The final day of pre-season at Jerez could have gone better for Álvaro Bautista, with two crashes denying him the opportunity to complete his testing programme. His race pace is good but the Spaniard perhaps struggled a little for the confidence to push for a faster time because of his two tumbles. Michele Pirro paid the price for his bike's youthfulness on Sunday, setting some decent lap times in the morning but struggling to improve his pace in the afternoon due to technical problems.
Álvaro Bautista:
"It hasn't been a great day for us. We started out well and tried some interesting electronic solutions this morning, as well as two different Bridgestone tyres, to try and work out which gave me the most confidence. Then in the afternoon we were doing a race simulation when I crashed not once but twice, when the front let go without warning. I still don't know exactly what happened and naturally that damaged my confidence in the front and I couldn't push to the limit as I would have liked. Anyway, we are not losing faith because we found some good things and now we just have to prepare for the first race in the best way we can. Racing at night in Qatar is not easy but I still feel confident even after the worst afternoon of pre-season testing. My feeling with the team is perfect and I am sure they will help me to recover the confidence I lost today."
Michele Pirro:
"All I can say is that we have a lot to work on! Lap by lap I am building my confidence with the bike but I couldn't really make the most of it because we had a problem with the bike and I had to come back into the pit box. They are teething problems but it is frustrating for me because I want to squeeze out everything I feel inside. It is a shame but I know that the guys are working hard, I have complete faith in them and I am sure that we will soon be reaping the rewards of all their effort. We just need to be patient."
San Carlo Honda Gresini press release
