Bautista keeps on rolling in Dutch 250cc session

Barcelona racewinner Álvaro Bautista kept up his momentum on day one in Assen, riding fastest off all the 250cc riders in the class’ first outing in the Netherlands. The Mapfre Aspar rider is chasing his fourth pole position of the year, and set himself up well with a 1’40.617 lap.

He was the only rider to break into the 1’40s in the sunny afternoon run, although fellow Spaniard Héctor Barberá came within two-thousandths of a second of joining him. The Pepeworld man was second quickest, with Mike di Meglio, Alex Debón and Mattia Pasini the only riders within a second of Bautista’s crushing fast lap.

Pasini’s participation this weekend had been in doubt after a financial wrangle between his Team Toth outfit and bike supplier Aprilia, but a last-minute deal allowed the Italian to appear for the opening session.

Marco Simoncelli’s Barcelona woes continued in Assen with another crash for the reigning World Champion. The Metis Gilera rider –yesterday confirmed as a MotoGP entrant for 2010- lost the front end of his bike midway through the session, and was forced to sit by and watch as his mechanics looked to repair the machine.