Spanish 250cc star Álvaro Bautista spoke to motogp.com about his move into MotoGP with Suzuki in 2010.

Suzuki Motor Corporation’s announcement late on Sunday night at the conclusion of the Brno weekend that they have signed Álvaro Bautista for 2010 ended a lengthy period of speculation about the Spanish rider’s future.

As the 24 year-old rider told motogp.com, “There were a lot of rumours about my future for a long time and in the end there were two clear options, Aspar and Suzuki. Obviously I wanted some of the details of the Aspar MotoGP project to be finalised before making my decision because I’m very happy with the team in 250cc. So between Donington (when Aspar confirmed their Ducati MotoGP deal) and Brno I was able to fully weigh up the pros and cons. It was a really difficult decision but going to Suzuki means I am with a factory team and from a sporting perspective that is what I wanted, so that was my choice.”

Given his high profile and undoubted talent Bautista had plenty of options for his move into the big time, with many expecting him to stay with Aspar in their new Ducati MotoGP project, but the former 125cc World Champion has elected to go with a more established premier class structure in the form of Rizla Suzuki.

“In terms of my expectations for next year, I’m still not sure yet as I am still focusing on 250cc. I know that everything will be new and I will be working with people I don’t know, the majority of them being English. I come from a mainly Spanish and Italian team so that will be a big change and then of course the bike will be totally different. We will have to work very hard in the pre-season to adapt. If (Loris) Capirossi is my team-mate I think that would be a big bonus for me, as he is Italian, with a similar personality to me, a very nice guy with so much experience and someone to learn a lot from.”

Asked what his current Aspar employers made of his decision to join Suzuki, Bautista replied, “Well I think they understand it but they don’t agree with it. Jorge (Martínez) wanted me to be his MotoGP rider and after four years together in 125cc and 250cc it is a shame not to be going into MotoGP together from a professional perspective, but I have made a choice which I believe is correct for me. Jorge is a great person and the whole team are extremely focused, they respect my decision.”

“As Jorge told me, ‘that’s what will happen next year, but we still have a lot of work to do this year!’,” added Bautista.

Meanwhile, giving the Suzuki perspective on signing Bautista, team boss Paul Denning stated, “We are very happy to have signed Álvaro Bautista for next season and we’re excited about the plans. He is still currently contracted with Mr Martínez and the Aspar team though so we don’t want to say too much at this stage as he has to focus on his job to become the 250cc World Champion.”