Bautista: “I felt the wheel lock up and I crashed”

Two crashes on Sunday leave Alvaro Bautista outside the points in Mugello and dusting himself off for Barcelona.

Sunday started on an unfortunate note for Alvaro Bautista who took a tumble during morning Warm Up. While he was ok, his Aprilia RS-GP certainly was not and he was therefore forced to use his number two machine for the race. It was a race which did not last long as Bautista tried to make up ground in the first corner, subsequently losing the front and finishing ending his race in the San Donato gravel trap. His fall saw Jack Miller (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) and Loris Baz (Avintia Racing) also go down, Bautista deeply apologetic to the pair for his mistake.

First of all I want to apologise to Baz and Miller, who I involuntarily involved in my crash

The crash was especially disappointing as Bautista had shown a stronger pace than his Aprilia Racing Team Gresini teammate Stefan Bradl all weekend, Bradl going on to score more championship points. Mugello was not a complete waste of a weekend as Aprilia feel they’ve now found a base setting for the RS-GP and can gradually begin to shift more towards racing than testing. Round seven will be held at the Montmelo circuit in Barcelona, Bautista already clearing his mind to focus on the event and get back in the points.

Alvaro Bautista, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, Gran Premio d'Italia TIM

Alvaro Bautista: “After the crash in the warm-up session I had to use the second bike for the race. In the warm-up lap the front brake felt strange, so I adjusted the lever before the start. When I got to the first turn I braked normally, but as I was leaning the bike into it I felt the wheel lock up and I crashed. First of all I want to apologise to Baz and Miller, who I involuntarily involved in my crash. I'm disappointed because, despite the fact that it wasn't my best weekend, I was confident in my race pace. Now we need to do a mental reset and think about the next round in Barcelona”