Jerez (Spain), 3 May 2015 – It was a positive weekend for Aprilia Racing Team Gresini at Jerez, the setting for the first 2015 MotoGP European race.

Finishing in fifteenth place and earning a point, Alvaro Bautista confirmed his good performance which earned him a spot on the fifth row of the starting grid during practice yesterday. And in the end the Spaniard had a few things to complain about with contact during the race and a problem with the brakes that kept him from doing better. With this result the Italian team strengthens its performance which brings it closer to the middle pack and that is the main objective at the moment. Melandri also showed improvement in the race, finishing in nineteenth place.

Romano Albesiano (Aprilia Racing Manager)
“Overall we’re taking home a very positive weekend, especially in terms of consistent performance and end results. After the qualifiers yesterday the race was also decidedly positive. It’s a shame that there were a couple problems, a race incident and a technical problem with the brakes that slowed Alvaro down. The feeling has also improved significantly and I’m pleased for Marco as well, who took a giant step forward in the race, gaining more confidence. The entire Jerez weekend has left us more optimistic for the rest of the season.”

Fausto Gresini (Team Manager)
“I’m very happy with the result today. With Bautista we managed to start from a good position even if we did lose the advantage straight away. In fact, in the third turn Alvaro made contact with someone in the pack and had to sit the bike up which cost him a few positions. Without that incident he probably would have been able to do better. In any case it was a good race and now our goal is to earn points so we are satisfied. Melandri’s performance is also positive, with him taking a step forward compared to Argentina. These are all positive signs, even if we obviously know that there is still a lot of work to do.”