Rizla Suzuki's Alvaro Bautista scorched to best MotoGP qualifying position of the year at Misano today despite getting held up in traffic and spending time trying to get a lap out of the hard tyre didn't go as well as expected.
The Spaniard was sliding and running wide exiting the last corner so switched to the softer option and found he could run 1'34s laps quite happily so will remain with that for the race tomorrow in which he will use the new and shiny livery pictured below.
“This morning we made some changes to the gearbox, but after the practice we switched back to the settings from yesterday. In the qualifying I started with the harder tyre in the hot conditions to see if it worked well. It was not too bad and I was riding at 35.0 on most laps, but the exit from the corner with hard gas caused me to slide and go wide," said Bautista.
"We changed to the softer rear we had been using in the morning and I had a good feeling with that compound, and could ride mid 34s all the time. At the end I couldn’t make a best lap because there was a bit of traffic and some slower riders that I couldn’t get past, so I lost the chance to make a good lap-time.
"I think we have a good set-up for tomorrow and the grid position is even better than last week, so if I get a good start I think I can push right up there. I want to stay with the front guys for the maximum amount of time as possible and make a race and get a result like Indy – or even better!”
