bwin GRANDE PREMIO DE PORTUGAL MotoGP Qualifying Practice Classification 2011

Estoril, Saturday, April 30, 2011

Pos.	Num.	Rider	Nation	Team	Bike	Km/h	Time	Gap 1st/Prev.
1	1	Jorge LORENZO	SPA	Yamaha Factory Racing	Yamaha	298.3	1'37.161
2	58	Marco SIMONCELLI	ITA	San Carlo Honda Gresini	Honda	305.3	1'37.294	0.133 / 0.133
3	26	Dani PEDROSA	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	302.1	1'37.324	0.163 / 0.030
4	27	Casey STONER	AUS	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	300.3	1'37.384	0.223 / 0.060
5	11	Ben SPIES	USA	Yamaha Factory Racing	Yamaha	307.3	1'37.866	0.705 / 0.482
6	4	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	298.8	1'38.073	0.912 / 0.207
7	5	Colin EDWARDS	USA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	299.8	1'38.080	0.919 / 0.007
8	35	Cal CRUTCHLOW	GBR	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	298.8	1'38.189	1.028 / 0.109
9	46	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Ducati Team	Ducati	301.4	1'38.271	1.110 / 0.082
10	8	Hector BARBERA	SPA	Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP	Ducati	292.4	1'38.363	1.202 / 0.092
11	7	Hiroshi AOYAMA	JPN	San Carlo Honda Gresini	Honda	296.5	1'38.497	1.336 / 0.134
12	17	Karel ABRAHAM	CZE	Cardion AB Motoracing	Ducati	285.5	1'38.786	1.625 / 0.289
13	69	Nicky HAYDEN	USA	Ducati Team	Ducati	306.0	1'38.922	1.761 / 0.136
14	65	Loris CAPIROSSI	ITA	Pramac Racing Team	Ducati	305.3	1'38.934	1.773 / 0.012
15	19	Alvaro BAUTISTA	SPA	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	Suzuki	293.9	1'39.172	2.011 / 0.238
16	14	Randy DE PUNIET	FRA	Pramac Racing Team	Ducati	295.9	1'39.378	2.217 / 0.206
17	24	Toni ELIAS	SPA	LCR Honda MotoGP	Honda	307.9	1'39.894	2.733 / 0.516

Weather Conditions:

  |   Track Condition: Dry|   Air: 18º| Humidity: 53%|   Ground: 26º

Records:

Fastest Lap:	Lap: 26	Jorge LORENZO	1'37.161	155.0 Km/h
Circuit Record Lap:	2009	Dani PEDROSA	1'36.937	155.3 Km/h
Best Lap:	2008	Jorge LORENZO	1'35.715	157.3 Km/h

Lorenzo snatches pole position at Estoril

Saturday, 30 April 2011

Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) took his first pole position of the season for the bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal after Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) had looked the likely pole sitter until a late crash. Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa took the last spot on the front row.

With dark clouds looming over the circuit, it was race winner from Jerez, Lorenzo who claimed his 17th MotoGP pole and the 43rd in his career. The Yamaha rider’s win in Spain was the 15th time he had stood on the top step on the podium, matched Alex Criville’s record of the most wins by a Spanish rider in the premier class. This is a circuit where the Mallorcan has won the last three races from pole position.
The pole position lap time of 1’37.161 was just over one tenth faster than his nearest challenger Simoncelli. After dominating both Friday practices, the Italian rider had continued to lead the timing screens throughout the qualifying hour until he was pipped by the reigning World Champion in the final five minutes. Simoncelli then was on a lap which was a third of a second up on the Yamaha when he crashed into turn 7 which ruled out the possibility of the 24 year old fighting to regain top spot.
The top four riders were separated between 0.223s, with the Repsol Honda duo of Pedrosa and Casey Stoner in third and fourth. The Spaniard’s second place in Jerez was the 90th time he has stood on the rostrum in Grand Prix racing where as Stoner was victim to a much publicised crash at the previous race. The Australian crashed out of this race last season whilst hunting down the leading pack and will be looking to get back into contention for this year’s title in the race tomorrow.
Lorenzo’s Yamaha Factory Racing team mate Ben Spies was fifth fastest, ahead of the third Repsol Honda rider, Andrea Dovizioso on the second row. The Italian won here in 2006 in the 250cc category and was on the rostrum here last season.
The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 duo of Colin Edwards and Cal Crutchlow were seventh and eighth respectively on the third row. The American was seventh in Portugal last year, but less than four seconds away from a spot on the rostrum. Crutchlow was only a tenth off his team mate on his first appearance at the Estoril circuit in his debut MotoGP season.
The highest placed Ducati was the rider with the best record at the circuit. Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team), who has had ten podium finishes here, was ninth quickest and just edged out the second Ducati of Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar Team). The top ten riders were within 1.202s of each other. Rossi’s team mate

Capirossi heads damp final practice in Portugal

Saturday, 30 April 2011

Pramac Racing’s Loris Capirossi led the final practice for this weekend’s bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal. The most experienced rider in the class finished ahead of Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) and Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team).

Estoril 2011 - MotoGP - FP3 - Highlights

The Italian produced the best time of the final session before qualifying. His lap time of 1’44:515 was just over half a second quicker than current championship leader, Lorenzo. Capirossi has had two rostrum finishes here at Estoril back in 2001 and 2003.
After rain overnight, the MotoGP class were greeted to damp conditions at the circuit and even though there was no rain falling, times were around six seconds off the best set on Friday. In a quiet third practice, the riders initially came out on the wet tyres, but towards the latter stages, most riders attempted the slicks.
Reigning World Champion Lorenzo (+0.564s) who has been in the top four in all three practice sessions, was second, one place ahead of Hayden (+1.440). The American has had mixed results here at Estoril after nearly losing the world title in 2006 after being knocked off by his then team mate, Dani Pedrosa.
The second Ducati Team rider, Valentino Rossi, who has achieved ten podiums at Estoril in his career,  was in fourth (+1.966s), just ahead of his rival, Casey Stoner. The Australian (+3.161s) was the fastest Repsol Honda rider in fifth, with Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa in sixth and seventh respectively.

Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden start well in Portugal

Friday, 29 April 2011

The rain that was forecast for the first day of practice at the Estoril Grand Prix arrived, but fortunately for the MotoGP riders, both sessions took place in dry conditions. After a nighttime shower, the weather granted a respite until shortly after the finish of the premier class’ 45 minute second free-practice session of the top class.

Rossi discusses Portugal pace

The rain that was forecast for the first day of practice at the Estoril Grand Prix arrived, but fortunately for the MotoGP riders, both sessions took place in dry conditions. After a nighttime shower, the weather granted a respite until shortly after the finish of the premier class’ 45 minute second free-practice session of the top class.
It was a good day for both Ducati Team riders, with Valentino Rossi fourth and Nicky Hayden ninth, making progressive improvement from the morning to the afternoon. The Italian rider improved his time by approximately five tenths, while the American actually dropped a second and a half from his earlier time.
Valentino Rossi:
“I’m pretty satisfied with how the day went. Let’s start with my physical condition, which I’m very happy with: I was obviously aware of being a little better when I arrived here, but I wanted to wait until I tested my shoulder on the track, which confirmed that I’m able to ride well and have fun. It still hurts a little, and I’m missing a little strength, but the difference compared to my left shoulder is less. I can concentrate on riding the bike, and when watching myself on television, I can see that my style is starting to be a little more normal. Naturally, we’re also working on the bike. Today we used a different weight distribution and some changes to the electronics that worked well. For the first time, we went faster in the afternoon session than in the morning. We dropped almost half a second, getting us closer to the top. I still have some problems with rear grip, so tomorrow we have to do better, but I’m happy for now.”
Nicky Hayden:
“This morning was not a good session at all, but the afternoon was a lot better. We had a problem with one bike in FP1. I’m not sure what happened, but we’ll send the engine back to Bologna to check it out. I went back out at the end, but we used hard tyres because I didn’t want to waste another soft tyre, since it looks like it will be a soft-tyre race this weekend. Also, I had just gone out with a new setting, and since I only did about four corners, we got no information on that. We lost some valuable time, but this afternoon went better—not spectacular, but pretty steady. I was in the top ten for most of the session, and I had a decent feeling with the bike—I would say better than what the lap time shows. I’m sure everybody thinks they can do better tomorrow, but I feel like we can do a good job and try to get in a good lap in qualifying, which is going to be really important.”

Pedrosa positive, Stoner and Dovizioso unhappy

Friday, 29 April 2011

The Repsol Honda riders’ had mixed performances after the two Friday practice sessions for the bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal. Dani Pedrosa finished third quickest, with Casey Stoner in fifth and Andrea Dovizioso in 12th.

After the extended break following the race in Jerez, MotoGP returned to Estoril. It was a Honda that led the way in both practice sessions, but it was Marco Simoncelli for San Carlo Honda Gresini Team who was the initial pace setter. Stoner was second fastest in the morning, but missed a lot of track time throughout the day due to bike issues, which then dropped him to fifth in the second session.
Pedrosa was positive after his first day on the bike after his surgery and was consistent with the third quickest laps in both practices. Dovizioso wasn’t happy after finishing sixth in the morning session and then a further six places lower with 12th in the afternoon, after struggling with the feeling of the front end.
Casey Stoner, Repsol Honda
"To be honest I'm not very happy with how the day has gone. We had a few small issues with the bike that took quite a lot of time out of our sessions today. We could have had a much more productive day than we did, as we didn't really find any improvements. We have to wait for tomorrow and hope for some dry weather, because at this moment we're not too happy with the setting of the bike. We need to improve it a little under the braking point and in the middle of the corner, where we seem to be struggling to get the bike to turn, so if there is some good weather tomorrow, we should be able to improve the situation and not be so far off".
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda
"I think the first day of practice has been positive, it's the first race after a major operation, so it's only logical that I feel sore and I understand that with a little more time and treatment this will disappear. The pain I feel are some cramps which are caused by tension I have in the shoulder area. The last round of laps this afternoon, I wanted to extend a little longer to see how I felt, but I made seven laps in a row, which would be about 15 minutes. This is not enough to make a definitive judgement. If it rains tomorrow, it will be important to have a positive practice to get a good position on the grid".
Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda
“Today I had two difficult practice sessions and I can’t be happy. I had no feeling with the front so we made several runs to test the modifications, but the situation in general didn’t improve in the afternoon. I struggled to make lap times. Today was dry and I hope that tomorrow we can continue to work in the same conditions. According to the weather forecast, it should rain and this would complicate the situation”.

The 'Federação de Motociclismo de Portugal' rewards Carmelo Ezpeleta

Friday, 29 April 2011

The 'Federação de Motociclismo of Portugal' which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2010, had the pleasure of presenting the Medal of Merit motorcycles to Mr. Carmelo Ezpeleta during the second European round of the 2011 FIM MotoGP World Championship in Estoril.

The Portuguese Motorcycling Federation wishes to thank the key international leaders for their support in organizing successful motorcycle events in Portugal.
Jorge Viegas, ‘Federação de Motociclismo de Portugal’ President said:" Our Federation and the Estoril Circuit are indebted to Carmelo Ezpeleta, who has helped and supported us since 1999. He has greatly contributed to the success of our MotoGP events in Portugal. On behalf of 'Federação de Motociclismo de Portugal', I am proud and pleased to present the Medal of Motorcyclist Merit to Carmelo Ezpeleta for his support throughout these years. To give him this award here in Estoril is also symbolic, as it was with a round of the FIM World Road Racing Championship here that we reopened this circuit in 2000".
Carmelo Ezpeleta, Dorna Sports SL CEO, said: "It's a great honour to receive this prestigious medal of merit from the Federação de Motociclismo de Portugal. Working alongside the Federação has been instrumental in making the Portuguese Grand Prix a great success, with crowd figures continually increasing since the first edition of the event. The 20th anniversary of the FMP is the perfect opportunity to highlight the excellent work done in Estoril - the circuit has provided some great action to all MotoGP fans. I’m thrilled with this award and look forward to another successful race this weekend."

Lorenzo and Spies wanting improvements

Friday, 29 April 2011

Yamaha Factory Racing Riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies had mixed fortunes after the first day of practice sessions for the bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal, with the Spanish rider finishing second quickest and the American eighth.

The current championship leader Lorenzo, was fourth fastest in the morning session and progressed to second in the afternoon, just 0.061s off Marco Simoncelli’s fastest lap. The Mallorcan was able to split the Honda’s of Simoncelli and Dani Pedrosa and set consistently quick laps throughout both sessions on day one. After winning in Jerez, the 23 year old is hoping for a dry race this weekend and to improve the braking on his Yamaha ahead of qualifying tomorrow.
Spies came off his bike in first practice and finished in eighth place in both sessions. The 26 year old believes the performance is there within the bike, but more work is required on the set-up to try and compete at the front in the race, whether it be wet or dry.
Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha Factory Racing
"My feeling is good because we have always been in the first positions. In the morning we finished fourth, in the afternoon second. We are close to the first rider. We have to improve a little with our bike, especially with the braking and in particular the first sector of the track. If we can improve this, maybe we can be closer to the top. I hope the weather stays dry but we are prepared for anything. Obviously we prefer the dry then the wet conditions. To be honest, the pole position is not my goal. My aim is to finish the race on the podium. If we can’t, then we will just to try to finish. The important thing is not to crash and to get some points."
Ben Spies, Yamaha Factory Racing
"It hasn’t been a perfect day, we have struggled a little bit. We went out this afternoon to try and get a feel for the harder tyre. We don’t think that’s the way for the race tyre. We never got the chance to put the soft tyre back on as we were trying different settings. We’re not close to the front but we’re going to find our way back up there and get faster. I’m pretty confident that me and my guys can step up for sure. We just had two off sessions. I think it’s going to be the same for everybody if it rains. I don’t think it will change much as the fast guys will still be fast in the rain and in the dry. Rain or shine, I’m really not too worried about it. I’ve had some seat time on the bike in the wet, but we would always rather ride in the dry because it’s a little bit safer, but for me it doesn’t make too much of a difference. To be in the top two rows for the start is where we need to be. The guys are looking at all the data and are seeing what they can do to make the bike better."

Bautista shows true grit on first day in Portugal

Friday, 29 April 2011

Rizla Suzuki’s Álvaro Bautista made an astonishing comeback to MotoGP action at Estoril in Portugal today just six weeks after breaking his left femur in Qatar.

Bautista has made an amazing recovery to be fit enough to ride at this weekend’s event. The Spaniard showed a true racer’s courage around the 4,182m Portuguese circuit to complete today’s two sessions. After finishing the first free practice session this morning - with a time only three-hundredths-of-a-second behind his best lap-time from last year at Estoril – Bautista made a further step-up in his performance during the afternoon session. He finished the first day’s practice only two-and-a-half- seconds away from the quickest rider of the day – Marco Simoncelli on a Honda - and almost half-of-a-second inside his best time from 2010.
Bautista had no ill-effects from the serious injury he suffered last month and will rest his leg this evening after receiving some physiotherapy from the Clinica Mobile. He is eager to make sure that he is a fit as possible for tomorrow’s final free practice in the morning and the afternoon’s qualifying session and is in a good condition for Sunday.
Álvaro Bautista:
“I am very happy because I think that nobody expected that after little more than one month I would be able to jump on the bike and ride! When I broke my femur my target was to ride here and I worked very hard to make it happen. I did many kilometers every day between Talavera and Madrid, for my visits to the hyperbaric chamber and for the physiotherapy that I needed - now I can say that I am here and I am riding because of that! I am still not 100%, because I need some more power in my leg, but to be able to ride and get a feeling for the bike and the reference points around the track in my mind to be a MotoGP rider, I am certainly fit enough. I went one second faster this afternoon than I did this morning and my feeling on the bike was very similar, I was just a bit more confident so I could push more. I didn’t want to risk anything today, it was all about riding and getting a feeling – I didn’t want to push too hard to find that fast lap-time. I am improving every time I get on the bike so that makes things look good for the rest of the weekend. My leg is a bit stiff now so I will need to recover and get a bit of work on it this evening, but it recovered quickly after this morning’s session, so I don’t think that will be a problem. I think my body is also remembering how to ride a MotoGP bike as well as my mind is, so that is a very positive thing.”
“I want to say a big thank-you to all the team for all the confidence they have shown in me. They all know that it is difficult for me to get to my maximum level, but they have given me their full support – so thanks to all of them for that.”
Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“Performance is usually only measured by lap-time and position, but today’s performance by Álvaro rates amongst the best we’ve seen at Rizla Suzuki over the last few years. The effort and commitment that he has made to get his body into a good enough condition to ride a Grand Prix bike in such a short time is simply outstanding - he needs to be applauded for his bravery! We didn’t use the softer rear tyre this afternoon, which was undoubtedly the one needed to improve the lap-time, because Álvaro simply concentrated on getting the feeling back and recovering his confidence – we have to remember that the last time he was on the bike was not a particularly pleasant experience! The decision to ride this weekend was wholly Álvaro’s and so far it has proven to be the right one. Today was the first step in his recovery back to a competitive level.”
Press release courtesy of Rizla Suzuki

Simoncelli happy after topping the timesheets on day one

Friday, 29 April 2011

San Carlo Honda Gresini Team’s Marco Simoncelli was fastest in both practice sessions on Friday for the bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal, despite a crash in the afternoon.

Simoncelli happy after a `great day´

After the disappointment of crashing whilst leading the race in Jerez, the 24 year old dominated both first and second practice, to finish ahead of fellow Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner. Simoncelli was consistently quick on a circuit where he has enjoyed good results in the past. His best result of his debut season was here at Estoril with a fourth place. The rider from Cattolica was happy with his set-up after improvements were made from earlier in the day and is confident of continuing enhancements throughout the weekend.
Marco Simoncelli, San Carlo Honda Gresini Team
“Yes today is a great day of course for me because I started the morning very fast. We continued this into the afternoon. We did some work on our set-up and made some modifications to the chassis and everything is working good. We still need to improve the grip in the first corner for the maximum angle, this is the main problem. This morning we had some problems with the brakes but we solved the issue, not completely but a very good step forward. I’m happy and confident with the set-up of my bike.”

Simoncelli fastest again in FP2

Friday, 29 April 2011

San Carlo Honda Gresini Team’s Marco Simoncelli was quickest for the second practice for the bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal after also topping the timesheets in FP1. The Honda rider got the better of reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda).

Estoril 2011 - MotoGP - FP2 - Highlights

The Italian lost the front end of his Honda going into Turn 3 midway through the second session so had to jump onto his second machine, but he was never headed. The 24 year-old won at this circuit back in 2009 in the former 250cc class and will be aiming for his maiden podium finish this weekend, after missing out on the opportunity at Jerez in the previous round.
The second session of the day – in the afternoon – was run in much hotter temperatures underneath the Portuguese sunshine. The MotoGP class just missed out on the rain which began to fall at the end of the 45-minute practice, and all 17 riders improved on their earlier times to end the day spread across 2.510s.
Reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) who has won from pole position at Estoril for the previous three seasons was consistently quick throughout the day and finished with a deficit of just 0.061s to Simoncelli. The 23 year-old was 0.003s faster than his rival Dani Pedrosa in third. The Repsol Honda rider has yet to win in any category at this circuit and it is one of only four venues the Spaniard has been unable to achieve victory at.
Finishing on identical lap times of 1’38.102 were Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) and Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda) after their much talked about coming together from the last race in Jerez. The Italian has had five wins here in the premier class, whilst the Australian is yet to take victory in the premier class at Estoril.
Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) was again solidly in the top ten, keen to put the disappointment of Jerez behind him. The American has had two fourth places here, in 2006 and 2008, which are his best results at this circuit. Rookie Karel Abraham (Cardion ab Motoracing) was seventh quickest, and the Czech rider finished in 10th place here last season in the Moto2 race.
Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) has not had a happy time so far at this venue after crashing on the sighting lap in 2010. After a run off in first practice in the morning, the Yamaha rider was eighth fastest, 0.9s off Simoncelli’s best time.
The final two places in the top went to two Ducati machines. Ninth was Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) who will be hoping to achieve the first win for Ducati at this circuit. Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar Team), who had his best ever finish in MotoGP thanks to his sixth place in Jerez, was tenth quickest in FP2. The ten riders were covered by less than a second.
Making his return to action was Rizla Suzuki rider Álvaro Bautista, who completed both the practice sessions in his first MotoGP action since breaking his left femur in Qatar.

Simoncelli leads a Honda top three in FP1

Friday, 29 April 2011

San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli made a positive start to his weekend for the bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal by setting the early pace in the first practice at Estoril. Repsol Honda riders Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa were second and third quickest in a closely fought session.

Estoril 2011 - MotoGP - FP1 - Highlights

The Italian was fastest after his disappointment of crashing out whilst leading the wet race in Spain. The 24 year-old’s best time of 1’38.032 was an advantage of 0.209s over the Australian after collecting the quickest time of FP1 in the dying moments.
At the undulating circuit in Portugal, the weather predictions had suggested variable conditions but the first practice of the weekend for the MotoGP class was run in cloudy and humid conditions. After a three-week break after Jerez, many riders were returning to the track following surgery from injuries.
Stoner had a problem with a loose cable in the early stages of the first practice which saw him sitting in the pits whilst it was fixed. The 25 year-old clawed his way to the top of the timesheets with a few minutes remaining but was edged out by his fellow Honda rider. After surgery on his shoulder, Pedrosa completed 19 laps to finish 0.227s off Simoncelli’s best lap.
Fresh from claiming his first ever wet race victory, Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) was fourth fastest after leading the session early on. The reigning World Champion’s deficit to Simoncelli was 0.381s on a circuit where the Spaniard has won for the past three seasons.
Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) was the quickest Ducati in the first practice ahead of fellow compatriot Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda). The Italian duo were 0.537s and 0.749s respectively off the top time.

After retiring on the final lap in Jerez whilst in a podium position, Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) was seventh fastest, ahead of Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing). The Texan had an excursion into the gravel at Turn 6 in the first part of the practice but was able to continue after the bike was repaired. Rounding out the top ten places were the Ducatis of Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar Team) and Randy de Puniet (Pramac Racing). The top ten riders were within 1.749s of each other.
Nicky Hayden who took the first Ducati Team podium of 2011 in the last race, suffered a mechanical problem in the last ten minutes of the session and had to stop the bike and make his own way back to the pits. The American was able to rejoin on his second bike and finished in 14th place.
Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) who on Thursday was passed fit to ride this weekend after breaking his left leg in the season opener at Losail finished in 17th place, 3.002s off the pace after confirming he was going to use FP1 to test his fitness back on the bike. The Spaniard completed 20 laps.

MotoGP action back on at Estoril

Monday, 25 April 2011

After an extended break in the MotoGP calendar the premier class returns to action at the bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal this weekend, and there is plenty to watch out for at Estoril in Round 3.

Almost four weeks after the Jerez round – the extended break being due to the postponement of the Japanese GP until October – the MotoGP World Championship returns to action at Estoril this weekend, where the bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal hosts Round 3 of the 2011 season. This will be the 14th occasion that there has been a Portuguese GP.
There was no shortage of talking points following Round 2 in southern Spain, where defending World Champion Jorge Lorenzo took his first win of 2011 in the wet, and was followed onto the podium by a Dani Pedrosa struggling with his recovering left arm and Nicky Hayden. Casey Stoner’s inability to finish the race after being taken down in an incident involving Valentino Rossi, the latter of whom managed to remount his bike and finish fifth, merely added to what was a highly eventful race at Jerez.
Yamaha Factory Racing rider Lorenzo has a formidable recent record at the Estoril track, having won for the past three consecutive seasons from pole position. The Spaniard has now finished inside the top four for 22 straight races, and leads the early Championship standings by nine points ahead of rival Dani Pedrosa. The Repsol Honda man arrives in Portugal hopeful that surgery immediately after Jerez will have eased the discomfort caused in his left arm, and despite that he secured a 90th GP podium in the last round making him only the tenth rider to reach the milestone in the World Championship’s 63-year history.
Stoner will be eager to put the DNF from Jerez firmly behind him and regain the momentum he has established in the early stages of the season. The Repsol Honda rider has twice stood on the Estoril podium in the premier class but is yet to win there in MotoGP (he has a 250cc victory to his name), and will view such a result as the perfect response. Nicky Hayden is the highest placed Ducati rider in the standings after two rounds, with factory team-mate Rossi close behind. The Italian has only once finished off the podium at the circuit in the premier class, and counts five victories amongst his haul of rostrum results there.

Bautista on course for Estoril return

Tuesday, 26 April 2011

The Rizla Suzuki rider plans to take to the track at the bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal for the opening practice session – pending a medical review at the circuit on Thursday – having been given the all-clear by Doctor Villamor in Madrid on Tuesday.

Rizla Suzuki rider Álvaro Bautista hopes to be able to make his return to MotoGP action at Estoril this weekend, just 42 days after breaking his left femur.
On Tuesday the Spaniard received the go ahead from Doctor Ángel Villamor of the Hospital USP San José in Madrid after undergoing a medical review of his condition, and will now be subject to a medical check by the circuit doctor at Estoril on Thursday.
Bautista plans to take to the track on Friday morning for the first practice session of the weekend, and has been undergoing intensive physiotherapy to ensure his fitness is at its highest possible level. If he is unable to ride at a competitive level, Rizla Suzuki will have Factory test rider Nobuatsu Aoki on standby to take over if Bautista has to withdraw from the event.
“I have been working very hard to be back in time for Estoril and I believe I will be able to take part in the race,” said a highly motivated Bautista. “I know it will be difficult, but I think the sooner I can get on the bike the more it will aid my total recovery and help my way to full fitness. I have travelled over 4.5km with many journeys to the hyperbaric chamber in Madrid to assist with my healing. I have now finished the rehabilitation phase and started on the physical preparation; this involves a lot of swimming, cycling and other fitness programmes to build up the strength so I can ride again.”
Bautista is under no illusion as to the task which awaits him, and added: “It is going to be really tough, but I am totally focused on being on the GSV-R in Portugal, it’s all I can think about at the moment and that is my first goal. After that we’ll see what happens and take everything one step at a time.”
Also in place this weekend will be a new logo on Rizla Suzuki's GSV-R – ‘Change and Challenge’ – which is used by Suzuki in the Asian regions to promote its new range of motorcycle products in these markets.

Crutchlow and Edwards back in action

Tuesday, 26 April 2011

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team riders Colin Edwards and Cal Crutchlow return to action after a long break this weekend when the 2011 MotoGP World Championship resumes at the Estoril track in Portugal.

This weekend's race presents American Edwards with a chance to bounce back from the disappointment of missing out on a podium finish in an enthralling Spanish Grand Prix at the Jerez circuit earlier this month. Poised to secure his first rostrum since 2009, Edwards was cruelly denied by a small technical failure on the final lap of a dramatic rain-hit race, but the 36 year-old is determined to impress again on Yamaha's YZR-M1 machine in Estoril. Edwards has twice finished fourth at the Estoril circuit in 2006 and 2008 and only once in his nine-year MotoGP career has he failed to finish inside the top ten.
The Portuguese Grand Prix will provide impressive rookie Crutchlow with another steep learning curve. The British rider has never raced on the 2.599 mile circuit before but he has already demonstrated his ability to learn new tracks quickly by challenging for a podium with an inspired performance on his debut at the Jerez track recently.
The three-week break between rounds gave Crutchlow the chance to undergo surgery on his right arm to solve a persistent numbness issue and he is confident he will be at 100 per cent fitness for Sunday's 28-lap race.
Cal Crutchlow:
"I am looking forward to Portugal. This is a new circuit for me and it will be difficult once again as the others know this track already and have a lot more experience on it than me. I hope I can learn this circuit as fast as Jerez where I was quickly up to speed and I qualified inside the top ten. My arm is getting better and better after the surgery that was done to get rid of the numbness I felt during Qatar and Jerez. The stitches are out already, but I haven't tried to ride a bike yet, so I'll understand more on Friday when practice starts."
Colin Edwards:
“A few years ago I was in the group fighting for the win and I like the Estoril track. I always seem to do pretty well there and it will be good to get back on the bike after a long break. The track seems to suit my riding style and with the extra performance we've got with the 2011 Yamaha YZR-M1, I'm confident we can have a strong weekend. The Yamaha has always worked well in Estoril and had a good balance there, so there is no reason why I can't go there and think about challenging for at least a top six."

Red Bull Rookies up for Estoril

Wednesday, 27 April 2011

The third and fourth races of the 2011 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup will take place at this weekend’s bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal.

The bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal this weekend sees the third and fourth races of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup take place at the Estoril circuit, and the participants will head to the track confident in the circuit knowledge they gained in a three-day pre-season test back in March.
Bad luck has struck for two of the Rookies however, who must sit out the Estoril races. Cup points leader Philipp Oettl will be absent due to a broken collarbone, which the youngster sustained testing his German championship bike on April 9th. Frenchman Florian Alt will also not be present, as he continues to recover from a finger injury picked up at the opening weekend in Jerez. Xavier Pinsach and Javier Orellana, who both injured shoulders at Jerez, are due to be fit for Estoril.
In Oettl’s absence Arthur Sissis, Aaron Espana and Brad Binder, who trail him in the table, will aim to cut down the German’s advantage. Sissis won race two at Jerez and was fastest at the Portugal test in both wet and dry conditions, and currently trails Oettl by ten points.
With 44 TV broadcasters around the world showing the race action there is ample opportunity to follow the young heroes and for those not covered by the spread of live TV the live race feed can always be seen on www.redbullrookiescup.com, where the latest news and information can also be found.
There will be three practice sessions for the Rookies on Friday, with first race scheduled for Saturday at 16.30 CET and race two for Sunday at 16.00 CET.

Estoril racing numbers

Thursday, 28 April 2011

A selection of facts and stats ahead of the bwin Grande Prémio bwin de Portugal…

150 –At the Portuguese Grand Prix, Mika Kallio will be making his 150th Grand Prix start; the first Finnish rider ever to reach this milestone.
90 –Dani Pedrosa’s second place finish at Jerez was the 90th time he has stood on the podium in Grand Prix racing. He is only the tenth rider to reach this milestone in the 63-year history of the world championship series.
50% –With his victory at the Spanish Grand Prix, Jorge Lorenzo has now won ten of the twenty MotoGP races since the start of 2010. The other winners in this period are: four wins each for Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa and two wins for Valentino Rossi.
49 –At Jerez, Dani Pedrosa finished on the podium for the 49th time in the MotoGP class. His next top three finish will make him just the 11th rider to reach the milestone of 50 podium finishes in the premier-class.
19.339 sec –Jorge Lorenzo won the MotoGP race at Jerez by 19.339 seconds, which is the largest winning margin in MotoGP since Valentino Rossi won the wet Portuguese Grand Prix in 2002 by 22.2 seconds.
15–Jorge Lorenzo’s victory in Spain was the 15th time he has stood on the top step of a MotoGP podium. This is the same number of wins in the premier-class as Alex Criville, who was previously the Spanish rider with most premierclass Grand Prix victories.
14 –This is the 14th occasion that there has been a Portuguese Grand Prix. The first two Portuguese Grands Prix were actually held in Spain: the first in 1987 was at the Jarama circuit, with the 1988 event held at Jerez. Following an eleven year break the Portuguese Grand Prix was hosted at Estoril for the first time in 2000, where it has been held every year since.
13th –At the Spanish Grand Prix, Marcel Schrotter finished 13th to give the new Mahindra team their first world championship points.

Ducati Team duo hoping for sunshine in Portugal

Wednesday, 27 April 2011

Following a three week break brought about by the postponement of the Motegi GP, the Ducati Team of Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden are prepared for this weekend’s bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal and are ready for changeable weather conditions.

MotoGP series returns to action at a track that is very demanding and full of contrasts. Despite it having the lowest average speed of the tracks on the calendar, the Estoril circuit also includes very fast sections, including one of the longest straightaways of the year.

Valentino Rossi has won five times in his eleven premier-class visits to the track, and he has finished on the podium on five other occasions, whilst the best result of his team-mate Nicky Hayden is a fourth place in 2007. The American will be looking to build on his rostrum finish last time out in Jerez.

Discover The New Valentino Rossi apparel line

Ducati and the nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi, who will wear Ducati Marlboro Team colors for the next two years, announced in the magnificent setting of Madonna di Campiglio an additional development in their relationship.
In addition to being brands that perfectly embody the “Made in Italy” philosophy, Ducati and Valentino also share the characteristic of each being followed by thriving communities of fans – groups that now finally share the same passion.
For them and for the many new supporters of this historic alliance, Ducati and VR46 have created a merchandise line that was conceived by popular designer Aldo Drudi, and which will be available as the coming racing season gets underway.
For the first time, the yellow so characteristic of the brand identity of Valentino and his VR46 line, and the red that’s intrinsic to Ducati Corse’s corporate identity and its very soul, meet in a sportswear and casual wear apparel collection that will be offered through official Ducati dealerships everywhere, though every circuit on the MotoGP calendar, and through the official websites.
Come discover the new apparel collection for all Ducatisti!

Pedrosa eager to get back to action in Portugal

Monday, 18 April 2011

The Repsol Honda rider underwent a routine medical check on Monday, and gave an update on his recovery from his latest surgery in his blog.

Dani Pedrosa had a routine medical check on Monday to assess the status of his recovering left arm, following surgery a fortnight ago. The Repsol Honda rider – who fractured his left collarbone last October in Japan – had the titanium plate and screws fixed to the bone in the aftermath of the injury removed following the Jerez round at the start of the month, after he had begun to experience a compression of his left subclavian artery.
Writing in his blog on Monday following a check-up, Pedrosa discussed the recovery process following his surgery at the start of April. “The truth is that it went well and in the days that have followed I’ve adjusted my routine to the recommendations made by the medical team, so that the recovery goes as well as it possibly can. Today (Monday) I had a routine medical check and it seems that things are going well, although we have to be cautious until I get back on the bike in Portugal.”
The Repsol Honda rider is now keen to get back on his RC212V and test out his fitness, although he will have to wait until the opening day’s practice at the bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal on April 29th.
“I’m eager and motivated to return to competition to test the feeling I have on the bike, and to see if I can forget about these problems as soon as possible,” he continued. “The past few days I have been relaxing at home, getting in the rest recommended by the doctors. Even though a break in the calendar has coincided with the recuperation I have a lot of motivation to return to competitive fitness, working with the team and above all getting on the bike.”
Despite his discomfort when riding Pedrosa has started the season well, finishing third in the season opener in Qatar and second at Jerez.
“Looking at what has happened so far we arrive in Portugal with 36 points and nine behind the leader, and that’s taking into consideration the fact I was injured. The truth is that we have a very positive balance with which to face the Championship, which has only just begun,” concluded Pedrosa.