Alvaro Bautista can’t wait to be pushing hard again. The Rizla Suzuki rider just posted a note on the Suzuki blog about his condition, his performance in Estoril, and his hope to be at 100% for the next round of the 2011 MotoGP season.
Bautista writes:
“It was great to be back on the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R in Portugal, but there were a couple of times when I was in the hospital in Qatar that I wondered if I would make it! When I knew the seriousness of the break I immediately set myself a target that I wanted to ride at Estoril; that was a huge target but one I knew I had to set so I could focus on getting back. After my operation I had a couple of complications and that's when I wondered if I'd get back in time, but I flew back to Spain and got everything sorted and was able to start recuperating properly.”
Bautista broke his femur at the opening round of the 2011 MotoGP season in Qatar. It took him less than two months to hop back on his GSV-R. Throughout the ordeal, Bautista has kept his hopes high and his humor on, joking that he leads the MotoGP in stitches this year.
“My healing process was a great success and then I was able start to get my fitness back so I could ride at Estoril,” Bautista continues. “I did a lot of swimming and cycling, and as the event got closer I was able to ride my Suzuki RM-Z Supermoto bike to help me get the feel of a bike again and although this is not like riding a 225bhp MotoGP bike, it did help a lot.
“All my hard work paid off because I was given the ok by my surgeon in Madrid to ride and then when I arrived at the track I had another check-up with the Chief Medical Officer and I was given the ok to get back out there and race: His one rule was that I couldn't use my crutch inside the garage or he'd come in and take it off me and stop me riding - so I had to hide it out the back because I still needed it for a bit of support!
Bautista’s return to Estoril was amazing, but it was obvious that the Suzuki rider was not at 100%. Bautista finished in 13th place, more than a minute behind the leaders. But Bautista knew he wasn’t fighting for the podium in Estoril. The Rizla Suzuki rider was just happy to get back on the track.
“The weekend went as well as I wanted it to - except for what happened in the race when I got pushed off the track - and now I have a couple of weeks ahead of me to get even fitter for the next race at Le Mans in the middle of May,” Bautista said. “My next target is to be fully-fit for my 'home' Grand Prix in Barcelona in early June and try to improve on the fifth place I got there last year.
“My thanks go out to all the fans that supported me and sent me well wishes on Twitter - it was great to know I had so much support. I also have to thank the Suzuki MotoGP and all the medical staff for believing in me and giving me all the help I needed to get back on time. There are still many races left this year and I can't wait to be pushing hard again very soon.”
[Photo Courtesy of Suzuki]
