MISANO MOTOGP RACE CONDITIONED BY THE WEATHER
APRILIA IN THE POINTS WITH ALVARO BAUTISTA FINISHING FIFTEENTH
SIXTEENTH PLACE FOR STEFAN BRADL
Misano Adriatico, 13 September 2015 – At Misano the true main player of the MotoGP race turned out to be the weather. Starting under grey skies but on a dry track, the riders were forced to make two bike changes during the race: once just a few laps after the start to use the wet setup bike on a rain dampened track, only to go back to the dry configuration in the second half of the race.
The Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders, off the line well when the lights went out, returned to pit lane for the first bike change. Bautista, however, was unable to find the right feeling with the new configuration, struggling more than expected. Bradl also lost confidence in the wet with a bike which was new to him, whereas his feeling on the dry setup was decidedly positive. Once the rain stopped and the track had begun to dry out, it was time for the second change with ten laps to go and both riders in points positions: Alvaro Bautista was lying thirteenth and Bradl was holding on to fifteenth place. Both riders left pit lane after dropping four positions, but with the tarmac drying out more and more, Alvaro and Stefan resumed their pace to come back and finish respectively in fifteenth and sixteenth place.
ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)
“Definitely a crazy race. Rider instinct on the bike change, which is decisive in these conditions, made a big difference, as well as how quickly they are able to adapt to the new conditions, first wet and then dry again. Especially in the wet we had a bit of a struggle and we missed the chance to have Bradl finish in the points as well. A race like this one is also not very useful from a technical point of view in terms of developing the bike. But overall we gathered a lot of information throughout the weekend and Tuesday we’ll be here to work on the bike. We are planning a series of tests, aimed mainly on proper use of the front tyre.”
FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)
“This was a complicated race and we should probably have brought the riders in a bit sooner to get them on the bike with slicks more quickly. Hindsight is always 20/20 in these situations, but if we had risked a bit more today we would have been able to bring home a better result. We are not entirely satisfied with fifteenth and sixteenth place, but we still brought home another point.”
ALVARO BAUTISTA
“This was a race where we could have done better. When I switched to the wet bike I wasn’t able to ride the way I would have liked because of the poor grip and we may have waited a bit too long to switch back when the track was drying out. By risking a bit more today we could have had a good chance to finish with an even better result. But I must thank the team for all the very hard work they did throughout the weekend. Now we’ll think about the tests on Tuesday where we are keen to take an important step forward with development for the next race and the season finale.”
STEFAN BRADL
“We should have made the second bike change a lap sooner, but in these situations it’s always difficult to take the right decision: the track already seemed suitable for slicks, but I could still see drops of rain on my top fairing, so I decided to come in a lap later. In any case I had lost ground after the first bike change because I didn’t have a good feeling on the wet bike and in the first few laps in the wet it was very difficult to ride with the bike sliding around so much. The positive thing is that in the last part of the race on slicks I had a good feeling and I was able to ride fast straight away, recovering a few positions.”
