FIM MotoGP World Championship Estoril, Portugal October 4, 2009 Race Results: MotoGP (all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha), 28 laps, 45:35.522 2. Casey STONER (Ducati), -6.294 seconds 3. Dani PEDROSA (Honda), -9.889 4. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha), -23.428 5. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha), -32.652 6. Toni ELIAS (Honda), -35.709 7. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda), -35.723 8. Nicky HAYDEN (Ducati), -38.830 9. James TOSELAND (Yamaha), -44.093 10. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki), -52.863 11. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda), -55.698 12. Marco MELANDRI (Kawasaki), -64.515 13. Niccolo CANEPA (Ducati), -64.538 14. Gabor TALMACSI (Honda), -87.299 15. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki), -8 laps, DNF, retired 16. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda), -20 laps, DNF, retired 17. Mika KALLIO (Ducati), -23 laps, DNF, crash MotoGP World Championship Point Standings (after 14 of 17 races): 1. Rossi, 250 points 2. Lorenzo, 232 3. Pedrosa, 173 4. Stoner, 170 5. Dovizioso, 142 6. Edwards, 134 7. Capirossi, 97 8. De Puniet, 93 9. Melandri, 91 10. TIE, Elias/Vermeulen, 90 12. De Angelis, 88 13. Toseland, 85 14. Hayden, 81 15. Kallio, 51 16. Canepa, 38 17. Talmacsi, 14 18. Sete Gibernau, 12 19. Yuki Takahashi, 9 20. Aleix Espargaro, 8 250cc GP: 1. Marco SIMONCELLI (Gilera), 26 laps, 44:04.298 2. Mike DI MEGLIO (Aprilia), -5.317 points 3. Hector BARBERA (Aprilia), -5.317 4. Hiroshi AOYAMA (Honda), -12.024 5. Jules CLUZEL (Aprilia), -14.349 6. Ratthapark WILAIROT (Honda), -18.256 7. Thomas LUTHI (Aprilia), -27.631 8. Mattia PASINI (Aprilia), -34.667 9. Alex DEBON (Aprilia), -45.410 10. Karel ABRAHAM (Aprilia), -45.891 11. Lukas PESEK (Aprilia), -46.204 12. Shuhei AOYAMA (Honda), -57.641 13. Valentin DEBISE (Honda), -81.309 14. Alex BALDOLINI (Aprilia), -95.277 15. Axel PONS (Aprilia), -1 lap 22. Roberto LOCATELLI (Gilera), -17 laps, crash 24. Alvaro BAUTISTA (Aprilia), -22 laps, crash 25. Hector FAUBEL (Honda), -22 laps, crash 250cc GP World Championship Point Standings (after 13 of 16 races): 1. Aoyama, 218 points 2. Bautista, 192 3. Simoncelli, 190 4. Barbera, 174 5. Pasini, 128 6. Di Meglio, 94 7. De Rosa, 90 8. TIE, Debon/Luthi, 89 10. Faubel, 86 125cc GP: 1. Pol ESPARGARO (Derbi), 23 laps, 41:00.421 2. Sandro CORTESE (Derbi), -0.394 second 3. Bradley SMITH (Aprilia), -0.581 second 4. Stefan BRADL (Aprilia), -11.048 seconds 5. Joan OLIVE (Derbi), -16.830 6. Sergio GADEA (Aprilia), -17.170 7. Esteve RABAT (Aprilia), -17.300 8. Dominique AEGERTER (Derbi), -17.546 9. Johann ZARCO (Aprilia), -17.666 10. Randy KRUMMENACHER (Aprilia), -21.378 12. Julian SIMON (Aprilia), -31.500, crash 29. Marc MARQUEZ (KTM), -11 laps, DNF, crash 31. Nicolas TEROL (Aprilia), -15 laps, DNF, crash 33. Cameron BEAUBIER (KTM), -19 laps, DNF, crash 35. Andrea IANNONE (Aprilia), -21 laps, DNF, crash 125cc GP World Championship Point Standings (after 13 of 16 races): 1. Simon, 214 points 2. Smith, 163.5 3. Terol, 152.5 4. Espargaro, 129.5 5. Gadea, 122 6. Iannone, 109.5 7. Cortese, 96 8. Marquez, 87 9. Bradl, 85 10. Olive, 74 More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Lorenzo wins to set up thrilling World Championship fight Round 14: Portugal GP Race Circuito Estoril, Sunday 4 October 2009 B ridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium. Rear: Medium, Hard (asymmetric) Jorge Lorenzo and the Fiat Yamaha Team concluded their domination of the Portuguese Grand Prix today by scoring their fourth victory on Bridgestone tyres, closing the gap to the lead of the World Championship, setting a new record race time and lapping under the existing lap record. The new circuit lap record went to Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa though with a best time 0.5seconds faster then the existing best to set his second lap record this season on Bridgestone tyres. After an overcast and cool start to the day, conditions for the race were similar to those that Estoril has enjoyed all weekend, meaning that the harder of the available Bridgestone slicks were the favoured choice for the race. Given the track temperature and the 28-lap race distance, the top nine finishers all used the harder front and rear option slicks. Rizla Suzuki’s Chris Vermeulen was the highest-finishing rider to opt for the softer options slicks both front and rear, making good use of the soft compound front and medium compound rear to climb from 15th to finish tenth. Hiroshi Yamada Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department “I must congratulate Jorge and the Fiat Yamaha Team today, and for their performance over this weekend – from Friday’s practice he has been faster than the lap record at Estoril. His win also marks the first premier class win for a Bridgestone-shod rider at Estoril. In the first year of single tyre supply, the World Championship title is now even closer with just an 18 point gap at the top and three points separating third and fourth. It is good to see Casey back and competitive, and he seems to have recovered well as his laptimes were consistent and his race time good.” Tohru Ubukata Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department “We expected the pace that Casey and Dani set on our tyres today, but Jorge was faster than we expected and his total race time was very impressive, even considering the change of the date of the race and the resulting good weather conditions. His pace during the race today was very fast, and his winning race time was 14.5seconds faster than the total race time record, so I am pleased with the performance of our tyres on this circuit. As was predicted, the harder option front and rear slicks were the favoured option today because of their improved consistency over race distance.” Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team Race Winner “Today is a very happy day for us; it has been a perfect weekend. We dominated every practice, I felt great on the bike and I was very confident. At the beginning Casey was very fast and the difference between us was not so much, but after a few laps I could remain at my pace and he slowed a bit. But I didn’t expect to win with such a gap. Now the championship is less impossible, but it will still be very difficult.” Top ten classification (Sunday 13:00 GMT+1) Pos. Rider Team Race time Gap Front tyre Rear tyre Tyres 1 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 45m35.522s Medium Hard Bridgestone slick 2 Casey Stoner Ducati Team 45m41.816s +6.294s Medium Hard Bridgestone slick 3 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 45m45.411s +9.889s Medium Hard Bridgestone slick 4 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 45m58.950s +23.428s Medium Hard Bridgestone slick 5 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech3 46m08.174s +32.652s Medium Hard Bridgestone slick 6 Toni Elias San Carlo Honda Gresini 46m11.231s +35.709s Medium Hard Bridgestone slick 7 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Team 46m11.245s +35.723s Medium Hard Bridgestone slick 8 Nicky Hayden Ducati Team 46m14.352s +38.830s Medium Hard Bridgestone slick 9 James Toseland Monster Yamaha Tech3 46m19.615s +44.093s Medium Hard Bridgestone slick 10 Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 46m28.385s +52.863s Soft Medium Bridgestone slick Weather: Dry. Ambient 23°C; Track 38-42°C ( Bridgestone measurement) More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: HISTORY REPEATS FOR ROCKETMAN LORENZO IN ESTORIL; ROSSI FOURTH Jorge Lorenzo was untouchable once again in Portugal this afternoon and took a stunning fourth win of the season, 16 months on from his maiden MotoGP victory at this same track. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi had a disappointing day and came home a distant fourth, although the Fiat Yamaha Team secured the Teams’ Championship title, the first leg of the ‘triple crown’. 22-year-old Lorenzo had looked invincible all weekend and today was no different as he blasted off from pole for the 35th time in his career, reaching turn one in second place but regaining the lead a couple of corners later. Wearing special ‘astronaut’ leathers and helmet to commemorate the Moon Landing and match the one-off white ‘Fiat Punto Evo’ livery on his YZR-M1, the Mallorcan was unchallenged from then on and stretched his lead until the end, finishing a commanding 6.294 seconds clear of Casey Stoner to take his 26th career win. Rossi had struggled to match his team-mate’s pace all weekend and a problem with rear grip plagued him today and compounded his difficulties. He dropped to fourth on the first lap after starting from second and was unable to make any headway into the gap to Stoner and Pedrosa, eventually coming home some 13 seconds behind the Spaniard. It was the Italian’s 100th start for Yamaha, from which he has won an incredible 43 times. Yamaha are now assured of one of their riders being crowned World Champion but with Rossi’s lead now cut to 18 points from Lorenzo in second, the tension is mounting as to which one it will be. MotoGP now has a week off before the ‘flyaway’ double-header in Australia and Malaysia. Masahiko Nakajima – Fiat Yamaha Team Director “Today we have achieved the first objective of our season – the Fiat Yamaha Team becoming 2009 Teams’ Champion. I would like to thank our riders, our team staff and YMC MotoGP Group Engineers for their invaluable support, which has allowed us to achieve this great result. My appreciation also goes to our sponsors and technical partners, because their contribution has been crucial for Yamaha and for our Factory Team. We look forward to working with all of them in the future and to being able to repay their support with many more victories”. Jorge Lorenzo Position: 1st Time: 45’35.522 “What a day! I’m so happy to win here again in the same track where I won my first MotoGP race last year. I worked so hard in the break on my fitness with my father and maybe that’s given me a little bit of extra speed, I certainly felt so strong this weekend and it is great to win like this after being top in every session as well. I got a good start and it took me just a couple of corners to get past Dani and take the lead, but I honestly didn’t expect to be unchallenged from then on or to finish with such a big gap. This is a good track for me but I am fast more or less everywhere now. The championship is closer now; it’s still not easy but we have nothing to lose! I’m proud that we have won the Team Title and I want to say thanks and congratulations to everyone. I liked my leathers and helmet a lot this weekend and I wanted to celebrate Neil Armstong and his landing on the moon so this is why I made this ‘moonwalk show’ after the race!” Valentino Rossi Position: 4th Time: +23.428 “It was a very difficult race for me. I was never able to be fast because I did not have enough grip in the rear and our tyre did not work well, but I think it was more a problem of setting. After a few laps I was in great difficulties and I immediately understood that this was not going to be “our” race. Throughout the practice sessions I had some problems but I thought that today I would be able to at least stay with Stoner and Pedrosa, but they made another step forward for the race and then there was no chance for me. On Friday I was three tenths off the pace and unfortunately this stayed the same all weekend and in the race today. Here in Estoril we struggled last year as well, so it might be that, with our setting, the rear tyre gets very hot and this causes a lack of grip. It is a pity that I am off the podium, but we have three more races and they are three great tracks. We must think race by race and we must work to understand what the problem was today in order to make sure that we fix it in time for Phillip Island”. Daniele Romagnoli Team Manager “We were confident today that we had a strong chance for a good race, but we didn’t expect such domination. We were consistently fast through all the weekend but even so the team made another improvement after qualifying and Jorge rode the best he’s ever ridden. Now the championship is even more interesting and the last few races will bring great attention on us all, but we’re looking forward to the challenge! Finally I want to say well done to everyone in the team for winning the Team title again.” David Brivio Team Manager “In reality, we weren’t really racing today. Valentino experienced some problems, which meant that he was never able to make the tyres work well and he was unable to be competitive. We will go into these problems in detail in our technical debrief later this afternoon. Valentino was bravo to finish the race in a very difficult situation, but he knew that taking points was key and we got 13 very important points here. As a consequence of the entire season, which has been dominated by the two Fiat Yamaha Team riders, we have won the Team title today, which is the first step on the road to our main goal”. More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Edwards and Toseland claim double top ten in Estoril Colin Edwards strengthened his bid for a top five MotoGP world championship finish after a strong ride to fifth place at a sun-drenched Estoril circuit today. And helping the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team claim another double top ten finish was James Toseland’s determined performance, the British rider shrugging off the affects of a head cold to finish in a thoroughly deserved ninth place. Edwards started and finished the 28-lap race in fifth, the American fighting hard to match the blistering pace set by Jorge Lorenzo, Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi in front of him in the early stages. But his consistent pace saw him comf ortably pull away from a chasing group that included Andrea Dovizioso, Nicky Hayden and Loris Capirossi. Edwards’ sixth top six finish of the season leaves the American trailing Dovizioso in the overall standings by just eight-points with three races remaining. And the 35-year-old easily maintained his position as leading non-factory rider. Toseland produced a rousing performance in front of 45,539 fans basking in glorious temperatures that hit 27 degrees, the 28-year-old ending ninth after he’d fought superbly in the opening half of the race to get involved in a battle involving Hayden and Capirossi for seventh. Today’s result saw Toseland move to within 12-points of a top seven championship finish. Colin Edwards 5th 134 points “Like I said yesterday, if you’re the next best rider behind the top four in the world then you’ve done a good job and I rode the strongest race I could today. I got a good start but we’ve been fighting some front-end movement all weekend and I knew early on I wasn’t going to be able to go with Valentino (Rossi) in front of me. The tyres worked great but we were just missing something on the set-up that meant even though Valentino was struggling a little bit, I couldn’t really put any pressure on him. As much as I couldn’t comfortably stay with the four guys in front, it was pretty easy for me to run a pace that meant I could pull away from the group behind me. Once I’d got a comfortable gap it was just a case of staying consistent to make sure I didn’t give anybody a chance of catching me. I got a few more points back on Dovizioso for fifth in the championship and that is a good reward for the all effort my guys at Monster Yamaha Tech 3 have put in.We’ve got three races to go and I’ll be giving it my all as alw ays because I really want that fifth spot in the championship.” James Toseland 9th 85 points “I really enjoyed that race and it was good to be in an exciting battle with the second group. I was running pretty much the same lap times as Dovizioso and (Toni) Elias for most of the race and there was a great battle between myself, Hayden and Capirossi. I was having the most fun in that race that I’ve had for a while. The difficulty for me was that I’ve been struggling with a cold all weekend and it is very difficult to take any kind of medication when you’ve got to race. Over the whole race distance I didn’t realise how much the cold had taken out of me but it wasn’t a big problem. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team have worked incredibly hard all weekend to give me a really good package to ride today. I’m still only twelve points off seventh in the championship and that is my target now for the remaining three races. I really want that seventh place in the championship and am looking forward to giving the team a good finish to the year.” Herve Poncharal – Team Manager “I’m really happy with the effort of the whole Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team this weekend and a double ten is a good reward for all of us. Colin had a brilliant weekend and though I don’t like to say it, we were the best of the rest again. The top four are pretty much untouchable but to be the first of the rest is a great achievement for us. Colin could open a gap on the group behind him quite comfortably and he made no mistakes, which is always crucial. I’d also like to thank. James again for another determined race and again he proved he is a quality MotoGP rider. His lap times were really close to the top six again and today’s result helps us go on the long trip to Australia and Malaysia in a really positive frame of mind. Finally congratulations to Jorge Lorenzo and Yamaha today. Jorge was incredible and Yamaha has won the Constructor Championship again which is a fantastic achievement.” More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing Team: KALLIO SLIPS WHILE IN SIXTH POSITION. CANEPA THIRTEENTH It seems like everything was going in the right direction today for Mika Kallio. The Pramac Racing rider, who started from the tenth position, conquered the seventh position after the first turn and after three laps he was in sixth place. His pace was between the fastest riders and he was trying to reach Edwards who was in front of him, but he suddenly slipped in the last long turn before the final straight at lap six. His teammate, Niccolò Canepa, has finished the race in thirteenth position after a long challenge until the end of the race with Melandri. The Pramac Racing riders will try to conquer better positions in two weeks time in the Australian Grand Prix on the prestigious Phillip Island circuit. Fabiano Sterlacchini – Pramac Racing Technical Director “We are very disappointed that Mika has lost this occasion to conquer a good result. He deserved it for how the all racing weekend was going. During the warm up we found some really good solution on the bike and we have obtained the fifth fastest lap of the session. In the race things seemed to go in the right direction, but we all know how things ended. When back in the garage Mika told us he wasn’t pushing and the bike suddenly lost the front: we will try to understand what has happened when we will take a look at the data. Niccolò has instead made it to finish the race conquering some world championship points. We hope that we will be able to do much better with both of our riders in the next race in Australia.” Niccolò Canepa – Pramac Racing rider – 13th in the race – 16th in MotoGP classification “I expected much more today. I made a mistake at the beginning and I didn’t make it to stay between the fastest riders. I felt really good on the bike during the warm up and in the race I thought I could have stayed in the top ten. I pushed to the maximum but I couldn’t do more than this. A pity then I later lost the battle with Melandri for only twenty-three thousands of a second on the finish line. I tried to overtake him many times but it was really difficult.” Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing rider – DNF the race – 15th in MotoGP classification “I am very disappointed. I was doing a really good race and all of the sudden I found my bottom on the ground. I wasn’t pushing too much, in that part of the track you don’t accelerate or brake, but you maintain the rhythm to later accelerate while exiting the turn going to the final straight. The front gave up on me and I slipped to the dirt on the side of the track. I am very sorry for the all Team: they deserve to obtain a good result and I hope to give it to them in these last three races.” More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Capirossi unlucky as Vermeulen takes 10th in encouraging Estoril encounter Rizla Suzuki’s Loris Capirossi was forced to retire on the 20th lap of today’s Portuguese Grand Prix due to technical fault, with team-mate Chris Vermeulen battling up to 10th after starting from 15th on the grid. Capirossi made a good start to the race and was up to sixth position early on, but a mistake – which almost caused the experienced Italian to crash – saw him relegated back down the field. He quickly regained his composure and set about making the places back up. Capirossi chased down and passed a couple of other riders before homing in on Toni Elias and Andrea Dovizioso battling for sixth. He was closing the gap when disaster struck on lap-20 as a gear position sensor failed, which put the bike’s ECU into ‘safe mode’ and meant all that Capirossi could do was ride the bike back to the pits and retire. Capirossi and the whole team were very disappointed to finish the race in this way but were all buoyed with the improvement of the Suzuki GSV-R at – what has been in the past – one of the team’s toughest tracks. Vermeulen also made an impressive start from back on the fifth row of the grid and steadily made his way through the field. He got involved in a mid-race battle with Randy de Puniet, which saw the pair swap positions regularly for several laps. Vermeulen eventually got past the Frenchman as he recorded his fastest lap of the race on lap 17 to move into 11th. Following Capirossi’s unfortunate demise Vermeulen was promoted one more position up the classification to bring his bike home in a hard-fought 10th place. Today’s Portuguese Grand Prix was held in dry and warm conditions with over 45,000 people watching around the Estoril circuit. Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo won the race after starting from pole position; current world championship leader Valentino Rossi was fourth. Rizla Suzuki now embarks on two fly-away races as part of the Pacific Rim tour; firstly the team travels to Vermeulen’s homeland of Australia on Sunday 18th October before then heading to Sepang in Malaysia the following weekend. Loris Capirossi: The race wasn’t too bad today – until we stopped! I started quite well and was with the front group, but I then lost control on turn six and lost a few places. I tried to get my rhythm back and I managed to overtake a few riders and I caught up with Toni and Andrea. I know I was quicker than them and could have got past to score a good result. Then I don’t really know what happened to the bike, because it lost power, so all I could do was return to the pits. We have worked really hard this weekend to find the best way to go quicker on the GSV-R and overall our position this weekend was to fight for fifth or sixth, which is not too bad for us because this is one of the worst tracks for us in terms of performance. Everything seems to be improving and we are now looking forward to the next race.” Chris Vermeulen: “I got a good start, but from the fifth row it was always going to be difficult. I got a bit blocked in in the first few corners and that didn’t help things at all. I chose the softer tyres because I knew the first part of the race was going to be very important, but after about eight laps the rear tyre that I had chosen was too soft and it started to move around a lot and the grip level dropped off. This meant I couldn’t do the times I’d been doing all weekend – or that I wanted to do in the race. I am quite happy with the way I rode and the fact that I moved up through the field. We’ve definitely made improvements with the GSV-R at this track and I’m really looking forward to going to Phillip Island with those improvements.” Paul Denning – Team Manager: “The good news from this weekend is that we got the GSV-R working better for the Estoril track than we ever have done in the past. The rear grip issue problems that we have suffered in the long final corner have been improved dramatically and we’ll find out in two weeks time in Phillip Island – when the final corner there has a similar characteristic – how big of a step in that direction we have made. As for the race result, 10th from 15th on the grid for Chris is not too bad and he tried hard as always, but the whole team is bitterly disappointed with Loris being forced to retire, particularly when it is due to something relatively trivial. We didn’t have a perfect setting here and we need to make the bike a bit easier to ride consistently fast, but despite a very near high-side in the early laps, Loris re-found his rhythm and without question would have been fighting with Toni and Andrea for sixth position at the end – which would have been a good result.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: PEDROSA ON THE PODIUM AGAIN, DOVIZIOSO TAKES SEVENTH A tightly fought Grand Prix of Portugal saw Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa take his eighth podium finish of the season and record the fastest lap of the race at Estoril today. In a thrilling finish, his team-mate Andrea Dovizioso came within 0.014s of sixth place, emerging from the final corner side-by-side with Gresini Honda rider Toni Elias and competing in a straight sprint for the chequered flag. As has become customary, Pedrosa made another fantastic start and powered his RC212V from fourth on the grid to the head of the field on the approach to Estoril’s tight Turn One. He then led for the first two corners before being passed by a hard-charging Jorge Lorenzo. Pedrosa then was able to match Casey Stoner for pace when the Australian came past on lap three and the 24-year-old Spaniard recorded the race’s quickest lap – a new lap record time of 1m 36.937s – on lap 11 as he continued to put pressure on Stoner. Pushing to the maximum, a big moment on lap 22 cost him time and Pedrosa eventually came home in a well-deserved podium place – his second in successive races and his third on the trot at Estoril. The result means Pedrosa retains third place in the World Championship with 173 points to Stoner’s 170. Dovizioso started from eighth on the grid and spent the first section of the race fighting in a tightly contested mid pack. Lying ninth for the first four laps, the Italian then picked off Loris Capirossi, Elias and Nicky Hayden on successive laps and held sixth place for 17 of the 28 laps. A moment on lap 22 gave Elias the chance to close up again and the Spaniard slipped by. Dovi mounted a last-lap attack and exited the final bend neck-and-neck with Elias but was beaten to the line by the tiniest of margins. Seventh position was good enough for Dovizioso to keep hold of fifth place in the world championship, eight points ahead of Colin Edwards. With three rounds of the 17-race World Championship remaining, MotoGP now travels first to Australia and then Malaysia for two races on successive weekends, beginning with the classic at Phillip Island in two weeks’ time. DANI PEDROSA 3rd World Championship Position 3rd 173 points “I made a very good start today and held the lead until the third corner where I ran a little wide and Jorge came by. He was pushing really hard in the first few laps and even though I was too, I couldn’t match his rhythm as he opened up a gap. When Casey came past I tried to stay with him and was able to put some pressure on and maintain a good pace. I had a moment though where the bike was snaking as I braked, I ran wide and I nearly crashed – that cost me some time and opened up the gap to Casey. So I’m reasonably happy with a podium and it definitely will now be an interesting fight for third place in the championship with Casey. He is the reference in Australia and so the next race is going to be hard fought – I’m looking forward to it. I definitely want to win at least one of the three races left and maybe the next one is the most important.” ANDREA DOVIZIOSO 7th World Championship Position 4th 142 points “It was a really close finish on the line and I just missed out on sixth place – which isn’t the result we wanted, obviously. I started from the third row and was ninth in the early laps before getting past Capirossi, Elias and Hayden which took me up to sixth. I was able to hold the gap to Elias behind me but then I lost time on one lap and he came past. I closed again and it was really close on the last lap – I thought I had a chance of taking the place out of the last corner but it didn’t happen. We’ve had a few issues finding good grip and finding the best settings this weekend which has made it quite difficult to get the best out of the machine. I’m disappointed today but we have plenty of potential to move forward and we’ll continue to improve our understanding with the new suspension for the next races.” KAZUHIKO YAMANO – REPSOL HONDA TEAM MANAGER “Another podium finish is good for Dani, and the whole Team has worked very hard again this weekend. The pace Dani could run – especially when he set the fastest lap in the middle of the race – is encouraging, though obviously we want to be closer to the front at the end of the last lap. Andrea fought hard and he and his crew are continuing to gain useful information which should help him in the final few races. Now we have the trip to Australia and the Repsol Honda Team will be pushing very hard again at Philip Island.” More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: DE PUNIET MANAGED TO FINISH ELEVENTH AT ESTORIL Estoril, 4 October: the LCR Honda MotoGP rider Randy De Puniet got the final 11th place in today’s 28-lap Portugal Grand Prix at Estoril. The fourteenth round of the season started today at 13:00 local time and was run at a very hot pace with ambience temperature of 27°C ahead 45.539 fans with 800cc riders struggling with the extreme heat. De Puniet started from the second row after yesterday’s good qualifying when he took the sixth fastest lap time at the 4182 Km race track. The Frenchman, now almost fully recovered from the broken left ankle he sustained in August, set impressive lap times throughout the week end but he was not able to translate his pace into a good performance today. Immediately after the start, Randy’s boot caught on the fairing and opened. Unable to ride with an unsecured foot Randy was forced to spend time to close the boot again and lost valuable positions. Lorenzo took the victory ahead Stoner and Pedrosa. De Puniet 11th De Puniet 11th: “I remain speechless! We could easily finish in the top-eight but the bad luck picked on me. After the start in the first corner my right boot caught in the frame and opened. I could not turn and tried to close it for a couple of laps loosing valuable positions. Then I push hard to overtake Vermeulen but suffered an highside knocking my injured ankle in the fairing. The last four laps have been a bit painful for me and this result is not what we expected considering the good rhythm we had in the last two days”. More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Jorge Lorenzo repeated his 2008 Estoril victory from pole on Sunday to significantly boost his title chances as Valentino Rossi could only manage fourth place at the bwin.com Grande Prémio de Portugal. The Fiat Yamaha pair got away in first and second places on the grid but Rossi was unable to match the pace of Lorenzo as he pulled away quickly at the front. On his return to action Ducati’s Casey Stoner rode brilliantly to follow Lorenzo across the line in second place, whilst Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa was third. Lorenzo will now feel that with three races to go and an 18 point deficit to Rossi the championship is far more achievable than before the visit to Portugal. The Spaniard was in unstoppable form in the Atlantic Coast sunshine and his fourth win of the year was eventually secured by a 6.3s margin. Stoner performed admirably on his return to action after two months away due to illness, achieving his first podium since Assen in June and he now has his home race at Phillip Island to look forward to in a fortnight’s time. Pedrosa rode well from fourth on the grid, taking the holeshot with one of his traditionally rapid starts onboard the factory RC212V and briefly holding the lead before Lorenzo slipped through. Pedrosa’s third place was his eighth podium of 2009. World Champion Rossi appeared to be off-colour throughout the race, finishing off the podium for the first time at Estoril in the premier class. The championship leader will undertake a comprehensive inquest into his lack of competitiveness with his Fiat Yamaha crew after finishing 23 seconds behind Lorenzo. Behind the MotoGP big guns at the front, Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) was 10 seconds back on Rossi in fifth place, whilst Toni Elías (San Carlo Honda Gresini) held off Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) for sixth on the line. The top ten also featured Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro), James Toseland (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki), with Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing) crashing out early on and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) and Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini) retiring due to technical problems. 250cc Another solid fourth placed finish for Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Racing) saw him extend his title advantage to 26 points in the 250cc class after Álvaro Bautista (Mapfre Aspar) crashed out early on, whilst World Champion Marco Simoncelli (Metis Gilera) brought himself back into the championship fight with another win. Bautista’s engine appeared to seize up on lap four causing him to crash out, leaving Simoncelli to take his fifth win of the year and his fourth in the last six rounds putting the Italian two points behind the Spaniard in the standings. Behind Simoncelli, Mike di Meglio (Mapfre Aspar) and Héctor Barberá (Pepe World Team) crossed the line neck and neck, and although they were given exactly the same race time second place was awarded to Di Meglio (who had performed the fastest lap of the two riders), whilst Aoyama rode steadily to fourth place. The Japanese rider finished 12 seconds slower than Simoncelli but leaves Portugal in a stronger position than he arrived in. In fifth place following Aoyama across the line two seconds back was Jules Cluzel (Matteoni Racing), whilst Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda PTT SAG) did well to finish sixth. 125cc Pol Espargaró (Derbi Racing) scored an excellent victory in the 125cc category to make up for his last lap Misano nightmare, as he judged the final stages to perfection to outdo Sandro Cortese (Ajo Interwetten) and Bradley Smith (Bancaja Aspar). World Championship candidate Julián Simón (Bancaja Aspar) crashed on the 16th lap when leading by more than five seconds as he suffered a rare drop in his consistently high standards this year, at the end of a highly competitive weekend. He will have to wait a while longer to clinch the title but is still 50.5 points ahead with three rounds remaining. Espargaró held his nerve in a three-way battle at the front over the final laps, eventually crossing the line 0.394s in front of Cortese and 0.581s ahead of Smith. Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing) was ten seconds behind the podium finishers, whilst Joan Olivé (Derbi Racing Team) was a further six seconds back in fifth. The next two rounds of the 2009 FIM MotoGP World Championship take place back-to-back, with the Iveco Australian Grand Prix (16th-18th October) being held a week before the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix (23rd-25th October). More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: OUTSTANDING PODIUM FOR STONER IN PORTUGAL, HAYDEN EIGHTH The Ducati Marlboro Team celebrated the return of Casey Stoner with podium champagne in Portugal today as the Australian guided his GP9 back to the podium with a stunning second place. Stoner was back to riding in his style, fast, over all 28 laps of the Estoril race, with only eventual race winner Jorge Lorenzo able to better him. At the chequered flag Stoner showed no signs of the symptoms that had dogged him for several rounds before his enforced break from action, although he was understandably tired after a full MotoGP race, following two months of inactivity. Nicky Hayden made a good start to the race but he was unable to capitalise on an encouraging performance in this morning’s warm-up as he eventually crossed the line in eighth place after struggling somewhat for grip. CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) (2nd) “It is great to be competitive again and to stay that way right to the end of the race. I maybe could have been faster over the opening few laps but I made a little mistake, which caused my foot to slip off the peg. It broke the footrest support and it was moving around in all the right-handers, so my foot was slipping off. As the laps went by I was able to alter the footpeg position a little but I wasn’t able to go any faster. Obviously Jorge was too fast for us today and he did a fantastic job but I’m still really happy today for myself and for the team. It is brilliant to come back like this and I think it shows that the decision to take a break and tackle a physical problem that was really making it impossible for us, was the right choice. Like I said I’m happy for the team because it has also been a difficult period for them. My relationship with Ducati, built over the past three years, has always been strong and solid. Now I’ll try and start training a little before the next race because over the last few months my physical condition has suffered and I need to try and get some muscle back. The target for the next few races is for myself and the team to prepare as well as we can for next season.” NICKY HAYDEN (Ducati Marlboro Team) (8th) “After the morning warm-up I was expecting a little more today but I just didn’t feel like I had the traction I’d had for most of the weekend. The bike was moving around a lot under acceleration and it was hard to get out of the corners. We made good progress throughout the weekend and like I said this morning felt quite good but the afternoon was really warm and maybe that affected us too much. I got a decent start and moved up a few places but a lot of guys were able to pass me on the front straightaway and I’m not really sure why the bike didn’t feel fast as usual. Nevertheless we learnt a lot this weekend and got some good data. I’d hoped for more but eighth is the best we could do. It’s not for a lack of effort or hard work but sometimes that’s not good enough. Hopefully we can do better at Phillip Island.” FILIPPO PREZIOSI General Director Ducati Corse Division “This is an incredible feeling and a result that proves that Casey taking a break was the right decision and that the team managed the situation in the best possible way. We’re happy more than anything to see Casey with a smile back on his face before, during and after the race weekend. Nicky showed good pace in the warm-up this morning but paid the price in the race for a non perfect qualifying session. We still have work to do and we’re looking at some technical solutions designed to help him find more traction at circuits where the grip is so critical. He is a fighter and we know he will continue to improve.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: Portuguese Grand Prix, Estoril Race day, Sunday October 4 2009 Crowd: 45,539 Weather: warm and sunny Ambient temperature 27 degrees Track temperature 38 degrees PEDROSA SETS NEW LAP RECORD ON WAY TO THIRD Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) established a new Estoril lap record during a typically determined ride to third place in today’s Portuguese Grand Prix. The Spaniard was Honda’s top performer in the race, while Toni Elias (San Carlo Honda Gresini) and Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) provided the best entertainment as they battled for sixth place all the way to the chequered flag. Elias won the duel by just 0.014 seconds. Pedrosa stormed into the lead from fourth on the grid but then found himself unable to match the pace of winner Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) and runner-up Casey Stoner (Ducati), the Australian making an impressive return from illness. But once Pedrosa was settled into third place he ran a consistently fast race, securing a new lap record on lap 11 of 28. Today’s result was his eighth podium of the year so far. He goes into the final three races of 2009 holding third place in the points chase, just three points ahead of Stoner. Elias, who won the 2006 MotoGP race at Estoril, enjoyed a frantic ride through the pack from the fifth row of the grid. The Spaniard struggled during yesterday’s qualifying session, ending up 13th quickest. Down in 12th after the first lap of the race, he made impressive forward progress and passed Dovizioso in the final few laps. Dovizioso fought back in fine style, drafting Elias towards the finish line, but missed out by a fraction of a second. Dovi fought well in the race, coming through from ninth on the first lap. This was only the Italian’s second race using Öhlins suspension, so he still has plenty to learn about finding the best settings for this new kit. Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) had high expectations of another good result after setting an impressive pace in qualifying. But the Frenchman suffered some cruel luck immediately after the start he caught his right foot in the fairing of his RCV and the boot unzipped. De Puniet had to slow down to close the zip and that put him in last position. After that he fought back as best he could to cross the line in 11th. Gabor Talmacsi (Scot Honda) finished the race in 14th position. Alex De Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini) was challenging for a top-ten result when he was forced out of the race with a suspected electrical problem. There were plenty of crashes (but no injuries) in the 250 race, the first event of the day. Riders suspected the heavy mist that cloaked Estoril this morning left some moisture in the tarmac, which caused eight riders to fall. World Championship leader Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Honda) couldn’t do better than fourth, his RS250RW not giving him the feeling he expected. But most importantly his points advantage increased today after his prime title rival Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia) crashed out. With just three races remaining Aoyama leads Bautista by 26 points. Today’s winner Marco Simoncelli (Gilera) sits just two points behind Bautista. Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda PTT-SAG) rode to a brilliant sixth-place result, his best finish of the year and just one position shy of equalling his career best. The Thai rider spent much of the race locked in battle with Jules Cluzel (Aprilia) but struggled to attack in the final stages as the track temperature increased and caused him a few grip issues. Shuhei Aoyama (Racing Team Germany Honda) made an impressive return to 250 GPs today, finishing 12th after just three practice sessions on his RS250. Hiroshi Aoyama’s brother has joined Racing Team Germany with just four races of the year remaining after the squad split with Bastien Chesaux. Aoyama’s full-time 250 career ended in 2007, though he did make a one-off return at this year’s Japanese GP, finishing sixth. Valentin Debise (Team CIP Honda) equalled his best GP result in 13th. Team-mate Shoya Tomizawa (Team CIP Honda) slid off while chasing a top-ten finish. Raffaele De Rosa (Scot Honda) looked set for his first 250 GP podium, the young Italian charging through from sixth on the grid to second place, only to tumble on lap six. Hector Faubel (Valencia CF-Honda SAG) made a great start from the third row of the grid and was fighting his way forward when he tangled with Alex Debon (Aprilia) and crashed. HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 3rd. “I made a very good start today and held the lead until the third corner where I ran a little wide and Jorge came by. He was pushing really hard in the first few laps and even though I was too, I couldn’t match his rhythm as he opened up a gap. When Casey came past I tried to stay with him and was able to put some pressure on and maintain a good pace. I had a moment though where the bike was snaking as I braked, I ran wide and I nearly crashed that cost me some time and opened up the gap to Casey. So I’m reasonably happy with a podium and it definitely it will now be an interesting fight for third place in the championship with Casey. He is the reference in Australia and so the next race is going to be hard fought I’m looking forward to it. I definitely want to win at least one of the three races left and maybe the next one is the most important.” Toni Elias, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 6th. “I made a mistake yesterday in qualifying and had to start from 13th, and even though I didn’t get off the line as well as I would have liked I soon got into my rhythm and was able to produce a good fightback. The hardest part was getting past Hayden and Dovizioso but I was able to make a move on Andrea four laps from the end and I am delighted to have held on to sixth place, which is a position we deserve. We finished ahead of one of the factory team bikes and that is important. Today we moved up into the championship top ten. In two weeks time we go to a circuit where we know it will be tough for us but where we hope to get the points that will help us towards our objective of seventh in the championship. Of course I owe a big thank you to all the guys in my team who have done a fantastic job once again.” Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: 7th. “It was a really close finish on the line and I just missed out on sixth place which isn’t the result we wanted, obviously. I started from the third row and was ninth in the early laps before getting past Capirossi, Elias and Hayden which took me up to sixth. I was able to hold the gap to Elias behind me but then I lost time on one lap and he came past. I closed again and it was really close on the last lap I thought I had a chance of taking the place out of the last corner but it didn’t happen. We’ve had a few issues finding good grip and finding the best settings this weekend which has made it quite difficult to get the best out of the machine. I’m disappointed today but we have plenty of potential to move forward and we’ll continue to improve our understanding with the new suspension for the next races.” Randy de Puniet, LCR Honda: 11th. “I am speechless! We could easily have finished in the top eight today but bad luck picked on me. I caught my right foot in the fairing at the very first corner which unzipped the boot. I couldn’t ride with boot open, so I tried to close it for a couple of laps, losing valuable positions. Then I pushed hard to overtake Vermeulen but I had a big highside moment which knocked my injured left ankle against the fairing. The last four laps were a bit painful. This result is not what we expected considering the good rhythm we had during practice and qualifying.” Gabor Talmacsi, Scot Honda: 14th. “We are working hard but during practice, qualifying and the race we always had the same lap times. I am not getting the feeling I would like from the bike. For five or six laps I can stay with the others, but then I struggle. And when I lose contact with the others, my lap times drop. We must find a way to prepare a bike that gives me a better feeling.” Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Honda Gresini: DNF. “It is a tough day for us because it’s always frustrating to be forced out of a race by a bike problem but we know these things can happen, and for us it was the first time this season. It is disappointing that it happened in the race and not in practice because it would have given us a warning it was clearly an electrical problem though. This week the Honda engineers will run all the tests they need to do and they’ll tell us exactly what the problem is and I’m sure it won’t happen again. Obviously I’m disappointed because this was an important race for me and I really wanted to challenge for the top ten in the championship. Either way I’m confident because I love the next two tracks coming up and I’ll be giving it my all again.” HONDA 250cc RIDER QUOTES Hiroshi Aoyama, Scot Honda: 4th. “Since the first moments of the race the feeling I got from the bike was different from what I got during practice and warm-up. I cannot give a clear reason for this, but the bike was moving and shaking. The last thing I wanted was to crash, so I settled for a safe pace. So, I cannot say I’m satisfied with the race but nevertheless we got very important points and I’m absolutely conscious of that. Phillip Island, where next race is scheduled, is one of my favourite tracks, so I will try again.” Ratthapark Wilairot, Thai Honda PTT-SAG: 6th. “I made a bad start but I made up for that by overtaking a few riders in the first few corners. After that I worked hard to move forward and that’s what I did. I had a chance of fifth place but about eight laps from the end the ground temperature got warmer and my tyres were past their best. Because of that I made a mistake and lost Cluzel. I’m happy enough with sixth.” Shuhei Aoyama, Racing Team Germany Honda: 12th. “At the start I went from 15th position to eighth. After that I tried to catch up the group in front of me but it became more and more difficult; my tyres started sliding a bit, so it was difficult to keep the lap times. When Debon passed me I tried to follow him but I couldn’t. Most of all I wanted to finish the race. I’m happy with this result after only three sessions on the bike. Next time we need to work on the engine settings and find better tyres. Again I want to say thanks to everyone for this opportunity.” Valentin Debise, Team CIP Honda: 13th. “I got a good start but got boxed in through the first turn, which lost me a few places. After that I managed to pass a few guys and then I won a few more positions with other riders crashing. Today I equalled my best GP finish, so I am quite happy about that.” Raffaele De Rosa, Scot Honda: DNF. “Until the crash, I enjoyed the race. I was able to find my way towards the leaders without disturbing the guys who are competing for the championship. Every pass was clear and safe. I was fast and able to keep the pace of the leader. I cannot understand precisely the reason of the crash: in that corner the bike behaved in a way totally different from other laps. I don’t want to say that it was pure misfortune: there is always a rider on the bike, after all. Anyway, I proved all weekend that I can fight with the best people. I’ll try again in the next race.” Hector Faubel, Valencia CF-Honda SAG: DNF. “It’s a pity to spend all weekend preparing the bike for a good race and then to crash out, but racing can be like that. I started very well, overtaking four riders, so I was seventh from the first corner. After that I was following some other riders perfectly and I was even catching Aoyama. But when I was fighting with Debon he collided with me and I crashed. I’m sad because this race was a good chance to climb another place in the world championship classification.” Shoya Tomizawa, Team CIP Honda: DNF. “Most of the people who were crashing were losing the front, so I was trying to be careful. The bike was working well, but suddenly it threw me off when I got on the gas.”