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BAUTISTA EDGES APRILIA CLOSER TO GLORY APRILIA’S Alvaro Bautista claimed his second podium in the space of eight days as he overcame the punishing heat of Sepang to finish third in today’s Malaysian 125 GP. After finishing third in the first-ever Qatar GP last weekend, the Seedorf Aprilia Racing emulated that performance at the challenging 5.548km circuit to lift himself into fifth place in the world championship standings. He also helped Aprilia to the brink of winning the all-important constructor world championship. The Noale factory has 291-points after 14 rounds of the season, an advantage of 35-points with just two races remaining. Bautista made a sluggish start from 13th place on the grid and at the end of the first lap he’d given himself a tough task having dropped down to 16th. With some calculated overtaking moves though, he claimed five places on the second lap. By lap four he’d already latched onto the back of a pack challenging for third place, with Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso already clear at the front. With air temperatures peaking at 35 degrees, Bautista continued his charge through the field and by lap nine he was chasing down fellow Aprilia rider Roberto Locatelli, who had claimed third on the previous lap. Bautista moved by Locatelli on lap 10 and then began to make an immediate break, even though track temperatures peaked at 56 degrees. That had a dramatic impact on lap times, with the pace considerably slower than practice and qualifying. He eventually claimed third with a comfortable five-second gap over Locatelli. Bautista said: “It was a very tough race because of the heat and the grip was less than yesterday. But I am very happy to have got on the podium again. The bike worked well and I’m really looking forward to making it three podiums on the trot in Phillip Island this weekend.” Locatelli reclaimed second position in the world championship standings as he finished fourth. He is only two-points ahead of Spaniard Hector Barbera, who suffered another disappointing race. Barbera made a flying start and led from the first corner. But a lap later exiting the tricky turn two, he crashed out and was unable to rejoin the action.
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