FIM MotoGP World Championship Estoril, Portugal May 4, 2012 MotoGP Free Practice Two Results (all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Casey STONER, Australia (HONDA), 1:38.396 2. Ben SPIES, USA (YAMAHA), 1:38.717 3. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (YAMAHA), 1:38.742 4. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), 1:38.797 5. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), 1:38.930 6. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (HONDA), 1:38.959 7. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (DUCATI), 1:39.029 8. Hector BARBERA, Spain (DUCATI), 1:39.193 9. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (DUCATI), 1:39.357 10. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (YAMAHA), 1:39.615 11. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (DUCATI), 1:40.207 12. Stefan BRADL, Germany (HONDA), 1:40.898 13. Randy DE PUNIET, France (Aprilia-ART), 1:41.088 14. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (Aprilia-ART), 1:41.634 15. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (Kawasaki-FTR/BQR), 1:41.638 16. Mattia PASINI, Italy (Aprilia-Speed Master/ART), 1:41.973 17. Michele PIRRO, Italy (Honda-FTR), 1:42.252 18. Colin EDWARDS, USA (BMW-SUTER), 1:42.587 19. Ivan SILVA, Spain (Kawasaki-FTR/BQR), 1:42.804 20. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (Aprilia-IODA/ART), 1:42.984 21. James ELLISON, UK (Aprilia-PBM/ART), 1:43.665 Moto2 Free Practice Two (all using Honda engines and Dunlop tires): 1. Scott REDDING, UK (KALEX), 1:41.775 2. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (SUTER), 1:41.978 3. Thomas LUTHI, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:42.176 4. Toni ELIAS, Spain (SUTER), 1:42.227 5. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (KALEX), 1:42.365 6. Bradley SMITH, UK (TECH 3), 1:42.574 7. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (SUTER), 1:42.582 8. Dominique AEGERTER, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:42.601 9. Johann ZARCO, France (MOTOBI), 1:42.669 10. Mika KALLIO, Finland (KALEX), 1:42.711 11. Ricard CARDUS, Spain (AJR), 1:42.732 12. Claudio CORTI, Italy (KALEX), 1:42.777 13. Simone CORSI, Italy (FTR), 1:42.784 14. Xavier SIMEON, Belgium (TECH 3), 1:42.896 15. Takaaki NAKAGAMI, Japan (KALEX), 1:42.918 16. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (SPEED UP), 1:42.966 17. Anthony WEST, Australia (MORIWAKI), 1:43.143 18. Nicolas TEROL, Spain (SUTER), 1:43.205 19. Yuki TAKAHASHI, Japan (SUTER), 1:43.249 20. Randy KRUMMENACHER, Switzerland (KALEX), 1:43.271 21. Julian SIMON, Spain (SUTER), 1:43.284 22. Esteve RABAT, Spain (KALEX), 1:43.436 23. Gino REA, UK (MORIWAKI), 1:43.843 24. Axel PONS, Spain (KALEX), 1:43.938 25. Max NEUKIRCHNER, Germany (KALEX), 1:44.020 26. Ratthapark WILAIROT, Thailand (MORIWAKI), 1:44.082 27. Roberto ROLFO, Italy (SUTER), 1:44.145 28. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (SPEED UP), 1:44.236 29. Angel RODRIGUEZ, Spain (FTR), 1:44.989 30. Alexander LUNDH, Sweden (MZ-RE HONDA), 1:45.586 31. Elena ROSELL, Spain (MORIWAKI), 1:46.126 32. Marco COLANDREA, Switzerland (FTR), 1:47.290 Moto3 Free Practice Two: 1. Miguel OLIVEIRA, Portugal (SUTER HONDA), 1:48.497 2. Sandro CORTESE, Germany (Ajo KTM), 1:48.511 3. Luis SALOM, Spain (KALEX KTM), 1:48.879 4. Maverick VIÑALES, Spain (FTR HONDA), 1:49.338 5. Alexis MASBOU, France (HONDA), 1:49.410 6. Romano FENATI, Italy (FTR HONDA), 1:49.560 7. Danny KENT, UK (Ajo KTM), 1:49.775 8. Louis ROSSI, France (FTR HONDA), 1:49.870 9. Adrian MARTIN, Spain (FTR HONDA), 1:49.937 10. Arthur SISSIS, Australia (Ajo KTM), 1:50.160 More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing: PROMISING START FOR THE PRAMAC RACING TEAM IN ESTORIL The 2012 Grande Premio de Portugal officially started this morning in Estoril, where the White and Green team’s rider completed the first laps under an overcast sky. Hèctor Barberà, who has had several good races at the Portuguese circuit, set a best time of 1’39.193 to finish 8th overall on the timesheet just ahead of factory Ducati rider, Valentino Rossi. The 25-years-old began today’s free practice using his race setup from Jerez de La Frontera and working to improve his lap time. Sunshine is forecast for tomorrow at 14:00, when the qualifying practice session will kick off.. Hèctor Barberà – Pilota Pramac Racing Team – “It’s good to be back on track here, as I really love riding at Estoril. Today we tried two different settings during the session and we think we know what we need to do. We had some issues in the last sector, where we lost some tenths due to the track condition, which was still damp. I’m pretty confident, my crew and I can step up and fight to achieve a higher spots on the grid, so we’ll come back tomorrow and improve our lap time”. Francesco Guidotti Team Manager Pramac Racing “We still have a few things on the bike that we need to work on, but we had a good session today. We were only 8 tenths of a second away from the fastest pace set by Casey Stoner, so I’m confident that we’ll be able to fight in the race, which should be entertaining “. More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: The Grand Prix of Portugal, third round of the 2012 MotoGP World Championship, began today at the Estoril circuit with Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner on top of the time sheets (1’38.396). Team mate Dani Pedrosa finished in fourth position (1’38.797) with the combined practice times, after another tight battle between the Honda and Yamaha riders as we’ve already seen in the first two races of the season. The weather played a big part in the first MotoGP practice session and again, as was the case in Jerez last week, the Portuguese GP got underway with wet patches and cold temperatures in the morning. The Repsol Honda riders went out on track on slick tyres with only 10 minutes of the first session remaining and both Casey and Dani had to wait until the afternoon to get some proper track time on the tricky Estoril circuit with the new 1000cc machines. The Honda factory riders made the most of the second free practice to begin tuning the set up of their RC213V’s at one of the most challenging tracks on the calendar, which combines a fairly long straight with long corners and very hard braking. The action continues tomorrow with FP3 and the qualifying session to decide the grid for Sunday’s race CASEY STONER 1st 1’38.396 “We did a few laps this morning to try and understand the bike, to make sure everything was working and like Jerez we wanted to see where the wet patches were on the track. Then this afternoon, unfortunately there were still areas of the track that hadn’t dried out but we managed to get some good dry time, the bike seems to be working ok at this point and we have a fairly good idea of what we need to do tomorrow” DANI PEDROSA 4th 1’38.797 “It was quite similar to Jerez, in the first session we were almost unable to ride and in the afternoon it was difficult because the track conditions were poor, it was very slippery, we had no grip in the front or rear and it was kind of hard to get feedback from the bike because the tyres were just sliding. Water is holding on the new asphalt, so it’s necessary to change the line. It would be good if it doesn’t rain anymore and if they could dry this area up in some way because in the last corner especially, it’s very damp. I hope the track gets better tomorrow on the grip level, so we can start working hard on the suspension. As long as the track improves, the bike will do also”. More, from a press release issued by Speed Master: ESTORIL GP: IANNONE TESTS SOME BIG CHANGES ON THE SETTING, DI MEGLIO MISSES THE TOP 10 AFTER A CRASH Today’s free practices set the beginning of the third Grand Prix of the 2012 season for the Moto2 class, at the circuit of Estoril. In the morning, the track wasn’t completely dry: Iannone and his crew preferred therefore to take the first session of the weekend cautiously. In the afternoon, considered the good weather, the Italian rider spent the session working thoroughly on the Speed Up machine setting, testing different options in the fourty five minutes at disposal. Mike di Meglio and his technicians prepared some minor improvements for the set-up of the bike and, in FP2, the Frenchman completed various laps with a good rhythm, having the chance to verify the choice of the tyres. A crash without consequences made his session shorter, and he was cut off from the top-10. Andrea Iannone #29 – 28th with 1’44.236 “Today we decided to test some choices on the bike that were kind of radical, so that we could get rid of some doubts. Things didn’t quite work out the way we expected, but at least we can cross these options out of our things-to-do list. Now we’ll go over the information and put it together, so that we can choose how to begin tomorrow and we can do our best in the qualifying practice of the afternoon.” Mike di Meglio #63 – 16th with 1’42.966 “I’m sorry because, at the end of the session, we didn’t have the chance to confirm our potentiality. I crashed out because I made a mistake: I was behind Simon and I wasn’t having any trouble. I looked back to check if someone was behind me, and in that moment I lost control over the bike and I fell. I didn’t go back to the pit box because I thought there wasn’t enough time. The handlebar was closed, I was some five tenth slower and because of that I couldn’t improve my lap times. Despite the end of the practice, I’m happy because we worked well. Tomorrow we’ll use a tyre that generally is more favourable, which as a starting point means that we can do better.” More, from a press release issued by QMMF Racing Team: Big changes make a big difference for West – Elena Rosell gains confidence at Estoril With a drastic change to the set-up of his Moriwaki Moto2 prototype racer, Team QMMF rider Anthony West turned things his way and achieved a promising 17th place on the first day of practice for the Portuguese Grand Prix. Since the 30-year-old Australian had came aboard for the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix, he had played with a higher seating position in order to get more weight on the front for better turning. Now at Estoril, he lifted the entire bike with a variety of changes to the front fork and rear suspension and improved his lap time by more than a second. This new set-up confirms the next development step of the Moriwaki chassis with a different engine position, which will arrive at the race track very soon. West’s team-mate Elena Rosell also completed a successful first day of practice at Estoril. The only female rider in the motorcycle Grand Prix racing started cautiously on a partially damp track in the morning, but gained confidence and speed as the day went on and ended up in 31st position. Anthony West 17th in 1.43,143 “When I first rode this bike at Qatar, I had a problem with too much weight on the rear of the bike. We then played with padding on my seating, which pushed me forward and improved the weight transfer and the feeling in the turns, but it wasn’t enough. Now, we’ve moved the whole bike up by 20 mm, pushing the front fork down the triple clamps and heightening the rear shock with a different linkage and stuff like that. It was a bigger change than you would normally be doing on a race weekend and it took me really the whole session to understand what was going on because it was quite different, but in the end, we went clearly faster and we are quickest Moriwaki once again. This change sort of confirms what we need with the new chassis. The engine where it is now is way too low and we don’t have the pitching and easy turning in the middle of the corner that we need. The bike is stable but it doesn’t feel nice when you get to the middle of the corner and doesn’t turn fast enough either. Being able to confirm what we need is an important step for us!” Elena Rosell 31st in 1.46,126 “We went out on a partly damp track this morning and it cost me a while to find my confidence, because I crashed in the race of Jerez one week ago in similar conditions. From this point on, we kept improving and I kept learning the track. We also got better lap times, which I managed to repeat quite consistently. My hope for tomorrow is for better weather that will finally dry up the damp patches around the track. It also became obvious once again what a tough and hard-fought category Moto2 really is the fastest guys rode quicker than the CRT bikes in the MotoGP category, which is mind-boggling. All we can do is to keep fighting and to keep learning. But considering it was only my second time on this track today, things didn’t go too bad at all!” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: After early damp conditions threatened to throw the day´s practice sessions into disarray, the weather steadied and the track dried out to play host to some fantastic free practice action in the afternoon across all three MotoGP™ classes at the Grande Prémio de Portugal Circuito Estoril. It was reigning World Champion Casey Stoner who threw down the gauntlet for this weekend by setting the fastest time of the day in the second MotoGP practice session. Stoner´s lap of 1.38´396 put him just three tenths ahead of Yamaha Factory Racing´s Ben Spies, who has worked tirelessly all day to get his season back on track, after some disappointing performances in the previous rounds. Rounding out the top three is Monster Yamaha Tech 3´s Cal Crutchlow, who continues to impress on his satellite Yamaha, finishing just over two-hundredths off Spies. Stoner´s team mate Dani Pedrosa set the fourth fastest time of the day, as he looks to repeat his victory at the track from the previous year. In fifth, Yamaha´s birthday-boy Jorge Lorenzo was having a subdued session at the track where he has taken three victories in the past four outings. Behind him, San Carlo Honda Gresini´s Álvaro Bautista set the sixth fastest time just over half a second off Stoner, as he continues to get to grips with his satellite Honda. Ducati Team´s Nicky Hayden, who will be looking to repeat his front row start last time out at Jerez, occupies seventh place. He finished in front of Pramac Racing´s Héctor Barberá, who once again got the better of Hayden´s teammate Valentino Rossi, who could not finish any higher than ninth, despite a good showing in the morning session. Completing the top ten is Tech 3´s Andrea Dovizioso, who remained in the pits for quite some time with a bike issue. Top CRT honour went to Power Electronics Aspar rider Randy de Puniet, who is looking to improve on his DNF in Jerez. Came IodaRacing Project´s Danilo Petrucci had to end his session early with a mechanical issue as well. Moto2™ In the second practice session of the Grande Prémio de Portugal Circuito Estoril it was Marc VDS Racing Team´s Scott Redding who set the weekend´s benchmark by topping the combined Moto2™ timesheets ahead of Marc Márquez. With a time of 1.41´775, the consistently lapping Redding set the fastest time of the day, in front of Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol´s Márquez, just two tenths behind. Third place is occupied by Interwetten-Paddock´s Tom Lüthi, who is looking for his first win of the season at the Portuguese track. Behind him in fourth is the surprise of the day in the form of Mapfre Aspar Team´s 2010 Moto2 World Champion Toni Elías, who is beginning to rekindle some of his previous form. Jerez race-winner, Pons 40 HP Tuenti rider Pol Espargaró, could not repeat his feat in the morning session where he finished first, yet still managed a strong showing in fifth, just over half a second behind Redding. He finished in front of Tech 3 Racing´s Bradley Smith, who will be looking for a stronger performance this weekend after a slightly disappointing outing in Jerez. Seventh place went to NGM Mobile Forward Racing´s Alex de Angelis, ahead of Technomag-CIP´s Dominique Aegerter and JiR Moto2´s French rookie Johann Zarco. Rounding out the top ten is Redding´s teammate Mika Kallio, just under a second off the top. Thai Honda Gresini Moto2´s Ratthapark Wilairot crashed with 22 minutes remaining, while S/Master Speed Up´s Mike Di Meglio followed suit with seven minutes to go. Both were unhurt and managed to return to the pits. Moto3™ The Moto3™ class enjoyed a dry, but windy afternoon free practice session at the Grande Prémio de Portugal Circuito Estoril, where Estrella Galicia 0,0´s local rider Miguel Oliveira topped the timesheets ahead of Red Bull KMT Ajo´s Sandro Cortese. With a time of 1.48´497, Oliveira laid down the marker for the weekend and gave home fans something to cheer about, with Germany´s Cortese closely behind by less than two hundredths. RW Racing GP´s Luis Salom, who has been consistently fast this season so far, set the third fastest time of the session just under four tenths behind Cortese. He managed to oust Blusens Avintia´s pre-season championship favourite Maverick Viñales into fourth. Fifth spot is occupied by Caretta Racing´s Alexis Masbou, with Team Italia FMI´s championship leader and rookie sensation Romano Fenati in sixth. Cortese´s teammate Danny Kent managed seventh, sitting just over a second off the front. Completing the top ten are Racing Team Germany´s Louis Rossi, JHK T-Shirt Laglisse´s Adrian Martín and Kent´s teammate Arthur Sissis. Wild card entry, Thomas Sabo GP Team´s Kevin Hanus from Germany, crashed out of the session with 15 minutes to go, yet walked away unhurt. IodaRacing Project´s Jonas Folger is still suffering from glandular fever and has been replaced this weekend by Italian rider Armando Pontone, while TT Motion Events Racing´s Niklas Ajo is replaced by Spain´s Joan Olivé, after the Finn was banned following an altercation with a race official at the last round. Caretta Technology´s Jack Miller is replaced this weekend by Italian Manuel Tatasciore, after the Australian fractured his collarbone in Jerez. More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: Estoril, 4 May: the opening day of Grand Prix de Portugal has started in a similar vein to the first day in Jerez with part-wet surface in the morning whilst the afternoon session was held in dry conditions with premier class riders starting to set up properly their bikes packages. LCR Honda MotoGP´s Stefan Bradl, who has been in impressive form in his rookie season, taking an eighth and seventh place so far, is drawing on the fact that his last outing at Estoril was a victory (in Moto2 class) but the German could not finish any higher than twelfth (1’40.898) and is hoping to improve his pace ahead tomorrow’s qualifying session. Stefan: “So far it has been the most difficult day in my MotoGP career I guess… I had a very bad feeling with our rear grip and we are losing so much in the corners entries. Especially in the middle of the corners I do not have enough rear grip because I can not warm up the tyre properly and this cause me a lot of movements. Like this I can not be aggressive as usual but we have a lot of adjustments to try tomorrow checking the data. We are not lost so I am confident we can better our pace”. More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team: Estoril, Portugal – 4 May 2012: Scott Redding was the fastest man on track at Estoril today, topping the timesheet during this afternoon’s second free practice session. Mika Kallio was tenth fastest, after using today’s two sessions to evaluate different front-end settings on his Kalex Moto2 machine. Redding was third fastest in this morning’s opening free practice session, which was run on a drying track but with damp patches still evident following overnight rain. The Marc VDS rider continued to run up the front during this afternoon’s 45-minute session, for which the track had finally dried out fully. The 19-year-old Briton posted his fastest time just after the halfway point this afternoon, in a session where all his flying laps were within just a few tenths of his fastest time. Redding was almost half a second clear at the top of the timesheet, until a concerted effort by Marc Marquez cut the gap to just two tenths shortly before the chequered flag. Kallio struggled with the front-end set-up last timeout in Jerez, so focussed today on evaluating two different front suspension options on his Kalex Moto2 machine. Both options offered both positives and negatives, but the set-up for this afternoon’s session didn’t give the 29-year-old Finn the necessary confidence to push for a fast lap time. Kallio is confident that his crew have a clear direction with the set-up for tomorrow’s free practice and the all-important qualifying session. Both Marc VDS riders are confident of fighting for a place on the front two rows of the grid during tomorrow afternoon’s 45-minute qualifying session. Scott Redding #45: 1st – 1’41.775 “We had a good weekend in Jerez, we’ve made some progress with the bike and now I want it; I want it bad! This afternoon I just pushed as hard as I could throughout the session and my times were both fast and consistent, which is exactly what I was looking for. Tomorrow I’ll be doing exactly the same, with the front two rows of the grid the target in qualifying. My crew chief, Pete Benson, celebrates his 50th birthday today and I hope we’ll be able to give him the present he deserves in the race on Sunday.” Mika Kallio #36: 10th – 1’42.711 “Today we tried two different front end settings on the bike, one in the morning session and one in the afternoon. For the second free practice session I didn’t really have the confidence in the front to push hard, because the front tyre wouldn’t really hold a line and was skipping over the bumps in the turns. The grip was also a bit inconsistent, which doesn’t inspire confidence either. To be honest there was something missing with each of the two set-ups, but by testing them both today we now have a clear direction for tomorrow. Scott showed what the bike is capable of; he was unbelievably fast this afternoon. Now we need to match his times tomorrow.” Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Scott push so hard in a free practice session, but a lot of it was down to the confidence he now has in the bike after the race last weekend in Jerez. If qualifying is dry tomorrow then I’m confident he will start the race on Sunday from the front two rows of the grid. Mika used the two sessions today to evaluate different front-end set-up options on his bike, after some issues in Jerez. It meant he wasn’t able to set a fast time this afternoon, but the work will pay off tomorrow in qualifying, when he too will be aiming for the front two rows of the grid.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Stoner tops Friday timesheets at Estoril Round 3: Portuguese MotoGP™ – Free Practice One and Two Circuito de Jerez, Friday 4 May 2012 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium; Rear: Medium, Hard (Asymmetric) Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative) Weather: Wet (FP1) Dry (FP2). Ambient 16-19°C; Track 17-31°C (Bridgestone measurement) Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner took over where he left off at Jerez by setting a benchmark time of 1m 38.396s in FP2 to top the Friday timesheets ahead of Yamaha Factory Racing’s Ben Spies and Monster Tech3 Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow. Track conditions for Friday morning’s FP1 session were poor with large wet patches on track due to early morning rain and though the track dried towards the end of the session, conditions were still challenging for riders with a resurgent Ben Spies setting the fastest time in FP1 with a 1m 40.813s lap. For FP2 track conditions were dry, but cloud cover kept track temperatures low and as a result lap-times were slower than expected. After some exploratory runs using the combination of the soft compound front slick tyre and medium compound rear, most riders switched to the medium compound front slick tyre as FP2 drew to a close. The next MotoGP™ session, FP3 takes place at 1010 local time (GMT+1) with the one hour qualifying session starting at 1355 local time. Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Division “As often happens at Estoril, weather conditions were variable today with early morning rain causing the track to be wet for FP1. As there were just a few dry patches many riders decided to head out on track with wet tyres to begin with before switching to slicks later as conditions improved. In FP2 the track was dry but track temperatures were still quite low which affected grip levels, so most riders went for the soft rear slick tyre for its greater warm-up performance. “There is a possibility of wet weather again tomorrow so we will make our main wet tyre, which at Estoril is the soft compound, as well as the alternative wet tyre in the hard compound available to enable riders to best deal with what could be inconsistent conditions. Regardless of what the weather brings, I think we will see a close qualifying session tomorrow as in FP2 the top ten riders posted similar lap-times.” More, from a press release issued by Bankia Aspar: BANKIA ASPAR RIDERS CONTINUE HARD WORK IN PORTUGAL BANKIA ASPAR pair Alberto Moncayo and Héctor Faubel made a positive start to the Grand Prix of Portugal, finishing third and thirteenth fastest in this morning’s opening free practice session at Estoril. Despite damp conditions and no fewer than four different kinds of asphalt the notoriously unforgiving Portuguese track proved no obstacle for Moncayo in particular, but when the sun came out for a dry afternoon session both riders ran into problems with their KALEX-KTM machine. Nevertheless, with Faubel twelfth and Moncayo eighteenth overall on a day that saw home favourite Miguel Oliveira set the pace, there is plenty of margin for improvement tomorrow. 12th Héctor Faubel (1.50.535, 23 laps): “I was fairly happy and running in fifth or sixth position until our final run, when I put a new tyre in and the engine packed in. We have tried a lot of things so we’ll keep the good stuff tomorrow and try again with a new engine. Up until my gear shifter broke at Jerez I was having a good race so let’s see if we can close the gap to the top a little tomorrow.” 18th Alberto Moncayo (1.57.605, 27 laps): “My feeling with the bike this morning was good, I took things steady and even though the track was slippery I felt okay. Our problems came back in the afternoon though. I have no complaints about the engine but the issue is the chassis, I just can’t get the bike to turn. We have to keep working hard and not lose hope though. I have every faith in this team and we are not looking around at what other riders have, we just need to work on what we have.” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: Good feelings for Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden on Day 1 in Portugal Weather conditions were typically fickle for Estoril during the first day of practice at the Portuguese Grand Prix, with the first MotoGP free-practice session marked by a damp track, whereas the surface was mainly dry in the afternoon. Nonetheless, Ducati Team riders Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi were able to gather valuable information that should be useful over the weekend and in the future. Both riders opted to spend much of the morning session in the garage, but when they ventured out near the end, Hayden and Rossi set the second- and third-best times, respectively. Although they were seventh and ninth in the afternoon, both riders were able to ride near their limits, and their gap to the front was reduced compared to most of the previous dry sessions this season. Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) 7th (1:39.029) “Conditions weren’t perfect this morning, but since they were calling for a good chance of rain in the afternoon, we thought it was worth having a look toward the end. The track was patchy, but I’ve got to say that Bridgestone’s new tyre is much better and safer in those conditions. This afternoon, the track was completely dry except for water seeping up in the last corner, which made it tough to see the line. We made a couple of gains during the session, but I felt like the time went by really quickly. We’ve still got a lot of work to do, especially in the side-to-side sections, where I’m having some difficulty changing direction. Hopefully we can do a good job with the data tonight and be more consistent tomorrow.” Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) 9th (1:39.357) “We had a decent start to the weekend because I was able to ride the bike pretty well, I didn’t finish so far from the front in terms of lap times and, most importantly, I was fast in several sections of the track. I’m only losing a lot in the last split, T4, so along with the technicians, I’m trying to understand why I’m having such a hard time in the last corner, where there’s very limited grip and the back of the bike slides a lot. Still, I can brake hard and enter the corners pretty quickly, and if we’re able to fix the rear, we can get closer. Our goal is to try to be competitive around the entire track. We’ll see what the weather is like, because this morning’s mixed conditions were difficult, and then they were better in the afternoon. Although we went well in the wet, we hope the weather stays nice and that it will be completely dry on Sunday.” More, from a press release issued by Mapfre Aspar: MAPFRE RIDERS ELÍAS AND TEROL BEGIN TO IMPROVE IN ESTORIL Unconditional support from Jorge Martínez Aspar helps MAPFRE riders to improve feeling in practice for Portuguese Grand Prix. Conditions at the Estoril circuit in Portugal today were similar to those experienced at Jerez last week, with the Moto2 riders facing a tricky surface in free practice. A morning session saw considerable dampness on track, thanks to heavy overnight rain that had failed to dry out over the course of the early hours. With no rainfall over the course of the day, most of the Portuguese autodrome had dried out by the time the afternoon run came around, and it it was Briton Scott Redding who was fastest in the overall standings. MAPFRE Aspar team riders Toni Elías and Nico Terol were back to work after a few days off inbetween their home Spanish GP and this round in neighbouring Portugal. Elías was eighth in the morning in the less-than-ideal track conditions, improving considerably by the afternoon to move up into fourth overall. Several changes made since the race at Jerez, fully supported by team manager Jorge Martínez Aspar, allowed the former Moto2 World Champion a more comfortable ride today -and he will be looking to go even better in tomorrow’s final free practice session and qualifying. Nico Terol was down in 25th after the morning session, having taken things very cautiously in his first Moto2 outing at the Estoril circuit. The reigning 125cc World Champion was able to enjoy himself more in the afternoon, but his focus was firmly on getting a good setup, learning the bike and the track and feeling at ease, rather than looking at positions. Nonetheless, Terol improved his riding and position on the timesheets in the afternoon run, with the 18th fastest lap of the day in the intermediate category. 4th Toni Elias (1.42.227, 36 laps): “Jorge Martínez Aspar continues to give us reassurance, and this is very important. The ideas that we were unable to implement in Jerez due to time constraints were put to use today, even if the conditions weren’t perfect. We are already closer. The problema in Jerez was with the front, but this time we have issues with the rear. We still aren’t there, but we are on the right track. I am happy with this. I am beginning to ride fast on my own and have much better pace. If I improve again tomorrow, then we could be looking at a good race.” 18th Nico Terol (1.43.205, 42 laps): “I am much happier today. I focused on enjoying myself on the bike and working hard alongside the team, without paying attention to the positions. I hadn’t ridden here with a Moto2 bike before, so in the second session I decided to go out for a few laps in used tyres. When I got stuck somewhere, I would try out a new line or a different way of riding at that certain point. That’s how we improved and it is what has motivated me. With new tyres I was riding in the 1’43s and below. We will get there, I’m sure, but we have to have patience. I know that we will get there.” More, from a press release issued by Power Electronics Aspar: POWER ELECTRONICS ASPAR DUO TOP TWO CRT RIDERS ON DAY ONE IN PORTUGAL Randy de Puniet and Aleix Espargaró open practice sessions at Estoril with promising early times. The MotoGP riders experienced similar conditions to those of Jerez on their opening day of action in Portugal, as track conditions were once again affected by rain on Friday. It was overnight showers that were the issue this time, as certain sections of the Estoril circuit were overly damp in the morning. A sizeable number of riders elected to stay in their garages for either the entire session or a sizeable portion of it, with the risk of a crash in the puddles not deemed to be worth it. In the afternoon session, conditions were considerably better, leading to the entire MotoGP field finally being able to put in useful laps for Sunday’s Portuguese Grand Prix. The top time of the day went to World Championship leader and Jerez race winner Casey Stoner, with a fastest lap of 1’38.396. Returning to action after problems on raceday last weekend, Randy de Puniet set about returning to the head of the CRT food chain in Friday practice. The Frenchman placed thirteenth in the overall standings, 0.190s off a Honda satellite machine in a creditable first day at Estoril. He was able to keep up with official bikes on the corners, although the straights pose significantly more problems for the experienced MotoGP rider onboard the POWER ELECTRONICS ASPAR ART bike. In fourteenth today was De Puniet’s teammate, Aleíx Espargaró -the highest placing CRT bike in the Spanish Grand Prix and the second quickest this Friday. The Spaniard will work further on his bike setup on Saturday in order to be well prepared for a race which is almost a home GP. He was half a second down on De Puniet in the combined timesheet. 13th Randy de Puniet (1.43.277, 11 laps): “I am not completely satisfied. We went well in the afternoon and put on a hard rear, but it was too harsh. We sacrificed rear stability and didn’t improve. We have room for improvement, definitely. I want to lower my times and reduce the gap between ourselves and the ‘top’ riders. I want to be the best CRT and even fight with or beat some regular MotoGP bikes. It won’t be easy, but we will have to get closer to the factory and satellite bikes and open up an advantage over the CRTs.” 14th Aleix Espargaró (1.41.634, 24 laps): “Our trajectory is going up. I think the ART is going well here and I had fun today. Besides the two straights, on this track we can corner just behind the factory bikes. It was tough to rider this morning, but for the afternoon the entire circuit was dry besides the final two corners before the straight. We are improving a lot in terms of electronics and chassis and are close to the factory bikes on sections 2, 3 and 4, but in the straights we can’t do anything to keep with them. I was riding alongside Lorenzo and Pedrosa today and when they straighten up they just disappear.” More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Crutchlow continues red-hot form in Estoril Cal Crutchlow’s phenomenal start to the 2012 MotoGP World Championship continued in impressive fashion in Portugal this afternoon, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider finishing third quickest after the opening two practice sessions. The British rider completed just five laps in tricky conditions this morning when treacherous wet patches left by overnight rain prevented vital work on the race set-up of his YZR-M1 machine from being carried out at the 2.599 miles Estoril circuit. In cool but dry conditions this afternoon, Crutchlow del ivered another stunning performance to back up his fantastic fourth place finishes in Qatar and Jerez, and the former World Supersport champion was challenging for a top three placing throughout. He ended with a best time of 1.38.742 to easily finish top non-factory rider on the leaderboard and he was only 0.025s behind factory Yamaha rider Ben Spies. Crutchlow’s pace was only 0.346s off the fastest time set by reigning World Champion Casey Stoner and he is confident that he can convert his early weekend speed into a top five challenge on Sunday. The dry conditions this afternoon were a welcome boost for Andrea Dovizioso, who is concentrating on fine-tuning his riding style to best suit the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine. The Italian rider has impressed with top five finishes in the op ening two rounds in 2012 but he still believes he can make significant strides in improving his confidence and feeling with the YZR-M1. He tried a different swingarm this afternoon and finished with a best time 1.39.615. That put him 10th on the combined timesheets and he is optimistic he can lap considerably faster with further modifications to his bike ahead of tomorrow’s final free practice and qualifying. Cal Crutchlow 3rd 1.38.742 25 laps: “I’m happy with the way we have started this weekend. This morning was similar to the first session in Jerez and we couldn’t really learn anything with the track being so damp in parts. The problem was the patches were really big at the last corner and to be honest it was pretty dangerous, so we might have to look at that in the Safety Commission. We never changed the tyres from this morning to the afternoon and that is a big plus. For that reason I’m really happy with the pace I was able to set, especially because we know that some other guys did put in a new tyre at the end to go a bit quicker. We were just concentrating on working on the race set-up and we still have plenty of margin to improve. The first two races have given me a lot of confidence and I am looking forward to carrying on the good start this weekend.” Andrea Dovizioso 10th 1.39.615 29 laps: “We tried a different swingarm on the second bike during my last run and when we made this modification we also changed the rear tyre, but it did not get to the right temperature. We tried to find out if the swingarm or the tyre was the problem but because of this situation we lost quite a lot of time and I am a bit frustrated because until that moment we were close to the fastest time. I was feeling well on the bike and I was sure I still had some margin to improve my time. It is important to try the parts to help us improve and we will be in a better situation tomorrow. I just hope that we will have good weather to continue the work we started this afternoon.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha MotoGP Team: Yamaha Factory Racing rider Ben Spies was back on form in Estoril today for the first practice sessions of the Portuguese Grand Prix. The Texan was one of the first riders to venture out in the morning session, braving mixed track conditions of wet and dry to test a big set up change. The new direction proved to be confidence inspiring, Spies topping the morning timesheets and remaining highly competitive in the afternoon, leading for a while and eventually finishing in second place, 0.321 seconds behind Casey Stoner. Team mate Jorge Lorenzo decided to sit out the morning session with little valuable data to be gained from the mixed track conditions. The afternoon session saw him hunting a set up to provide more rear grip for his YZR-M1, eventually settling for fifth in the timesheets. The team will look to find a solution tomorrow to be ready for qualifying. Today marks not only Lorenzo’s 25th birthday but also the ten-year anniversary to his first GP session at the Jerez circuit. Ben Spies Position : 2nd Time: 1’38.717 Laps: 33 “It’s a good feeling today but it’s still early, it’s Friday. The most important thing is I have to thank my crew, they made a huge change to the bike, not only to the front but we also changed some rider position settings that I asked for and the bike seems good. Not only are the lap times fast, it’s much easier to ride at that speed than the slower times at Jerez. Right now the bike is quick and easy to ride, we need to make some more improvements to it. To be in the top three on the first day after two difficult weekends is a positive start.” Jorge Lorenzo Position : 5th Time: 1’38.930 Laps: 16 “Today was so-so because we didn’t find a good set up or a good feeling with the bike. Also the new asphalt is not the best, I think it’s worse than last year in some places and also the weather doesn’t help with some wet patches in corners. I expect a lot of things to improve tomorrow, especially the rear of the bike which is not right in some corners.” Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager “This afternoon was the first free practice for us as we sat out the morning due to the weather conditions. We’re not perfect yet; we’re missing some rear grip, especially in corner entry so we need to find it for tomorrow. We’re confident we will and will be ready for qualifying.” Massimo Meregalli Team Director “Definitely a promising start today, the new set up is giving Ben the right confidence so now it’s a matter of some little adjustments but he is up there which is the most important thing. Jorge missed the morning session due to the bad conditions; I think tomorrow he will be where he should be. A good starting day, let’s see what tomorrow brings.” More, from a press release issued by Team Thai Honda Gresini Moto2: WILAIROT RUNNING OUT OF CONFIDENCE AND PATIENCE There was no improvement in the fortunes of Ratthapark Wilairot at Estoril today, the Thai rider understandably disappointed after lapping 26th fastest. His attempts to build his confidence on board the Moriwaki MD600 machine today proved in vain despite a typically determined effort. Ratthapark Wilairot (26th 1′ 44″ 082) “We have tried a multitude of things today but my confidence with the Moriwaki MD600 is not improving. To be honest we are running out of ideas as to what to do! All I know is that I have more potential than this result shows and so do the team.” Fausto Gresini “Everything we are trying is not working and this is an embarrassing situation for Wilairot and the team to be in. We are running out of options to try with the bike but we’ll have a look at the data from today and see what things we can change for tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Team Federal Oil Gresini Moto2: DOUBLE CRASH DISAPPOINTMENT ON DAY ONE FOR REA Gino Rea’s swift initial adaptation to Estoril hit the skids twice today, with a pair of crashes limiting his progress and his lap time. There was understandable disappointment in the Team Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 garage, where the work continues to give Rea the opportunity to show his true potential. Gino Rea. (23rd 1′ 43″ 843) “It has been a difficult day today. I tried to learn the track quite fast and I was actually up in fifth place for a long time. At the end I was following a fast rider but he came in to pit so I had to take a wider line, hit a damp patch and crashed. We changed some things on the bike for the afternoon but went in the wrong direction and I ended up having another crash in a slow corner. It felt like the tyre didn’t work and I crashed before I was fully leaned over. The team did a great job to fix the bike and I was able to get one lap in to improve my time but we have a lot of work still to do.” Fausto Gresini “To have two crashes in one day is always disappointing but the team are working hard to let Gino show his potential, which is clearly higher than this result shows. We will keep working but this situation is not fun for anybody.” More, from a press release issued by Team Italia: MotoGP Moto3 Grande Prémio de Portugal Circuito Estoril (POR) May 4-6, 2012 Weather: cloudy Temperature: 15 Cº MotoGP Moto3: Team Italia plays defense Friday in Estoril Despite the uncertain weather, it was a positive first day for Fenati. Tonucci preferred the wet track, struggling during the afternoon session. Just like what happened last week in Jerez, weather played a protagonist role in Estoril. In the morning free practice session, lap times were slow as the track was still wet after a downpour on Thursday night. Team Italia wrapped up the session with Tonucci in 10th and Fenati in 15th position respectively. In the afternoon session, the conditions changed upside-down as the track was dry and riders went out on slick tyres. Romano Fenati once again showed great maturity tackling the track, waiting until the last minutes to improve his best time and closing the day with a a 1’49″560 that granted him a 6th place, one second behind the leader Oliveira. Alessandro Tonucci showed a good feeling with the bike on the wet, but could not find it again in the afternoon as he finished in 17th position with a 1’50″948. Romano Fenati (Team Italia FTR Honda#5) 29 laps, with a 1’49″560 “This morning I focused on learning the track, which was new for me, and driving in the wet. In the afternoon I tried to improve and posted the 6th best time, so I’m pretty happy for now.” Alessandro Tonucci (Team Italia FTR Honda#19) 36 laps, with a 1’50″948 “This morning I did pretty well, staying in the Top 10 despite the slippery conditions. In the afternoon, however, I was not comfortable. A couple of times, a rider crashed right in front of me and I lost rhythm. We’ll try some changes tomorrow, hoping it won’t rain.” More, from a press release issued by JiR Moto2 Team: Johann Zarco and Team JiR ninth in Estoril free practice Fresh from his impressive ride to 10th place at Jerez, it was back to work today for French rider Johann Zarco and his team as they took to the track for the third round of the Moto2 World Championship. The Estoril track in Portugal is the location for round three, and the 21-year-old enjoyed a positive first two sessions on track, finishing the day happy with his progress on his MotoBI. Johann is in ninth place overall, less than a second down on Scott Redding who was the fastest today. Tonight, both rider and team will analyse the data from today’s time on track to try and make improvements to the machine in time for tomorrow afternoon’s qualifying session. Johann Zarco Final position: 9th Best lap: 1m 42.669s Finishing ninth today has made me quite happy. In the first free practice session things were going well and the bike felt quite good. It’s a new track for us as I’ve not been on the Estoril circuit on my MotoBI before, so I think it’s down to me to improve and make up some time as I get used to riding the four-stroke on this circuit. So far, things are going well as I was pretty consistent in the last few laps on the bike in that final session. Before tomorrow we now need to sit down with the team and analyse the data from today to see how we can improve both the MotoBI and my riding of the track to get the best out of the bike. I am excited as we are not too far off the fastest time, but I need to be calm and just move forward patiently. We will keep an eye on the weather tomorrow but it should be sunny and dry as the weather seems to be getting better every day. We have two tyre choices for the rear which felt similar today, so I need to try these again to see which is best, but overall the bike has good balance so I’m happy.