Repsol Honda trio happy with top four places

Sunday, 1 May 2011

It was a successful weekend for Repsol Honda at the bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal, with Dani Pedrosa taking victory and Casey Stoner joining him on the rostrum in third. Andrea Dovizioso pipped Valentino Rossi on the last lap to claim fourth place.

Pedrosa enjoyed a race long battle with his old sparring partner, Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) and after tailing the Current MotoGP World Champion from the start, the Repsol Honda rider produced a pass on the start/finish line, with four laps remaining, to seal 25 points. This was Pedrosa’s 13th career victory, on a circuit he had previously never managed the top step at, in any class of GP racing. The Spaniard was pleased with his physical condition on the bike following his recent surgery.
Stoner didn’t enjoy the best of start’s to his Estoril race after having a small highside and losing time due to Marco Simoncelli’s (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) accident. The Australian then suffered from a twinge in his back which affected his movement for a small portion of the race, so the former World Champion was relieved to be able to finish the race, especially in a rostrum position.
Dovizioso spent his race glued to the back of Valentino Rossi’s (Ducati Team) bike. After gaining the tow on the final exit, Dovizioso achieved fourth place by snatching the position on the line, as they passed the chequered flag.
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda

"I'm very happy for today's win, but more than the win, I'm happy for my condition and it seems that my surgery was finally successful. I was trying to rest my arm at times as it was cramping with 15 laps to go. I was riding behind Lorenzo and waiting for the numbness to come together with the loss of power, but it didn't come! I'm just so happy to see that the surgery has worked, it's been around six months with this and it's a big relief. For the race, I was riding at my best, Lorenzo is amazing here, always riding so smooth and fast and I was trying to stay with him. In the end, I felt comfortable and tried to make a move and I was successful. I'm very happy to win here, it's my first win on this track and thanks to all the doctors, my physio and trainer because it's been hard work and finally we got a win.”

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”.