Aspar Team rider Alvaro Bautista is set to hit a milestone at Silverstone, making his 250th race start some fifteen years on from his debut as a 125cc wildcard at the Spanish GP in 2002.

And the tally won’t stop there, having been recently announced as remaining with his team for 2018.

Since that first foray onto the world stage, Bautista has achieved a world title in the 125cc class in 2006 and taken sixteen wins and 49 podiums across all classes – meaning a podium finish in a fifth of the races he’s started. In addition, 42 of those 49 podiums were taken with the Aspar outfit - and it’s a tally the Spaniard would love to add to this weekend at Silverstone.

With a strong record at the track making for good reading ahead of the event, Bautista’s 2017 campaign also has some great highlight, including top fives and frontrunning pace. At the British GP, the Spaniard has his sights set on giving himself less work to do on race day - with practice pace a particular point of focus.

"After Austria, where we had problems on Friday and Saturday but were able to improve in the race by going back to the base setting," Said the Spaniard "the plan for Silverstone is to try not to overcomplicate things in practice and maintain a steady progression so that we go into Sunday with the best possible set-up and the confidence of having everything in its place."

"It is a fun track, one of the longest on the calendar, with several direction changes, so we need an agile bike." He added

"We will also have to keep an eye on the weather because it can change in no time, so we will have to make the most of each dry session to perfect the set-up. We are determined to be competitive this weekend and to run with the front guys from the start."

"We are showing that we have good potential but we need to be faster in practice to make sure we are in the best possible shape for the race. The team and I are very motivated and excited about going to Silverstone."

source: motogp.com