The last Dutch Grand Prix was a total success for an explosive Jack Miller, winner, but many others also hoped to win. There was Yonny Hernandez who experienced the exhilaration of leading, there was Danilo Petrucci who gave his all-round tour by crossing the finish line first in an interrupted race. But both ended up with hangovers. For Álvaro Bautista, it is the chalice that he drank to the dregs.
Because it was while he was completing his very last lap with a more than meritorious performance with his Aprilia that the Spaniard found himself on the ground. Starting fourteenth, he finished the first half tenth before finding himself down to sixth for the Dutch epilogue. His best result since his Aprilia adventure. A good performance when remembering the good memories of the paddock and maintaining the hope of continuing his career there since they are Sam Lowes et Aleix Espargaró who will be on the RS-GP for the next two campaigns.
The deal was in the bag. Except that in focus, there was a Ducati led by Iannone. A top 5 is even better than a sixth position. Álvaro therefore forced it. But the best has been the enemy of the good: “ everything went well during the first part of the race despite the conditions » says the teammate of a Bradl who finished eighth under the deluge of Assen. “ At the restart, I tried to stay calm, understand how the track was evolving lap after lap and find my rhythm ».
« I felt good even when Andrea Iannone passed me. It then created a small gap which I finally managed to reduce. I was very close to him on the last lap. Unfortunately I crashed, but in this situation the driver's instinct is to aim for the best possible result. I am sorry, above all for my entire team and for Aprilia. Moving forward is the only thing left to do now ». Alvaro Bautista is now sixteenth in the championship with 29 points.
