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Suzuki Motor Corporation’s confirmation on Sunday evening at the finish of the Brno weekend announching they have
contracted Álvaro Bautista for next season, completed a long line of rumours regarding the Spanish competitors’s
future.
Due to his premier profile, Bautista had many opportunities to move forward in his career, with most expecting
him to remain with Aspar, however the previous 125cc World Champion has now chosen to move with a more secure structure with
Rizla Suzuki.
He commented, “There were a lot of rumours about my future for a long time and in the end there
were two clear options, Aspar and Suzuki. Obviously I wanted some of the details of the Aspar MotoGP project to be finalised
before making my decision because I’m very happy with the team in 250cc. So between Donington (when Aspar confirmed
their Ducati MotoGP deal) and Brno I was able to fully weigh up the pros and cons. It was a really difficult decision but
going to Suzuki means I am with a factory team and from a sporting perspective that is what I wanted, so that was my choice.”
“In terms of my expectations for next year, I’m still not sure yet as I am still focusing on 250cc. I
know that everything will be new and I will be working with people I don’t know, the majority of them being English.
I come from a mainly Spanish and Italian team so that will be a big change and then of course the bike will be totally different.
We will have to work very hard in the pre-season to adapt. If (Loris) Capirossi is my team-mate I think that would be a big
bonus for me, as he is Italian, with a similar personality to me, a very nice guy with so much experience and someone to learn
a lot from.”
When prompted on the thoughts of his now Aspar staff follwing the decision to move with Suzuki,
Bautista says, “Well I think they understand it but they don’t agree with it. Jorge (Martínez) wanted me
to be his MotoGP rider and after four years together in 125cc and 250cc it is a shame not to be going into MotoGP together
from a professional perspective, but I have made a choice which I believe is correct for me. Jorge is a great person and the
whole team are extremely focused, they respect my decision.”
“As Jorge told me, ‘that’s
what will happen next year, but we still have a lot of work to do this year!’,” stated Bautista.
With
the Suzuki comments on bringing in Bautista, team manager Paul Denning explains, “We are very happy to have signed Álvaro
Bautista for next season and we’re excited about the plans. He is still currently contracted with Mr Martínez
and the Aspar team though so we don’t want to say too much at this stage as he has to focus on his job to become the
250cc World Champion.”
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