Paddock Girl, bwin Grande Premio de Portugal - © Copyright Alex Chailan & David Piolé
Paddock Girl, bwin Grande Premio de Portugal - © Copyright Alex Chailan & David Piolé
Showing posts with label Portugal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Portugal. Show all posts
Monday, May 2, 2011
Saturday, April 30, 2011
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.”
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.”
Thursday, April 28, 2011
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."
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."
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.
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.
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.
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