"I will fight like Simoncelli"

Wearing a white riding suit with the number 58 emblazoned in red on the front, on a motorcycle also completely white except for a number 19 to identify him, Álvaro Bautista on Wednesday gunned the engine of the third official Team San Carlo Honda Gresini machine on the grid and in doing so stepped into the shoes of Marco Simoncelli, the charismatic Italian who was killed in an accident last month that rocked the sport.

It was the first time the Spanish rider had mounted the 800cc RC212V that had belonged to Hiroshi Aoyama and with him was Antonio Jiménez, the chief mechanic for the Japanese rider who will now work with Bautista at the MotoGP outfit.

The Spaniard's first contact with the Honda was able to go ahead courtesy of the Suzuki team he represented previously and with which he had a contract until the end of the year. Suzuki freed Bautista from his contract early on Wednesday, not only so he could sign the contract put on the table by Gresini, but also so that he could take advantage of the final day of testing at the Cheste circuit before the sport shuts up shop for winter.

The tragic loss of Simoncelli - who died in a freak accident at the Sepang circuit two weeks ago in the penultimate race of the season - has opened the doors to Bautista to bring forward his incorporation into what would have been his team in 2012 and delivered to him a bike that was destined for the Italian. Simoncelli had been designated the works' team rider for 2012 and had already tested the more powerful 1000cc machine for next year's souped-up MotoGP season.

"I'm very happy that Álvaro will ride the Honda RC213V. He is very fast, he has a great personality and he's a natural. I'm sure that he will fit in with the team fantastically and that we will share great experiences in the future," said Fausto Gresini, the team's owner.

"I am going to try and get the best results that I can, as much for the team as myself, but also to pay homage to Marco and fight as though as I was him. These past weeks have been difficult for Fausto but he told me that this has helped him to think about the future," said Bautista, who added that he felt very comfortable on the Honda. "I haven't had the chance to test the 1000cc but we have the whole winter is ahead of us and at least now I know what to expect when I get back on the bike. It was very important to get a few laps under my belt."

Bautista made the decision to leave Suzuki because the future of the Japanese team is unclear. "People will demand more of me now. Hopefully I can take that step forward and fight to get myself into the positions I think I deserve to be in," the 2006 125cc world championship winner said.