Rizla Suzuki's Alvaro Bautista has made a return to the seat of his Suzuki GSV-R, just two weeks after breaking his left femur in a high-speed crash.

The Spanish star visited his home Grand Prix in Jerez last weekend and, behind the closed doors of the team's pit-box, Bautista could not resist getting into the riding position on the prototype MotoGP machine after his crash at Qatar just 16 days earlier. Bautista climbed aboard the GSV-R and settled into a racing position on the stationary bike, accompanied by a typical big smile from him and a round of applause from his loyal crew.

Bautista is now undergoing an intensive recovery programme back in Madrid, including the use of a hyperbaric chamber to increase the oxygen flow in his body to aid the healing of his injury. Although no date for Bautista's full-time return to MotoGP is yet confirmed, he is working as hard as possible to be back on the grid at the earliest possible opportunity.


Alvaro Bautista:

"It was strange for me at Jerez last weekend, because I was at the race, but not in the race! Once I saw the bikes on Saturday sitting in the garage, I just had to try and sit on one of them. I tried very slowly to get on the seat, which was a bit difficult, but once I was on there the feeling was not too bad. The most difficult thing was getting on and off, but it was good for me to try because now I know which parts of my leg I have to work on to improve my flexibility and strength to be able to ride - it was a good test for me to find this out! The healing is coming along very well; my doctor says it is very quick, but for me it already seems too slow. The movement is almost normal and the inflammation is coming down, so I think that over the next week I will be a lot better than I am now and will be able to start training so that I can get racing again very soon."