Alvaro Bautista and Suzuki have announced that they will part company for 2012.

Suzuki, although not yet confirmed, look likely to run a team in the 2012 MotoGP season and will start the season using their existing 800cc bike.

Randy De Puniet could potentially be in the frame as a replacement for Bautista. De Puniet has yet to confirm his plans for next season, but he had a storming test on the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R yesterday by posting the 4th fastest time (ahead of some of the new 1000cc machines).

Álvaro Bautista:
“I am very sad to be leaving Suzuki after the two great years that I have had here. It has been a great team to work in and I have learnt a lot of things from everyone in the team. It was a fantastic experience working with an English/Japanese team and we have become like a big family, except we have never had any arguments and no-one falls out with each other! I want to thank everybody personally for the last two years, sometimes it has been difficult, but nobody ever gave up and I felt like I always had their full support and commitment. I don’t feel like I am leaving a team, but a group of friends that I hope I will know for a long time. I want to say a special thank-you to Tom, Paul, Ken san and Sahara san, and wish them and the rest of the team all the best for the future.”

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He may not yet officially have a ride for 2012, but Randy De Puniet has been lined up for a test with the Rizla Suzuki team at Valencia. The goal is to get a fresh pair of eyes on the Suzuki GSV-R.

Here is the official Rizla Suzuki Press Release:

Rizla Suzuki has given the opportunity to Randy de Puniet to ride the GSV-R at today’s Valencian post-season test.

De Puniet will join the team this afternoon for a shakedown and comparison test to assess the potential of the GSV-R from another rider’s perspective. Rizla Suzuki has worked with Álvaro Bautista in a single rider team this season, with the exception of a couple of wild-card appearances for John Hopkins, and it is accepted as a good opportunity by the team and the Suzuki factory to get another rider’s feedback during the final test of 2011

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Cal Crutchlow secured the Rookie of the Year title after securing 4th place at the Valencian MotoGP.

Crutchlow started the race from 11th on the grid, but found himself running in the top 5 after Alvaro Bautista’s crash took out Hayden, Rossi, and De Puniet.

Crutchlow then found himself locked in battle with Karel Abraham, the only other rider in contention for the Rookie of the Year title. The battle lasted until the very last lap and it ended when Abraham struck the rear of Crutchlow’s bike and crashed off into the dirt.

Crutchlow will now remain in Valencia for the testing session that begins on Tuesday, where he will get his first taste of the Yamaha 1000cc, and will team up with his new Tech 3 team-mate, Andrea Dovizioso, for the first time.

Cal Crutchlow gives his thoughts on the Valencia MotoGP below:

Cal Crutchlow 4th – 70 points:
“That was a pretty dramatic way to finish the season and I am obviously thrilled to win the Rookie of the Year title. But I’m equally happy to have finished in fourth place because that was an incredibly difficult race. I’m not sure what happened at the first corner but I came out of it in sixth place and just pushed as hard as I could. It was a really intense battle with Karel right to the end and both of us were giving it everything we had. The track was so greasy it felt like you could crash so easily and when the rain started getting heavier I just got my head down again and kept pushing. I started to catch Dani really fast and I wasn’t sure if he had a problem or whether I was pushing too hard. I slowed down because of that and Karel caught me back up, so it came down to the last lap and he obviously made a small mistake. He hit me from behind but I managed to stay on and to finish the season with my best ever result is a great way to start planning for 2012. This year has been an incredible learning experience and we have a lot to work on for next season, but I feel confident I can make the step to the next level. I can hold my held up high and now I am looking forward to getting my first experience of the Yamaha 1000cc bike on Tuesday.”

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Another Casey Stoner MotoGP victory isn’t really much of a surprise, but the manner by which this one came about was.

From the start, Stoner marched off into the distance away from the rest of the riders, but the real action was happenning behind him – a crash on the straight immediately after the start saw Alvaro Bautista take out Valentino Rossi, Nicky Hayden, and Randy De Puniet before the riders had even got round the first turn.

After the chaos had settled, the main action came from Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso who were both fighting for second place in the race, and third in the Championship standings. Ben Spies soon caught up and joined the battle.

When the rain came in the closing laps, Spies managed to take on both Pedrosa and Dovizioso, and then started closing down Casey Stoner. A brave charge in wet conditions saw Spies take the lead from Stoner with two laps to go.

Spies maintained his lead, with Stoner following hotly behind, but the Yamaha rider seemed to have done enough to secure the win as he came round the final turn onto the home straight. However, Stoner got a better run out of the corner and with a little bit of extra Honda grunt, he managed to draw level with Spies, before crossing the line only 0.015 seconds ahead of him.

Andrea Dovizioso claimed third in the race, giving him third place in the Championship standing. Cal Crutchlow took fourth position after a long battle with Karel Abraham, securing his best MotoGP finish and the Rookie of the Year title.

MotoGP race results from Valencia:

1. Casey Stoner Honda 48m18.645s
2. Ben Spies Yamaha + 0.015s
3. Andrea Dovizioso Honda + 5.936s
4. Cal Crutchlow Tech 3 Yamaha + 8.718s
5. Dani Pedrosa Honda + 9.321s
6. Katsuyuki Nakasuga Yamaha + 23.818s
7. Josh Hayes Tech 3 Yamaha + 33.118s
8. Karel Abraham Cardion Ducati + 37.952s
9. Loris Capirossi Pramac Ducati + 48.953s
10. Toni Elias LCR Honda + 52.501s
11. Hector Barbera Aspar Ducati + 1m06.519s
12. Hiroshi Aoyama Gresini Honda + 1m08.760s

Retirements:

Alvaro Bautista Suzuki 0 laps
Randy de Puniet Pramac Ducati 0 laps
Nicky Hayden Ducati 0 laps
Valentino Rossi Ducati 0 laps

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This is the official video footage of the trinute to Marco Simoncelli that took place at Valencia.

Riders from all three categories of the World Championship were invited to depart from Pit Lane as a group, and complete a lap of the track in honour of Simoncelli.

The procession was led by former World Champion Kevin Schwantz riding at the head of the group on board Simoncelli’s San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V bike.

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