---
title: "Bautista takes season-best seventh in Motegi"
canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2016/10/16/bautista-takes-season-best-seventh-motegi/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Lewis Duncan"
section: "MotoGP News"
published: "2016-10-16T14:59:12Z"
modified: "2016-10-16T14:59:12Z"
---

# Bautista takes season-best seventh in Motegi

Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Alvaro Bautitsa took the chequered flag at the end of today’s 24-lap Japanese Grand Prix in a season-best seventh spot, further confirming the Italian manufacturer’s improvements with the RS-GP.

The Spaniard didn’t enjoy the best of Friday’s, struggling throughout practice to find confidence on his bike at the Motegi circuit. Saturday saw a major improvement, and Bautista made it through to QP2 for the second time this season, marking Aprilia’s third successive QP2 appearance in the process.

The Spaniard got off the line well from 12th on the grid and immediately found himself inside the top 10 after picking off the two Pramac riders, Scott Redding and Danilo Petrucci. Bautista then set about chasing down Tech 3’s Pol Espargaro, though the Yamaha rider proved too far out of reach for the Spaniard.

Lapping consistently and competitively to the chequered flag, Bautista crossed the line only eight seconds adrift of Cal Crutchlow on the LCR Honda in fifth place. The Spaniard now wants to continue this form through the final three races and end the season on a high before departing for the Aspar team next year.

“A good race, the best result so far with Aprilia. Of course, the crashes gave us a couple of positions, but that is all part of racing,” Bautista said.

“I am especially satisfied with the work done this weekend. After not having good sensations on Friday, we were able to recover, going through to Q2. We showed that we can be fast on tracks with very different characteristics: from Misano, twisting, to Motegi with a lot of hard braking and acceleration sections. This is important as it shows that we have taken a step forward on all fronts. We will try to confirm this in the coming races. I want to finish the season in the best possible way.”