Bautista escapes injury in late fall

Alva♛ro Bautista had a scare at the end of the final night of MotoGP pre-season testing, at Qatar on Monday, when he destroyed his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R in a huge 250km/h crash.
The Spaniard, Suzuki's only MotoGP rider this year, fortunately walked away with just minor scratcꦅhes and bruises. Bautista had already completed 63 laps, the best of which was good enough for twelfth place.
"Up until the last 10 minutes of the🍨se 10 hours of testing, the two nights had been extremely productive for Alvaro and the ꦍRizla Suzuki team," said team manager Paul Denning.
"A 250km/h crash i🙈s never a good thing and the GSV-R that he was ridꦬing won't see the light of day again, but he is almost completely unmarked - so we can put that one down to good fortune and move on to the race weekend with optimism.
"The bike's performed consistently over the two nights, and whiཧlst we haven't pushed for a qualifying type lap-time, Alvaro's rhythm over the long runs is quite competitive and we'ꦯve got a good direction to start the grand prix weekend."
Bautista explained the fall as follows:
"I put a soft tyre in the rear and a hard in the front to try to make a good lap, but I tried to warm the tyres on the out lap so I could push hard and when I arrived in the last corner I braked very hard and lost the front, so I finished my day before the end of ♛the test!
"I am happy with the work from the two days because we have a very clear direction for next weekend. We are in a much stronger po🐬sition than a year ago and I'm looking forward to the race."

Peter has been in the paddoc💦k for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.