2011 MotoGP
Alvaro Bautista arrived in Portugal with high expectations of competing in round 3 of the 2011 MotoGP Championship this weekend.
And the sole Suzuki rider’s expectations were satisfied Thursday after the Spaniard passed a medical exam, which allows him to race in Estoril MotoGP. This comes 41 days after Bautista broke his leg during practice for the opening round in Qatar.
Alvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki GSV-R) says: “I am really pleased I have been given the ok to ride, but I must now see what it feels like to get on a MotoGP bike.
“I have done a bit of Supermotard riding and that felt good, but that is nothing like riding the GSV-R. I will see how things go tomorrow morning and we will make a decision about the rest of the weekend after that.”
Bautista will be on the track Friday morning for the first-free practice, where he will assess his own on-bike fitness, Rizla Suzuki reports. If Bautista isn’t up to par to ride, Rizla Suzuki factory test rider Nobuatsu Aoki will substitute.
Following the Qatar crash, Bautista had a pin inserted into his femur. He missed Qatar and the subsequent round in Jerez; the American John “Hopper” Hopkins filled in for Bautista, taking 10th at a wet, crash-filled Spanish GP in Jerez.
