ahead, also stressing the tyres quite a bit. I probably would have been able to stay closer to Hayden e Laverty. Now we’ll have to see how things go in France: I especially hope that some innovations arrive that can meet my needs.”
