bautista shows the 250 field how it's done
16/09/07
News
Spaniard Alvaro Bautista gave the 250cc class a riding lesson in Estoril this afternoon coming from 12th on the first lap to fourth place by lap seven, and then streaking into the lead at half distance.
The class rookie got a dreadful start and picked his way through the field, lapping half a second faster than world champion Jorge Lorenzo and race leader Andreas Dovizioso.
Bautista made even Lorenzo look distinctly average as he charged past and continued at set fastest lap after fastest right until the chequered flag came out. The race time was a full 34 seconds faster than last year.
Dovizioso and Lorenzo waited for just four laps before they distanced themselves from Thomas Luthi and Hector Barbera and it looked as if it would be a two-horse race. Dovi then upped his pace on lap eight, trying to break Lorenzo's tow.
The Spaniard attempted to go with him but just couldn't match the Italian's times through Estoril's twisty sections even though he was noticeably quicker on the front straight. No-one had counted on Bautista's pace, however, and Dovi couldn't live with it, trailing the Aspar Aprilia rider by more than four seconds by the end.
Britain's Eugene Laverty scored two more points, bringing his LCR Honda home in 14th place, while Yorkshireman Dan Linfoot retired on lap 19.
Results
1 25 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Master - Mapfre Aspar APRILIA 43'56.458
2 20 34 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Kopron Team Scot HONDA 44'00.825
3 16 1 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fortuna Aprilia APRILIA 44'02.606
4 13 12 Thomas LUTHI SWI Emmi - Caffe Latte Aprilia APRILIA 44'09.143
5 11 80 Hector BARBERA SPA Team Toth Aprilia APRILIA 44'09.869
6 10 3 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM Master - Mapfre Aspar APRILIA 44'09.898
7 9 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA Metis Gilera GILERA 44'26.780
8 8 60 Julian SIMON SPA Repsol Honda 250cc HONDA 44'27.092
9 7 32 Fabrizio LAI ITA Campetella Racing APRILIA 45'08.711
10 6 17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing APRILIA 45'08.777
11 5 28 Dirk HEIDOLF GER Kiefer - Bos - Sotin Racing APRILIA 45'10.518
12 4 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Blusens Aprilia Germany APRILIA 45'10.617
13 3 16 Jules CLUZEL FRA Angaia Racing APRILIA 45'11.033
14 2 50 Eugene LAVERTY IRL Honda LCR HONDA 45'27.436
15 1 10 Imre TOTH HUN Team Toth Aprilia APRILIA 44'04.722 1 lap
16 31 Alvaro MOLINA SPA Andalucia - GFC - MAS APRILIA 44'29.638 1 lap
17 89 Ho Wan CHOW CHN Zongshen Team of China APRILIA 44'07.470 2 laps
NOT CLASSIFIED
7 Efren VAZQUEZ SPA Blusens Aprilia APRILIA 3 laps
8 Ratthapark WILAIROT THA Thai Honda PTT-SAG HONDA 3 laps
4 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN Red Bull KTM 250 KTM 4 laps
73 Shuhei AOYAMA JPN Repsol Honda 250cc HONDA 8 laps
45 Dan LINFOOT GBR Team Sicilia APRILIA 8 laps
25 Alex BALDOLINI ITA Kiefer - Bos - Sotin Racing APRILIA 19 laps
36 Mika KALLIO FIN Red Bull KTM 250 KTM 22 laps
55 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Kopron Team Scot HONDA 24 laps
15 Roberto LOCATELLI ITA Metis Gilera GILERA 25 laps
