Álvaro Bautista

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Álvaro Bautista
File:Alvaro Bautista 2010 Qatar.jpg
Bautista at the 2010 Qatar Grand Prix.
Nationality Spain Spanish
Born (1984-11-21) 21 November 1984 (age 40)
Talavera de la Reina, Spain
Current team Aprilia Racing Team Gresini
Bike number 19
Motorcycle racing career statistics
MotoGP World Championship
Active years 2010–present
Manufacturers Suzuki (2010–2011)
Honda (2012–2014)
Aprilia (2015–2016)
Championships 0
2015 Championship position 16th (31 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
105 0 3 1 1 624
250cc World Championship
Active years 2007–2009
Manufacturers Aprilia
Championships 0
2009 Championship position 4th (218 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
49 8 28 9 12 643
125cc World Championship
Active years 2002–2006
Manufacturers Honda, Aprilia
Championships 1 (2006)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
67 8 18 8 9 545

Álvaro Bautista (born 21 November 1984) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He currently competes in the MotoGP class of the Grand Prix Motorcycle World Championship. Bautista competed for the Suzuki team in his first two years since moving into the class in 2010.[1] Bautista moved to the Honda-equipped Gresini Racing team starting in the 2012 season[2] and continued with the team to race Aprilia machinery when the factory returned to MotoGP racing for the 2015 season.

Career

Early years

Born in Talavera de la Reina, Castile-La Mancha, Bautista made his international debut in the 2002 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, also finishing as runner-up in that year's Spanish 125cc road racing national championship. In 2003, he won the 125cc Spanish national championship. Bautista scored his first podium position and fastest lap at Donington Park in his second full season in 2004. In 2006 he won the 125cc World Championship with eight wins, on the MVA Aspar Aprilia.

250s

2007

For the 2007 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, he raced for the Aspar Racing Team in the 250cc class. He took his first 250cc victory at the 2007 Italian Grand Prix at Mugello on June 3, also claiming his maiden 250cc pole position that weekend. A second 250cc victory came at the Estoril on September 16, in the Portuguese Grand Prix, where – having started from sixth on the grid he dropped to twelfth during the first lap to carve his way through the field and eventually take an easy win. He finally ended the 2007 season fourth overall in the Championship, and was subsequently awarded the MotoGP / FIM "Rookie of the Year" Award for the 250cc class.

2008

File:Bautista 08.jpg
Bautista in 2008.
File:Alvaro Bautista.jpg
Bautista after winning the 2009 Japanese Grand Prix.

Having been tipped as the 2008 250cc champion, he finished 6th in the season opener in Qatar. At Jerez he looked set to win before his engine gave out on the final lap causing Marco Simoncelli to hit his bike,[3] subsequently handing Mika Kallio the win. However, Bautista took his first win of the season at Estoril before he crashed out of the lead in China and Italy, while only finishing 14th in Le Mans.[4]

In Bautista's home race at the Catalunya circuit he dominated the qualifying sessions, took pole position and led the race from the start, but an error while switching gears in the last lap gave Marco Simoncelli the chance to pass him and left him unable to fight back before the finish line. The British round at Donington marked his fourth pole of the season.[5] In another fight with Simoncelli, Bautista missed the top spot again after an overly optimistic passing manoeuver by Simoncelli in the penultimate lap, which caused both riders to go wide and allowed Mika Kallio to pass them and snatch the win. A win finally came at Assen, despite an awful start from pole leaving him 8th at the end of lap 1.[6] He added two more wins at San Marino and Malaysia to finish the season in second place behind Simoncelli.

2009

Bautista started 2009 by taking three of the first five pole positions, without converting any of them into a victory. Wins in Japan and Catalunya, and a run of five successive podium finishes later in the season, left him second behind surprise championship leader Hiroshi Aoyama. He crashed out of fourth place at Estoril due to a gearbox issue, denting his championship hopes.

MotoGP

2010

Bautista moved up to MotoGP for the 2010 season, with the factory Suzuki team. After missing the French Grand Prix due to injury, Bautista made a steady return to the class and finished fifth at the Catalan Grand Prix.[7]

2011

During practice for the 2011 MotoGP season opener in Qatar, Bautista suffered a broken left femur as a result of a crash at turn 15.[8] Bautista proved on numerous occasions the potential of the Suzuki GSV-R, and almost claimed podium finishes at several races. His biggest flaw was arguably his tendency to crash, often while fighting for podium positions. He eventually finished the season 13th in the championship standings.

2012

On 9 November 2011, it was announced that Bautista would move to Gresini Racing for the 2012 season.[2] He replaced the late Marco Simoncelli and the World Superbike bound Hiroshi Aoyama. He would later be joined by Gresini's Moto2 rider Michele Pirro, who would ride a CRT specification FTR-Honda as opposed to Bautista, who would ride a MotoGP specification Honda. Bautista finished each of the first five races inside the top ten; of those races, his best result was sixth place on three occasions. Bautista achieved his first pole position in MotoGP at the British Grand Prix; he finished a tenth of a second clear of Ben Spies and Casey Stoner, who both joined Bautista on the front row.[9] Bautista could not maintain the lead at the start of the race, after Spies led into the first corner; he recovered to finish in fourth place – behind Jorge Lorenzo, Stoner and Dani Pedrosa – which was his then best result in the MotoGP class.

At Assen, Bautista qualified eighth, but made a slow start and tried to alleviate his losses by braking late for the first turn. He locked the front wheel, and fell from his bike, taking down championship leader Lorenzo in the process. Both bikes slid along the ground, with Lorenzo's throttle jammed open, which blew the engine. Lorenzo lost his 25-point lead in the championship,[10] after Stoner won the race; Yamaha lodged a complaint with race direction, stating that Bautista's actions were dangerous, and he was thus given a grid penalty for the German Grand Prix – starting last on the grid – for his actions.[11]

Bautista finished the next five races within the top ten each time, before achieving his first ever MotoGP podium at Misano.[12] He obtained another podium finish two races later at Motegi, after a race long battle with Briton Cal Crutchlow ended with Crutchlow running out of fuel before the race finish.[13]

2013

In 2013 Bautista continued riding for Team Gresini, with a new sponsor (GO & FUN) and teammate Bryan Staring. Bautista had a good season, battling consistently amongst the second group of riders, along with Valentino Rossi, Cal Crutchlow and Stefan Bradl. He finished sixth overall in the championship behind Crutchlow and in front of Bradl, with a best result of fourth obtained on three occasions, at Laguna Seca,[14] Aragon[15] and Motegi.[16]

2014

For the 2014 season, Bautista was joined by new team-mate Scott Redding, but had a difficult start to the 2014 season, crashing out of each of the first three events on the calendar. He obtained his first championship points of the season with a sixth place in the Spanish Grand Prix, at Jerez.[17] This was followed by a third-place finish in the French Grand Prix, his first podium since the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix.[18]

2015

For the 2015 season, Bautista remained with the Gresini team – now riding an Aprilia – where he was joined by new team-mate Marco Melandri. At the midway point of the season, Bautista had collected 13 points, and finished 16th in the riders' championship with 31 points.

Grand Prix motorcycle racing career

File:Alvaro Bautista 2010 Assen.jpg
Bautista at the 2010 Dutch TT.

By season

Season Class Moto Team Races Win Podiums Pole FLap Pts Position
2002 125cc Aprilia Atletico Madrid Aprilia 3 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2003 125cc Aprilia Seedorf Racing 16 0 0 0 0 31 20th
2004 125cc Aprilia Seedorf Racing 16 0 4 0 1 129 7th
2005 125cc Honda Seedorf Tiempo Holidays 16 0 0 0 1 47 15th
2006 125cc Aprilia Master – MVA 16 8 14 8 7 338 1st
2007 250cc Aprilia Master MVA Aspar Team 17 2 7 1 1 181 4th
2008 250cc Aprilia Mapfre Aspar Team 16 4 11 5 7 244 2nd
2009 250cc Aprilia Mapfre Aspar Team 16 2 10 3 4 218 4th
2010 MotoGP Suzuki Rizla Suzuki 17 0 0 0 0 85 13th
2011 MotoGP Suzuki Rizla Suzuki 15 0 0 0 0 67 13th
2012 MotoGP Honda San Carlo Honda Gresini 18 0 2 1 0 178 5th
2013 MotoGP Honda GO&Fun Honda Gresini 18 0 0 0 0 171 6th
2014 MotoGP Honda GO&Fun Honda Gresini 18 0 1 0 1 89 11th
2015 MotoGP Aprilia Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 18 0 0 0 0 31 16th
2016 MotoGP Aprilia Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1 0 0 0 0 3* 13th*
Total 221 16 49 18 22 1812

* Season still in progress.

By class

Class Seas 1st GP 1st Pod 1st Win Race Win Pod Pole FLap Pts WChmp
125cc 2002–2006 2002 Spain 2004 Great Britain 2006 Spain 67 8 18 8 9 545 1
250cc 2007–2009 2007 Qatar 2007 Spain 2007 Italy 49 8 28 9 12 643 0
MotoGP 2010–2016 2010 Qatar 2012 San Marino 105 0 3 1 1 624 0
Total 2002–Present 221 16 49 18 22 1812 1

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Pos Pts
2002 125cc Aprilia JPN RSA SPA
25		 FRA ITA CAT
Ret		 NED GBR GER CZE POR BRA PAC MAL AUS VAL
23		 NC 0
2003 125cc Aprilia JPN
18		 RSA
25		 SPA
17		 FRA
Ret		 ITA
28		 CAT
28		 NED
Ret		 GBR
14		 GER
Ret		 CZE
16		 POR
15		 BRA
16		 PAC
12		 MAL
15		 AUS
4		 VAL
6		 20th 31
2004 125cc Aprilia RSA
9		 SPA
Ret		 FRA
9		 ITA
Ret		 CAT
6		 NED
16		 BRA
9		 GER
7		 GBR
2		 CZE
13		 POR
5		 JPN
Ret		 QAT
3		 MAL
3		 AUS
9		 VAL
3		 7th 129
2005 125cc Honda SPA
Ret		 POR
7		 CHN
17		 FRA
Ret		 ITA
12		 CAT
14		 NED
4		 GBR
Ret		 GER
Ret		 CZE
12		 JPN
9		 MAL
26		 QAT
22		 AUS
16		 TUR
12		 VAL
12		 15th 47
2006 125cc Aprilia SPA
1		 QAT
1		 TUR
2		 CHN
3		 FRA
4		 ITA
2		 CAT
1		 NED
3		 GBR
1		 GER
2		 CZE
1		 MAL
1		 AUS
1		 JPN
2		 POR
1		 VAL
4		 1st 338
2007 250cc Aprilia QAT
Ret		 SPA
2		 TUR
3		 CHN
2		 FRA
8		 ITA
1		 CAT
5		 GBR
Ret		 NED
3		 GER
17		 CZE
5		 RSM
8		 POR
1		 JPN
15		 AUS
2		 MAL
Ret		 VAL
Ret		 4th 181
2008 250cc Aprilia QAT
6		 SPA
Ret		 POR
1		 CHN
12		 FRA
14		 ITA
Ret		 CAT
2		 GBR
3		 NED
1		 GER
3		 CZE
2		 RSM
1		 IND
C		 JPN
2		 AUS
2		 MAL
1		 VAL
3		 2nd 244
2009 250cc Aprilia QAT
7		 JPN
1		 SPA
2		 FRA
4		 ITA
3		 CAT
1		 NED
Ret		 GER
3		 GBR
2		 CZE
3		 IND
3		 RSM
3		 POR
Ret		 AUS
10		 MAL
Ret		 VAL
2		 4th 218
2010 MotoGP Suzuki QAT
Ret		 SPA
10		 FRA
DNS		 ITA
14		 GBR
12		 NED
14		 CAT
5		 GER
Ret		 USA
Ret		 CZE
Ret		 IND
8		 RSM
8		 ARA
8		 JPN
7		 MAL
5		 AUS
12		 POR
11		 VAL
9		 13th 85
2011 MotoGP Suzuki QAT
DNS		 SPA POR
13		 FRA
12		 CAT
12		 GBR
5		 NED
11		 ITA
13		 GER
7		 USA
Ret		 CZE
Ret		 IND
6		 RSM
8		 ARA
6		 JPN
Ret		 AUS
Ret		 MAL
C		 VAL
Ret		 13th 67
2012 MotoGP Honda QAT
7		 SPA
6		 POR
6		 FRA
10		 CAT
6		 GBR
4		 NED
Ret		 GER
7		 ITA
10		 USA
8		 IND
5		 CZE
6		 RSM
3		 ARA
6		 JPN
3		 MAL
6		 AUS
5		 VAL
4		 5th 178
2013 MotoGP Honda QAT
6		 AME
8		 SPA
6		 FRA
6		 ITA
Ret		 CAT
Ret		 NED
7		 GER
5		 USA
4		 IND
6		 CZE
5		 GBR
5		 RSM
7		 ARA
4		 MAL
5		 AUS
5		 JPN
4		 VAL
5		 6th 171
2014 MotoGP Honda QAT
Ret		 AME
Ret		 ARG
Ret		 SPA
6		 FRA
3		 ITA
8		 CAT
Ret		 NED
7		 GER
9		 IND
Ret		 CZE
10		 GBR
Ret		 RSM
8		 ARA
7		 JPN
10		 AUS
6		 MAL
Ret		 VAL
16		 11th 89
2015 MotoGP Aprilia QAT
Ret		 AME
15		 ARG
19		 SPA
15		 FRA
15		 ITA
14		 CAT
10		 NED
17		 GER
14		 IND
18		 CZE
13		 GBR
10		 RSM
15		 ARA
13		 JPN
16		 AUS
14		 MAL
15		 VAL
14		 16th 31
2016 MotoGP Aprilia QAT
13		 ARG
10		 AME
11		 SPA
Ret		 FRA
 ITA
 CAT
 NED
 GER
 AUT
 CZE
 GBR
 RSM
 ARA
 JPN
 AUS
 MAL
 VAL
 15th* 14*

* Season still in progress.

References

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External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by Spanish 125cc Champion
2003		 Succeeded by
Aleix Espargaró
Preceded by 125cc Motorcycle World Champion
2006		 Succeeded by
Gábor Talmácsi
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