bwin.com Grande Premio de Portugal Estoril, Portugal Sunday, April 13, 2008 MotoGP Results 1. Jorge Lorenzo, Spain (Yamaha), Michelin, 28 laps, 117 km, 45 minutes, 53.089 seconds 2. Dani Pedrosa, Spain (Honda), Michelin, -1.817 seconds 3. Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), Bridgestone, -12.723 4. Colin Edwards, USA (Yamaha), Michelin, -17.223 5. John Hopkins, USA (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, -23.752 6. Casey Stoner, Australia (Ducati), Bridgestone, -26.688 7. James Toseland, Great Britain (Yamaha), Michelin, -32.631 8. Chris Vermeulen, Australia (Suzuki), Bridgestone, -36.382 9. Lori Capirossi, Italy (Suzuki), Bridgestone, -38.268 10. Shinya Nakano, Japan (Honda), Bridgestone, -39.476 11. Alex de Angelis, San Marino (Honda), Bridgestone, -61.306 12. Toni Elias, Spain (Ducati), Bridgestone, -63.867 13. Marco Melandri, Italy (Ducati), Bridgestone, -69.525 14. Sylvain Guintoli, France (Ducati), Bridgestone, -69.634 15. Randy de Puniet, France (Honda), Michelin, -71.542 16. Anthony West, Australia (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, -83.629 17. Nicky Hayden, USA (Honda), Michelin, -12 laps, DNF, crash 18. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Honda), Michelin, -13 laps, DNF, crash MotoGP Race Top Speeds: Casey Stoner (Ducati), 198.8 mph Toni Elias (Ducati), 198.0 mph Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 197.9 mph Marco Melandri (Ducati), 196.5 mph Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), 196.5 mph Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki), 194.8 mph James Toseland (Yamaha), 194.7 mph Dani Pedrosa (Honda), 194.4 mph Colin Edwards (Yamaha), 193.9 mph Anthony West (Kawasaki), 193.6 mph Sylvain Guintoli (Ducati), 193.6 mph Loris Capirossi (Suzuki), 193.6 mph Nicky Hayden (Honda), 193.5 mph John Hopkins (Kawasaki), 193.4 mph Randy De Puniet (Honda), 192.9 mph Shinya Nakano (Honda), 190.8 mph Andrea Dovizioso (Honda), 190.1 mph Alex De Angelis (Honda), 189.3 mph MotoGP World Championship Point Standings (after 3 of 18 races): 1. TIE, Lorenzo/Pedrosa, 61 points 3. Rossi, 47 4. Stoner, 40 5. Toseland, 29 6. Capirossi, 26 7. Hopkins, 24 8. Edwards, 22 9. Dovizioso, 21 10. Hayden, 19 11. Nakano, 16 12. Vermeulen, 14 13. Melandri, 12 14. De Puniet, 8 15. TIE, De Angelis/Elias, 7 17. TIE, West/Guintoli, 3 250cc GP 1. Alvaro Bautista, Spain (Aprilia), 26 laps, 108.732 km, 44 minutes, 34.257 seconds 2. Marco Simoncelli, Italy (Gilera), -7.050 seconds 3. Mike Kallio, Finland (KTM), -7.063 4. Thomas Luthi, Switzerland (Aprilia), -12.998 5. Hiroshi Aoyama, Japan (KTM), -14.666 6. Yuki Takahashi, Japan (Honda), -18.498 7. Julian Simon, Spain (KTM), -26.812 8. Hector Barbera, Spain (Aprilia), -28.012 9. Hector Faubel, Spain (Aprilia), -28.288 10. Lukas Pesek, Czech Republic (Aprilia), -36.966 250cc GP World Championship Point Standings (after 3 of 17 races): 1. Kallio, 57 points 2. Pasini, 45 3, Barbera, 39 4. Takahashi, 37 5. Bautista, 35 6. Aoyama, 24 7. TIE, Debon/Simon, 23 9. Simoncelli, 20 10. Espargaro, 19 125cc GP 1. Simone Corsi, Italy (Aprilia), 23 laps, 96 km, 40 minutes, 56.168 seconds 2. Joan Olive, Spain (Derbi), -0.299-second 3. Nicolas Terol, Spain (Aprilia), -6.355 4. Stevie Bonsey, USA (Aprilia), -14.973 5. Danny Webb, Great Britain (Aprilia), -15.532 6. Gabor Talmacsi, Hungary (Aprilia), -15.868 7. Mike di Meglio, France (Derbi), -15.875 8. Stefan Bradl, Germany (Aprilia), -17.887 9. Sergio Gadea, Spain (Aprilia), -18.123 10. Sandro Cortese, Germany (Aprilia), -22.613 125cc GP World Championship Point Standings (After 3 of 17 races): 1. Corsi, 59 points 2. Terol, 42 3. Olive, 40 4, Bradl, 37 5, Gadea, 32 6. Di Meglio, 29 7. Bonsey, 23 8. Webb, 21 9. Redding, 20 10. Cortese, 17 More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: LORENZO BLOWS AWAY RIVALS TO TAKE SPECTACULAR MAIDEN VICTORY IN PORTUGAL Jorge Lorenzo topped off an incredible opening month in MotoGP with his maiden premier class victory today, his first ever career win at Estoril. After three pole positions and two podiums, the Fiat Yamaha Team rookie went one step further to win the Portuguese Grand Prix in fine style, taking joint first in the championship standings in the process. It was also the second double podium of the season for the team, with Valentino Rossi finishing third. The first lap was a close battle between Lorenzo, Rossi and Dani Pedrosa with Lorenzo just prevailing over the line. Rossi however then passed him into turn one and pushed on ahead, leaving his team-mate to defend second position from Pedrosa, who was right on his tail. It began to spot with rain but Lorenzo kept his head and kept in touch with Rossi, despite pressure from Pedrosa behind him. On lap 11 Pedrosa made it past Lorenzo and stayed in front of him for two laps, but the Mallorcan was clearly cruising and, after setting the fastest lap of the race so far on lap 12, the Michelin-shod rider passed Pedrosa into turn one and set off after Rossi. He made his move later that lap in typically flamboyant fashion with a bold pass at the chicane and from then on it was a one-man-show as he extended his lead and eventually crossed the line 1.817 seconds in front of Pedrosa, who had passed Rossi on lap 15. At just 20 years of age, Lorenzo’s victory today makes him the youngest rider in premier-class history to take three successive podiums and he now shares the championship lead with Dani Pedrosa on 61 points. Rossi consolidates third with 47 points whilst Fiat Yamaha top the Team’s table and Yamaha the Constructor’s. Jorge Lorenzo Position: 1st Time: 45’53.089 “I feel like I’m in heaven! First of all I have to say thank you to Yamaha and to Fiat because without their confidence in me I wouldn’t be here now. I can’t believe it and it’s really impossible for me to describe my feelings, I’m so happy for everyone! My team did a fantastic job and my Yamaha and my Michelin tyres worked very, very well today. The start of the race was quite crazy because there were some drops of rain and it looked like it might get worse. Anyway I just carried on and really I can’t remember the details of exactly what happened”¦I remember making my pass on Valentino; I know it was quite a risk so I’m sorry to him but at that point I felt that I could make it and get away from him, so I took the chance and it worked. I’m so proud of everyone, to be here after just three races and at the top of the championship as well is something that I could never have even dreamed of. We can’t afford to relax now however because Pedrosa and Rossi are here as well and they are two very fast and clever riders. I had some pain again in my arms today so tonight we will make a decision about whether or not I will have the operation before China, but for now I’m just going to enjoy this moment!” Daniele Romagnoli Team Manager “This is a dream come true for all of us; Jorge rode an unbelievable race. Watching him fight with the others it was impossible to believe that it is only his third race and now here he is, already a winner! Thanks to the team because they did a fantastic job to set the bike up and Yamaha and Michelin together gave us a fantastic package to work with. We had planned a test tomorrow but this will depend on the decision about Jorge’s operation. There are three weeks until the next race so there is plenty of time for him to recover if he chooses to go ahead with it. Now we’re looking forward to another exciting weekend with Jorge in China!” Masahiko Nakajima Team Director “Very impressive! This weekend Jorge has been very consistent and to get a third pole position and then go on to win is fantastic. He showed a strong drive in the race and proved that he can keep his concentration at the maximum for the entire race. I want to congratulate him for a great achievement and thank him on behalf of everyone at Yamaha. I hope he can continue to build on this and have a great season.” More, from another press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: ROSSI KEEPS ESTORIL PODIUM RECORD INTACT WITH THIRD PLACE Valentino Rossi extended his Estoril podium record with third place today, meaning he has now finished on the podium at all of his nine career visits to the Portuguese track. The Fiat Yamaha Team rider played a key part in an exciting first half of the race but was unable to keep pace with his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who took his maiden premier-class victory today to make it a second consecutive double podium for the Yamaha pair. Rossi got a good start from third on the grid and managed to take the lead from Lorenzo at the end of the straight after one lap. Spots of rain complicated issues and it was a tense first few laps with Rossi leading and Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso bunched together close behind him. Rossi pushed as hard as he dared whilst trying to conserve his tyres, but he was unable to pull a gap from the chasing pack and was eventually caught by his team-mate on lap 13 of 28. Pedrosa in turn passed him three laps later and from then on it was a somewhat lonely race in third for the multiple world-champion, as he dropped back and eventually crossed the line 12.723 seconds adrift. Rossi’s podium today gave him an important 16 points and he remains third in the championship. The Fiat Yamaha Team tops the team’s table, Yamaha the Manufacturer’s, whilst Tech 3 riders Colin Edwards and James Toseland finished fourth and seventh respectively to make it a good day all round for the Japanese factory. Rossi will stay on for a one-day test tomorrow ahead of the next race in China on 4th May. Valentino Rossi Position: 3rd Time: +17.223 “At the end of the day this isn’t a bad result for us because we expected this to be quite a difficult track for us. My M1 worked well today; I got a good start and was able to stay at the front to begin with and have some fun. My Bridgestone tyres were working well but I was thinking about trying to conserve them as much as possible because I knew 28 laps was going to be hard. Unfortunately I couldn’t stay with Lorenzo and Pedrosa in the later stages and I started to slide a little bit, but anyway to have two podiums in a row with Bridgestone is very important because we’re still in the learning stages of our relationship. I think we’ve made another step forward this weekend and we have an important test tomorrow I hope in China we will be able to fight for the win!” Davide Brivio Team Manager “Valentino defended very well today despite difficult conditions for us and we took a good podium and some important points. We expected it to be hard and I want to thank the team and our engineers for working hard all week and keeping the level of our Yamaha-Bridgestone package at the maximum. We’re looking forward to another 15 races and we hope that in China we’ll be in attacking form and able to get our first win with Bridgestone! We will work on tyres and settings for China tomorrow and then everyone will have a good rest before the next challenge.” Masahiko Nakajima Team Director “Unfortunately we are still struggling a bit in some areas but anyway the combination between our chassis and the Bridgestone tyres is improving race by race. Step-by-step we are making progress and for sure here in Estoril everything went even better than in Jerez. This is a very unusual track; it requires a very delicate chassis balance because it has the slowest average speed in the world championship but also some very high-speed areas. In conclusion, I am happy with Valentino’s podium in these difficult conditions and I am confident that next time we will improve even more together with Bridgestone.” Results 1. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 45’53.089 2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda + 1.817 3. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team + 12.723 4. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha + 17.223 5. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing + 23.752 6. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro + 26.688 7. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha + 32.631 8. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki + 36.382 9. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 38.268 10. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini + 39.476 11. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini + 1’01.306 12. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team + 1’03.867 13. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro + 1’09.525 14. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team + 1’09.634 15. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP + 1’11.542 16. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing + 1’23.629 NOT CLASSIFIED Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda 12 Lap Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP 13 Lap Championship Standings 1. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 61 2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 61 3. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 47 4. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 40 5. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 29 6. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 26 7. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing 24 8. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 22 9. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP 21 10. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda 19 11. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini 16 12. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki 14 13. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro 12 14. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 8 15. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team 7 16. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 7 17. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team 3 18. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing 3 Estoril: Lap Record J. Lorenzo (Yamaha) 2008, 1’37.404 Estoril: Best Lap J. Lorenzo (Yamaha) 2008, 1’35.715 More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: In the realisation of a lifelong dream, Jorge Lorenzo took his maiden MotoGP victory in a thrilling bwin.com Grande Premio de Portugal. The Spaniard had an incredible race onboard his Fiat Yamaha M1, and now leads the World Championship after his phenomenal start to 2008. Lorenzo achieved the `holy trinity´of pole position, fastest lap and race win at the circuit where he had never previously triumphed in the lower cylinder categories, joining 2005 race winner Alex Barros as the only rider to perform the feat in Estoril. The rider level on points with Lorenzo in the standings conceding leadership of the classification by virtue of the most recent result – Dani Pedrosa was again the main thorn in his arch rival´s side. The Repsol Honda rider took the holeshot at a packed first corner, but was swamped by fellow front row starters Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi. The trio had a fearsome battle in the opening stages, until Lorenzo passed both he and Rossi definitively and in rapid succession on lap thirteen. Two laps later, Pedrosa made his push for second place, overtaking Rossi for the final time. He will now have his sights set on China, the scene of his own rookie victory back in 2006. Five-time MotoGP World Champion Rossi took the second Fiat Yamaha machine to a podium finish, tyre manufacturer Bridgestone´s first ever rostrum at Estoril. His second consecutive podium also helps Fiat Yamaha to the lead in the team standings. Behind the rostrum battle, fourth spot saw two crashes in quick succession from JiR Team Scot´s Andrea Dovizioso and Repsol Honda´s Nicky Hayden, leaving Colin Edwards to take the position onboard his pneumatic valve engine powered Tech 3 Yamaha. John Hopkins had his best finish so far as a Kawasaki rider in fifth, ahead of reigning World Champion Casey Stoner. The Ducati Marlboro man experienced a string of problems in the race, which began with him swapping grid positions with Loris Capirossi after a sighting lap mix-up. He now lies fourth in the standings, ahead of today´s seventh place finisher James Toseland. Rizla Suzuki´s Chris Vermeulen and Capirossi, alongside San Carlo Honda Gresini newcomer Shinya Nakano, completed the top ten. Jorge Lorenzo Race Winner “First of all I have to thank Yamaha and all my sponsors for the trust that they placed in me. It is unbelievable to be here in MotoGP, to win in Estoril. “The start of the race was crazy! I took a big risk passing Valentino, but luckily I got past him OK and was able to break away. Tomorrow I will undergo an operation on my arm pump, but for now I will celebrate as if it was the last day on earth!” 250cc Alvaro Bautista opened his win account for 2008 with a runaway victory in the 250cc Portuguese showdown. The Mapfre Aspar rider was unstoppable from the opening lap, extending a huge gap over his rivals and repeating his triumph from 2007. The Spaniard now has three wins in as many years in Portugal, having also crossed the line first in the 2006 125cc race. He now climbs his way back up the quarter litre standings, following disappointment in Qatar and Jerez. The rider who collided with Bautista on the final lap in previous round -Metis Gilera´s Marco Simoncelli- was once again the closest man to the Spaniard, albeit this time some seven seconds behind. Taking both his and Gilera´s first podium in the 250cc class, Simoncelli was once again involved in a controversial incident in the final stages of the race. He was chased down by Red Bull KTM rider and new World Championship leader Mika Kallio, who came close to impacting with the Italian in the dash for the line. Once calmed down after flashing a few heated gestures in Simoncelli´s direction, Kallio will have the comfort of a twelve point lead in the class spurring him on. He continued his impressive run of podium finishes which, combined with a retirement from previous leader Mattia Pasini, puts him in an enviable position in the classification. After a late push through the field, Thomas Luthi took fourth place for the Emmi-Caffe Latte Aprilia team, ahead of Red Bull KTM´s Hiroshi Aoyama and JiR Team Scot´s Yuki Takahashi. Julian Simon, Hector Barbera and Hector Faubel added to the Spanish top ten contingent, joined by Czech rider Lukas Pesek. Polaris World rider Pasini crashed not once but twice in the quarter litre race; the Italian fell for the first time when battling with Hiroshi Aoyama for third and, after picking himself and his Aprilia back up, took another tumble when he discovered that his brakes had been damaged in the previous incident. 125cc Simone Corsi took his second consecutive victory in the 125cc race in Estoril, retaining the lead in the overall classification after a steady ride from pole. The Jack&Jones WRB rider was involved in a race-long battle with Belson Derbi´s Joan Olive, as those involved in the tussle for the win gradually dropped out of the running. In the end it came down to Corsi vs. Olive, although the last lap was more a question of Corsi holding his nerve than duking it out with his Spanish rival. He was up to the task, and passed the chequered flag three tenths of a second ahead of Olive. Continuing the team´s fine form from Jerez, both Jack&Jones WRB riders placed on the podium. Nico Terol earned a second successive rostrum finish in third place, taking the fledgling team further up the group standings. Heading the group competing for fourth place, Stevie Bonsey achieved his best ever Grand Prix result in the third race of his sophomore season. The American started from second on the grid, and his weekend is a positive boost for both him and his DeGraaf Grand Prix Aprilia team, who also occupied the next place down through Danny Webb. Reigning World Champion Gabor Talmacsi experienced a continuation of his difficulties from the opening two races, a podium spot still eluding him in his title defending year. He rounded off the top six, ahead of Mike di Meglio, Stefan Bradl, Sergio Gadea and Sandro Cortese. Battling for victory, Polaris World´s Bradley Smith crashed out in the latter stages of the race, whilst other spectacular tumbles befell Raffaele de Rosa and Karel Pesek. More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Rossi claims Portuguese podium; Hopkins, Stoner shine Round 3: Portugal Race Estoril Circuit, Sunday 13 April 2008 Fiat Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi took his second consecutive podium result using Bridgestone tyres in today’s Portuguese Grand Prix at the Estoril circuit. Having led the race early on, Rossi ultimately finished in third place behind eventual race winner Jorge Lorenzo and second-placed man Dani Pedrosa. The result marks the sixtieth individual podium result for a Bridgestone-shod rider in MotoGP since its entry into the premier-class back in 2002. Kawasaki’s John Hopkins and Ducati’s Casey Stoner put in strong performances to claim solid top six results with fifth and sixth positions respectively. Stoner’s run was even more impressive since he was battling a loose box from his on-board camera, and he set the fourth quickest lap of the race on the 21st of 28 laps. His time of 1m37.972s was the quickest lap of the race by a Bridgestone rider, just ahead of Rossi who posted a 1m37.975s on lap 17. Suzuki duo of Chris Vermeulen and Loris Capirossi also took top ten results in eighth and ninth with Honda Gresini’s Shinya Nakano rounding out the top ten. A few riders crashed out in the latter half of the race, enabling most riders to make up valuable positions after what has been another difficult Portuguese weekend for Bridgestone. Light drops of rain fell in the early stages of the race leaving track conditions far from ideal, but wet weather tyres were not required. Most riders opted for medium specification front and rear slick tyres but Stoner, Rossi and Nakano all used a softer spec front while Hopkins enjoyed his strong run to fifth place using a hard specification rear. Bridgestone will stay on in Estoril tomorrow where hopefully dry and settled weather conditions will enable it to carry out extensive testing of race and qualifying compounds and constructions. Hiroshi Yasukawa Director of Bridgestone Motorsport “It was a long and difficult race this afternoon for all our riders and Valentino’s third place was a good result for us in these circumstances. John and Casey also showed a fighting spirit to take good points-scoring results for Kawasaki and Ducati, which means we have three different manufacturers using our tyres in the top six today. The continuous support and efforts from our teams and riders this weekend has been greatly appreciated and we hope to return to winning ways very soon.” Hirohide Hamashima Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Race Tyre Development “After this weekend, we can clearly recognise our strengths and our weaknesses. The main area of weakness has been a lack of grip compared to our rivals, but we now have a clear picture and all our staff will immediately work on improving this situation. On the positive side, we could see on Friday morning and again in this morning’s warm-up that our wet weather tyre performance is quite reasonable both for the full wet and shallow wet tyres. Fortunately, we have only had three races of this long season but our focus us on recovering and we will work harder to regain the ground to our competitors. We will start from tomorrow’s test here in Estoril with an extensive test of race and qualifying tyres.” Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha 3rd Position (+12.723s from race winner) “I had a good start to the race and the grip levels at the beginning were good. I tried to save the tyre a bit because I knew it would be difficult in the closing stages of the race, but unfortunately we could not keep the pace of the leading two riders, who were lapping easily in the 1m37s. We still need to work with Bridgestone, especially in the last part of the race, but this is the second consecutive podium in only our third race with the Yamaha-Bridgestone package, so there is reason to be optimistic for the rest of this long season.” Bridgestone-shod Riders’ Race Results and Tyre Choices Pos. Rider Team Race Time Gap Front Tyre (all 16.5”) Rear Tyre (all 16.5”) P3 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 46m05.812s +12.723s Slick-Soft Slick-Medium P5 John Hopkins Kawasaki Racing Team 46m16.841s +23.752s Slick-Medium Slick-Hard P6 Casey Stoner Ducati Corse 46m19.777s +26.688s Slick-Soft Slick-Medium P8 Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 46m29.471s +36.382s Slick-Medium Slick-Medium P9 Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 46m31.357s +38.268s Slick-Medium Slick-Medium P10 Shinya Nakano San Carlo Honda Gresini 46m32.565s +39.476s Slick-Soft Slick-Medium P11 Alex de Angelis San Carlo Honda Gresini 46m54.395s +1m01.306s Slick-Medium Slick-Medium P12 Toni Elias Alice Team 46m56.956s +1m03.867s Slick-Medium Slick-Soft P13 Marco Melandri Ducati Corse 47m02.614s +1m09.525s Slick-Medium Slick-Medium P14 Sylvain Guintoli Alice Team 47m02.723s +1m09.634s Slick-Medium Slick-Medium P16 Anthony West Kawasaki Racing Team 47m16.718s +1m23.629s Slick-Medium Slick-Medium Weather: Dry Air 18°C, Track 21°C, Humidity 53% (taken from official MotoGP timing) More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racers Chris Vermeulen and Loris Capirossi raced to eighth and ninth places respectively during today’s Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril, to earn valuable points in the race for the championship. Vermeulen got off to a great start from his 13th position on the grid and was up to eighth by the end of lap one. Suzuki’s Australian star then traded places with a number of riders before bringing his Suzuki GSV-R home for his highest placed finish of the year so far. Capirossi made a good start and picked up a couple of places in the first lap. The experienced Italian struggled to get the grip he was looking for throughout the race, but still battled on to bring the bike home in a respectable ninth position, a result that moves him up to sixth in the rider’s championship. Nearly 42,000 fans at trackside watched as the dry race began with a light rain shower, causing the white flags to be displayed, allowing the riders to come in and change their bikes for ones with wet weather tyres an option which no rider took. As the rain eased off, Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo on a factory Yamaha raced away to his premier MotoGP victory and first position in the championship. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will now stay in Estoril for a one day test before travelling to Shanghai in China for round four of the 2008 MotoGP World Championship on Sunday 4th May. Chris Vermeulen: “I made a good start from the fifth row and picked up some places in the first couple of corners. It was spitting with rain a bit at the start so it made it difficult to judge how hard to push. I got into a good position and had a battle with Stoner, Toseland and de Puniet for quite a long while in the race. Towards the end we started to get a bit of front end vibration and that caused me to slow down a bit, but it is the closest we have been to the front this year and we must keep making progress!” Loris Capirossi: “I didn’t expect such a difficult race today because we did such a good job in practice yesterday and I thought we would do much better! I was fighting a lot from the beginning for grip and I don’t know why the tyres didn’t work well, maybe it was a change in the temperature or the humidity I just don’t know. I tried to keep a good rhythm but it was really tough out there and when the race is as difficult as that I just try to keep going and get as good a result as possible, which is what I did today. I am obviously disappointed not just for me but for the whole team because our target is much bigger than what we achieved today.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “It has been a disappointing Grand Prix and we’d hoped for a lot better. We got both bikes into the top 10 but realistically we needed a bit of luck to do that, it’s very clear that we still have a lot of work to do. On the same bike and the same tyres yesterday, Loris could easily make very competitive lap-times, but today we really struggled to stay in touch. Our grip potential seemed to change a lot today, whereas our competitors didn’t seem to be as badly affected. “We are here for a full day’s testing tomorrow and let’s hope we can find a bit more pace, put this race behind us and head to Shanghai where we know the Bridgestone tyres and the Suzuki GSV-R have worked well in the past!” bwin.com Grande Premio de Portugal Race Classification: 1. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 45’53.089: 2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) +1.817: 3. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) +12.723: 4. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) +17.223: 5. John Hopkins (Kawasaki) +23.752: 8. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +36.382: 9. LORIS CAPIROSSI (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +38.268: World Championship Classification: 1. Lorenzo 61: 2. Pedrosa 61: 3. Rossi 47: 4. Casey Stoner (Ducati) 40: 5. James Toseland (Yamaha) 29. 6. LORIS CAPIROSSI (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) 26: 12. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) 14: More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: STONER RIDES AROUND PROBLEMS FOR A MERITABLE SIXTH PLACE Casey Stoner produced another example of the class and maturity that made him World Champion as he overcame an unfortunate technical problem to salvage a worthy sixth place. Shortly after the start of the race a part of the on-board camera on Casey’s GP8 came lose, flapping dangerously between his handlebars and front fairing. After dropping all the way back to eleventh place, Stoner showed great composure and skill to fix the problem himself before putting together a sensational comeback that saw him set the fourth fastest lap of the race on his way to sixth place. That was enough to seal 10 crucial points that keep the Australian holding firmly to fourth place in the championship. Stoner’s team-mate Marco Melandri paid a heavy price for his difficulties during practice, having never found a suitable set-up for this circuit. The Italian struggled to thirteenth place and is looking forward to the next race at China, which should be more suited to the characteristics of his bike. CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 6th in the race, 4th overall on 40 points “It was incredible what happened today, we had a problem which was no fault of the bike from the beginning of the race. I didn’t understand what was going on and wasn’t sure if an important part of the bike was involved. It was a major distraction. Sometimes the piece would lock the steering and sometimes it locked the clutch lever. It was a very difficult situation but eventually I worked out a way to ride around it. Every time I came down the straight I pushed it back into place but the turbulence from the wind would blow it back out again so it was very frustrating. I think a better result for sure was possible without this but we have to take this as a positive thing and not reflect on the negatives. It wasn’t a good weekend for us but the problem in the race was not a general fault with the bike, just one of those things that happens from time to time. We need to continue working hard in China, a track that should be a little better for us, and hope for a bit more luck.” MARCO MELANDRI (Ducati Marlboro Team) 13th in the race, 13th overall on 12 points “The result in the race is a direct reflection of a difficult weekend, during which we’ve been unable to find a satisfactory set-up for the bike. All I can do is wait and hope that this proves to be the second of the two worst races for us this season and that things start to be more favourable from China onwards.” LIVIO SUPPO (Ducati MotoGP Project Leader) “I actually think this was one of Casey’s best races. He had the composure to take control of the situation when a quite unusual problem came out. He was able to hold his nerve and he produced an outstanding ride, with the fourth fastest time of the race and important points for the championship. It’s been a strange weekend but Casey is still in there, his potential remains intact and we’re happy about that. As far as Marco is concerned I think we have to focus on the positives and work from them towards a solution.” More, from a press release issued by JiR Team Scot Honda: Excellent race performance from Andrea Dovizioso despite crash The Grand Prix of Portugal ended today for Andrea Dovizioso in a crash, which was poor reward for the effort and skill he displayed during the first half of the race. Dovi started well from seventh on the grid to battle through his fellow competitors to join the lead group of four riders, which soon pulled away from the chasing pack. Andrea and his Honda RC212V were not dropped by the Yamahas of Jorge Lorenzo, Valentino Rossi or the Honda of Dani Pedrosa, showing that Andrea was able to maintain an excellent rhythm, even if the track was not in the best condition thanks to the overnight rain and the spots of rain which arrived during the race. Sadly, 12 laps from the end during a hard-braking section of the track he lost the front-end of his 800cc Honda and he was out of the race. For Andrea this has been very important experience, as he was able to have a pace in the race even quicker than during practice and this makes Estoril an important step forward in the growth of the JiR Team Scot rider. Tomorrow the team will remain here for a test day after the to try several solutions in order to increase the performance of their technical package. Luca Montiron Team Director, JiR Team Scot “What Andrea did today in Portugal has to be considered a good day despite the crash as it shows he’s able to stay with the top riders. He showed skill and a lot of determination for more than half the race and with everyone riding in very tricky conditions he was able to display a rhythm that only the other three riders ahead were able to maintain. I’m sure this will be a race very important for the experience of Andrea in MotoGP and he was able to demonstrate a lot of character and determination to the other riders.” Cirano Mularoni Team Manager, JiR Team Scot “From the start Andrea was able to maintain a good rhythm and stick with the leading group. At this point we had two chances: to try harder and go for the podium or maintain position and keep a safe fourth place. I agree with Andrea’s tactics. He was always pushing, trying hard to get a big result and the crash is just something that has changed the names on the results sheet. Up until that point it was still a fantastic race for us. From the technical point of view we are OK and ready for the next race.” Andrea Dovizioso Rider, JiR Team Scot MotoGP HONDA RC212V DNF 6th best lap: 1′ 37.985″ “I did a very good race and this makes me happy. I was able to maintain an astonishing rhythm and was half a second under my pace from the practice sessions. I never give up, as I want to try to stay with the lead group and get a good result for the team and myself. My performances are improving, not only at the start of the weekend but also in the race. To be behind the top three riders was a great experience and I understood and learned a lot of things. We have to use at the maximum the potential of our Honda and find the correct chassis and engine tuning to keep this quick rhythm during whole race without being at the complete limit, which I was at today. The crash was only because I was pushing at the very maximum, entering the corner so very hard and so I lost grip at the front. Even if there were a lot of drops of rain around this didn’t alter our performance. With my performance I don’t think I can blame myself, these things happen. Tomorrow we will stay for a test day as we are still working on our technical configuration to do better next time. I want to really thank the team for the work done this weekend.” More, from another press release issued by JiR Team Scot Honda: Fighting race for Yuki Takahashi as the Japanese ace holds fourth in championship After a battling 26-laps at the 250cc Portuguese Grand Prix, Yuki Takahashi finished the race in sixth position. Starting from fifth position on the grid, Yuki was baulked for the early laps as he got caught up with some slower riders. Eventually the Japanese rider caught up with the leading group and slotted into third place, but Yuki was soon caught and passed by KTM’s Mika Kallio leaving the JiR Team Scot rider to battle with Mattia Pasini and Hiroshi Aoyama. With ten laps to go Yuki began to push hard once more, but was caught by Thomas Luthi. By now Yuki’s front tyre was giving him less grip so his Honda was unable to hold onto the podium place and he finished the race in sixth place. The result gives Yuki fourth in the championship still near the championship leader Kallio. Cirano Mularoni Team Manager, JiR Team Scot “After the good practice sessions I said that we had the possibility to catch the podium but the start of the race mean that this didn’t pan out for us. I’m sure that Yuki could have done the times required to stay with the leaders, but at the start he got caught up with some riders who were much slower than Yuki in the corners. As usual Yuki attacked and showed his fighting spirit and good physical condition. We are now fourth in the championship and not too far from the leader and this will push us on in the coming races.” Yuki Takahashi Rider, JiR Team Scot 250GP HONDA RS250RW 6th Position: 9th fastest lap – 1’42.575″ “I’m satisfied about my race and riding style on the Honda, but I expected a better result because the bike was well prepared for Estoril in the practice sessions by my team. I got a good start but in the first laps I was in a slower group and got held up particularly in the corners. It was hard to overtake and on the straight they were simply faster than me. To catch them I had to be at my absolute maximum. The track condition wasn’t so good, because overnight rain cleaned the track and lap-times were higher than in practice. Near the end of the race Thomas Luthi caught us fast but by then my front tyre was finished. I lost grip for a while and it was impossible to get a good rhythm. I’m sad as here we could do better, but in the championship we are near to the top and we can improve.” Gianni Berti Technical Co-ordinator, JiR Team Scot “A positive race considering our race condition and also the fact that thanks to the overnight rain the track conditions were not so good and there were also some damp patches. This meant that the lap times were not so good. Yesterday the team worked very hard and gave Yuki a very good bike to race with and he rode a race, which was always aggressive. His performance is always moving forward and I think in the championship we can get better results in the future.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: HOPKINS ON A HIGH AFTER ESTORIL The Portuguese Grand Prix took place today at Estoril and Kawasaki rider, John Hopkins, claimed his best ever finish at the circuit. The 24-year-old Anglo American rode over the line in fifth position after 28 laps, giving him his first top five position at Estoril, which is famously hard on bikes, riders and tyres. However, Hopkins, his Ninja ZX-RR and the Bridgestone rubber he was running, all held up against the violent assault of the gruelling race. His ride also provided him with his best finish so far since joining Kawasaki, beating his previous highest placing, a seventh, at Jerez last month. Meanwhile, team mate Anthony West, fared less well, passing the chequered flag in a disappointing 16th position after struggling to find his form. He will now aim to up his game and claim some much-needed points in the forthcoming rounds after further testing at Estoril tomorrow. The next race is at Shanghai in two weeks’ time. It will be Hopkins’ centenary round in MotoGP so with that to celebrate, and buoyed by today’s excellent result, he will no doubt be looking to emulate his podium finish at the Chinese circuit last year. But on a green bike this time! John Hopkins 5th Position “I’m really pleased as my aim was for a top five finish today. I got a really good start and the first lap was quite frantic as I went around the outside of a few riders, before settling into a rhythm with the leading pack. There was a bit of rain to contend with in the opening laps and I made some small mistakes, which caused me to drop back a little. Around halfway, the grip level dropped but I raced as hard as possible as Casey Stoner was closing the gap between us. Our main area to improve on is qualifying, as we keep giving ourselves a lot of work to do in the race by having a poor grid position. I’m looking forward to Shanghai: the Kawasaki will be better suited to it and we can hopefully achieve an even stronger result there.” Anthony West 16th Position “What can I say about today that the result doesn’t already say for me? It would be easy to say I’m disappointed but, if I’m completely honest, the main feeling is one of intense frustration. I just can’t seem to get the bike to work for me; all weekend it’s felt nervous and it’s constantly moving around. I can ride round the problems on the straights and into the turns but I’m losing massive amounts of time on the exit, where the bike feels like it’s going to throw me off if I so much as touch the throttle. John doesn’t seem to have the same problem, which just makes it doubly frustrating. We’ll aim to find a solution during testing tomorrow, because I’m not here to run around at the back of the field.” Michael Bartholemy Kawasaki Competition Manager “To finish fifth here is superb as Estoril is not a place we’ve been particularly strong at in the past. John rode a fantastic race and he was also the second Bridgestone rider to cross the line. Now I hope we can continue to move forward at the next race, where the track is more suited to our Ninja ZX-RR and our Bridgestone tyres. I had hoped for a better result from Anthony. Normally he’s able to turn it on in the race and improve on both his practice and qualifying performance, but it just didn’t happen for him today. We need to find the root cause of his problems, and then come up with a solution, because the current situation isn’t good for him and it isn’t good for Kawasaki.” More, from a press release issued by Michelin: FIRST-TIME MICHELIN WINNER LORENZO ‘IN HEAVEN’ Lorenzo wins first MotoGP victory ahead of fellow Michelin man Pedrosa Michelin men Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) dominated this afternoon’s Portuguese GP to finish first and second and share the joint World Championship lead after three rounds of the 18-race World Championship. The two Spaniards spent the first half of the race disputing the lead with Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1) in spectacular style but as the pace increased they left the Italian behind. The early laps had been particularly difficult, with light rain falling across the Estoril circuit, situated just a few miles inland from the Atlantic. Michelin had also dominated qualifying, with every one of its seven riders in the top eight, rookie Lorenzo taking pole position and bettering last year’s pole time by almost six tenths of a second. “We’re very happy with this weekend,” said Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin’s director of motorcycle racing. “We knew Valentino has won five times here, so he was very motivated to win again, but both Jorge and Dani were able to ride faster than him. Congratulations to Jorge for his first win with Michelin tires and congratulations also to Dani for another excellent ride. They both chose similar tires today, Dani’s rear slick just a little bit harder. This is always a tough circuit, which is very aggressive on the right side of the tires and much less so on the left side. But today it was more difficult than usual during the early laps, it must have been worrying for the riders because they were seeing rain on their visors.” Lorenzo has made an astonishing entry into MotoGP, the double 250 World Champion making history by becoming the first premier-class rookie to take pole at his first three events. Second at Losail and third at Jerez last month, it seemed only a matter of time before he made it to the top of the podium. “I feel like I’m in heaven,” said the 20 year-old who also set a new lap record. “We didn’t expect this. We thought I’d be sixth or seventh after three races, but we have to be careful because Valentino and Pedrosa are both very fast and very clever riders. The rain wasn’t good for us mentally. It was a little scary. But when the rain stopped I could ride quite good. The bike is working so well and we are doing some great work with Michelin, I feel great with the tires.” Colin Edwards (Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1-Michelin) also rode an excellent race to fourth place, five seconds off the podium and three places ahead of British rookie James Toseland (Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1-Michelin). Italian rookie Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Team Scot Honda RC212V-Michelin) ran brilliantly with the leaders until he fell at half-distance. Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) set the third fastest lap of the race behind Lorenzo and Pedrosa and was catching the leading group when he slid off. Portuguese Grand Prix results 1. Jorge Lorenzo (Sp), Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin, 45:53.089, 153.12 km/h 2. Dani Pedrosa (Sp), Repsol Honda Team RC212V-Michelin, +1.817 3. Valentino Rossi (I), Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1, +12.723 4. Colin Edwards (USA), Tech 3 Yamaha YZR-M1-Michelin, +17.223 5. John Hopkins (USA), Kawasaki Racing Team, +23.752 6. Casey Stoner (Aus), Ducati Marlboro Team, +26.688 7. James Toseland (GB), Tech 3 Yamaha YZR-M1-Michelin, +32.631 8. Chris Vermeulen (Aus), Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, +36.382 9. Loris Capirossi (I), Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, +38.268 10. Shinya Nakano (Jpn), Team San Carlo Honda Gresini, +39.476 11. Alex De Angelis (RSM), Team San Carlo Honda Gresini, +1:01.306 12. Toni Elias (Sp), Alice Team Ducati, +1:03.867 13. Marco Melandri (I), Ducati Marlboro Team, +1:09.525 14. Sylvain Guintoli (F), Alice Team Ducati, +1:09.634 15. Randy De Puniet (F), LCR Honda RC212V-Michelin, +1:11.542 16. Anthony West (Aus), Kawasaki Racing Team, +1:23.62 More, from a press release issued by Honda: MotoGP, 250GP and 125GP race report Weather: largely dry, occasional light showers Temperature: 18-degrees ambient, 21-degrees track Humidity: 53% Crowd: 41,800 PEDROSA TAKES SECURE SECOND TO TIE POINTS LEAD Canny Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) rode with both pace and calculation to make the most of a Portuguese Grand Prix in which he had to watch his bitterest rival Jorge Lorenzo take the win with Valentino Rossi third (both Yamaha). Lorenzo and Dani now jointly lead the world standings. What first appeared as if it might be one of the next firecracker races of this intriguing 2008 season eventually turned into a first premier class win for Lorenzo. But a solid ride for points for Dani who, despite his fierce rivalry with Lorenzo, knows when to take the points and when to take the fight, was reward enough today for Honda. Dani, as he has tended to do this season, stormed away from the line to lead the horde into turn one. Rossi was on his tail and lightning-starter Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) was up with the action. Lorenzo, from pole, too. Rossi barged past Dani to take the lead, but Lorenzo was anxious to make the speed he’d established as fastest man during qualifying translate into a race-dominating stint. Rossi and Lorenzo then turned to disputing the lead among themselves while Dani watched, waiting. As the early laps passed without incident it became clear the front four of Rossi, Lorenzo, Pedrosa and the increasingly impressive Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Scot Honda RC212V) were in charge. They left the green-liveried form of John Hopkins (Kawasaki) in their wake while it first appeared he might be able to hold onto the front-runners. And it was Lorenzo knew he had the speed to make a pace that would establish himself as the man to make the running. His pass at the tricky uphill chicane to deprive Rossi of the lead was perfectly timed and expertly executed. He ghosted past the former World Champion to work on making catch-up virtually impossible for the pursuers. Dani did all he possibly could to reel in his rival but while Honda’s main man was grafting hard his cohorts were struggling. Nicky Hayden fell mid-race while holding fourth. Dovi preceded him when a good result was in his grasp by falling on lap 12. These DNFs were unfortunate but demonstrated the undoubted efforts these Honda men will surely soon translate into solid results. By lap 18 Lorenzo had a one second advantage over Dani and during this 28-lap contest over the 4.182km of Estoril not even the changeable weather, that at times threatened to curtail the 250cc race prior to the main event, could put Lorenzo’s maiden win in doubt. With three laps to go Lorenzo had established a 1.693 second lead and Pedrosa was never going to act rashly enough to derail his title points challenge in risking a second place finish in pursuit of a one lost cause in an 18-race series. Rossi’s third-place finish keeps him in the early season title hunt but with Lorenzo and Pedrosa sharing a 61-point each haul after three rounds (Lorenzo technically ahead by virtue of his win being the most recent win), his 41-point tally in third at this early juncture must hint that these Spanish stars are now to upset the old order. Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) was holding seventh when he ran into the run-off area on the penultimate lap. He rejoined to finish 15th, while Gresini team-mates Shinya Nakano (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) and Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) flirted with the top-ten places: Nakano netting tenth and de Angelis shy in 11th. Dani said: “After our difficult pre-season it’s good to be in this position now, so we are very happy. Today was a good race, the beginning was quite fun, but also a little dangerous because it was raining a bit. When the rain stopped, the pace got faster and faster, so we had to concentrate very hard to maintain tyre grip all the time. Eventually we finished second and we’re happy. When Lorenzo started pulling away I still had to pass Rossi, then when I did pass Rossi, Lorenzo already had a gap. I tried to close the gap, or at least maintain it. Finally we got second and it’s a good result.” Nicky Hayden (DNF), said: “The first few laps were certainly not easy, some parts of the track were a little wetter than others and I had on a pretty hard tyre. I got settled in, and the warmer I was getting the tyres the better they were working and I was able to start moving up, so things were feeling pretty good. You know, I got fourth place at Jerez and I certainly didn’t want to settle in there and ride around, so I had to push hard and you know when you push hard you make mistakes. It’s not a parade you can’t just cruise around. It’s unfortunate because the bike was working good and we were hungry for a good result, so my own mistake. We just have to step it up a bit.” Dovi (DNF) said: “I did a very good race and this makes me happy. I was able to maintain an astonishing rhythm and was half a second under my pace from the practice sessions. I never give up, as I want to try to stay with the lead group and get a good result for the team and myself. My performances are improving, not only at the start of the weekend but also in the race. To be behind the top three riders was a great experience and I understood and learned a lot of things. The crash was only because I was pushing at the very maximum, entering the corner so very hard and so I lost grip at the front. With my performance I don’t think I can blame myself, these things happen.” De Puniet (15th) said: “I am very disappointed! After my third bad start of the season I knew I could go faster and catch the first five positions so I began to lap consistently fast. The bike set-up and the tyres were pretty good therefore I felt comfortable for the rest of the race and was able to pass several riders. Then, in the second-last lap at turn four, I lost the front. I went out in the gravel but was able to rejoin the race getting 15th. Anyway I want to thank my team for the great work they did in this weekend.” Shinya Nakano (10th) said: “It was a tough race because I didn’t have a good pace at the start and I lost a few positions on the opening lap. Towards the midway point I was able to improve my lap times and I tried to catch Capirossi, but I couldn’t get past him. Obviously I’m disappointed with this result because on Friday we had a good couple of practice sessions and yesterday also went well. We made a good tyre choice and the setting was satisfactory but today I suffered some problems with the rear of the bike so we must work on the suspension to improve stability under acceleration.” Alex De Angelis in 11th said: “Today was difficult for me because I ended up lapping alone after just a few laps and it’s not easy to maintain your concentration, but at the end we’ve improved on our grid position so thats good. We’re aware we’re still not at the level we showed during pre-season.” 250cc Grand Prix This lacklustre race (unless you were runaway winner Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia) was as much a testimony to the unstinting efforts of Yuki Takahashi (JiR Scott Honda RS250RW), who finished 6th having harried the plainly speedier Aprilia riders race-long, as it was to Bautista’s vice-like grasp of this track. Marco Simoncelli was second (by seven seconds), having started from pole, KTM man Mika Kallio third. Ratthapark Wilairot (Stop And Go Racing RS250RW) continued his strong second season in 250cc Grand Prix with 13th spot. Yuki Takahashi (JiR Scot Honda RS250RW) said: “I got a good start but in the first laps I was in a slower group and got held up particularly in the corners. It was hard to overtake and on the straight they were simply faster than me. To catch them I had to be at my absolute maximum. The track conditions weren’t so good, because overnight rain cleaned the track and lap-times were higher than in practice. I’m sad as here we could do better, but in the Championship we are near to the top and we can improve.” Ratthapark Wilairot (Stop And Go Racing RS250RW), who managed 13th place said: “We made some changes overnight to fix my front-end problem of yesterday, some small changes on geometry and suspension. It felt good in the warm-up but race conditions were damp. In the race everything felt good from the start, but after 10 laps the rear tyre was sliding badly and I couldn’t push as hard. The tyre was destroyed at the finish.” 125cc Louis Rossi (FFM Racing Honda RS125R), who broke an ankle in practice, was sidelined leaving the FFM Honda team to rely on the performance of wild card rider, Frenchman Cyril Carrillo who finished 25th. Honda rider quotes. GP Portugal – Race MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 2nd fastest lap 1m37.471s. “After our difficult preseason it’s good to be in this position now, so we are very happy. Today was a good race, the beginning was quite fun, but also a little dangerous because it was raining a bit and there were a few passing manoeuvres. When the rain stopped, the pace got faster and faster, so we had to concentrate very hard to maintain tyre grip all the time. Eventually we finished second and we’re happy. We always expected a tough race, so this result is very important for us. When Lorenzo started pulling away I still had to pass Rossi, then when I did pass Rossi, Lorenzo already had a gap. I tried to close the gap, or at least maintain it, and the gap stayed the same more or less for the remainder of the race. Finally we got second and it’s a good result. Shinya Nakano, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 10th – fastest lap 1m 38.666s. “It was a tough race because I didn’t have a good pace at the start and I lost a few positions on the opening lap. Towards the midway point I was able to improve my lap times and I tried to catch Capirossi, but I couldn’t get past him. Obviously I’m disappointed with this result because on Friday we had a good couple of practice sessions and yesterday also went well. We made a good tyre choice and the setting was satisfactory but today I suffered some problems with the rear of the bike so we must work on the suspension to improve stability under acceleration. Tomorrow we’ll use the test to focus on this aspect with the Grand Prix of China in mind.” Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 11th – fastest lap 1m 39.454s. “Today was difficult for me because I ended up lapping alone after just a few laps and it’s not easy to maintain your concentration, but at the end we’ve improved on our grid position so that’s good. We’re aware of the fact that we’re still not at the level we showed during preseason and that’s what I want to get back to fighting in the top eight. We have a lot of work to do with Bridgestone because the satellite Honda riders on Michelin tyres are doing a good job, so it’s clear we have to work hard with the tyres and that is the area we’ll be working on tomorrow, testing some of the new material Bridgestone will bring out here at Estoril.” Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda: 15th – fastest lap 1m 38.291s. “I am very disappointed! After my third bad start of the season I knew that I could go faster and catch the first 5 positions so I began to lap consistently fast. The bike set-up and the tyres were pretty good therefore I felt comfortable for the rest of the race and was able to pass several riders including Toseland. Then, in the second-last lap at turn nr. 4, I closed to much the angle in the middle of the corner and lost the front. I went out in the gravel but was able to rejoin the race getting the 15th position which is not the result we expected. Honestly with a better start I would have been able to catch Hopkins and probably Edwards. Anyway I want to thank my team for the great work they did in this week end and we will proceed with our set-up work in tomorrow’s testing day before the Chinese GP”. Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: dnf crash fastest lap 1m 37.806s. “The first few laps were certainly not easy, some parts of the track were a little wetter than others and I had on a pretty hard tyre. I had been choosing between that tyre and another a little bit softer, but with the way the weather’s been this weekend we really hadn’t got to do a lot of endurance on the harder one. I got settled in, and the warmer I was getting the tyres the better they were working and I was able to start moving up, so things were feeling pretty good. I made a few passes, I’d just got into fourth, felt like I wanted to close the gap on the guys in front of me. You know, I got fourth place at Jerez and I certainly didn’t want to settle in there and ride around, so I had to push hard and you know when you push hard you make mistakes. It’s not a parade you can’t just cruise around. The bike was working good, the tyres were working good, I felt pretty comfortable, so I was pushing. Turn seven’s downhill, certainly a trick corner, the front let go pretty early and down I went. It’s unfortunate because the bike was working good and we were hungry for a good result, so my own mistake. We just have to step it up a bit.” Andrea Dovizioso, JiR Scot Honda: dnf crash. Fastest lap 1m 37.985s. “I did a very good race and this makes me happy. I was able to maintain an astonishing rhythm and was half a second under my pace from the practice sessions. I never give up, as I want to try to stay with the lead group and get a good result for the team and myself. My performances are improving, not only at the start of the weekend but also in the race. To be behind the top three riders was a great experience and I understood and learned a lot of things. We have to use at the maximum the potential of our Honda and find the correct chassis and engine tuning to keep this quick rhythm during whole race without being at the complete limit, which I was at today. The crash was only because I was pushing at the very maximum, entering the corner so very hard and so I lost grip at the front. Even if there were a lot of drops of rain around this didn’t alter our performance. With my performance I don’t think I can blame myself, these things happen. Tomorrow we will stay for a test day as we are still working on our technical configuration to do better next time. I want to really thank the team for the work done this weekend.” 250cc: Yukio Takahashi, JiR Scot Honda: 6th – fastest lap 1m 42.575s. “I’m satisfied about my race and riding style on the Honda, but I expected a better result because the bike was well prepared for Estoril in the practice sessions by my team. I got a good start but in the first laps I was in a slower group and got held up particularly in the corners. It was hard to overtake and on the straight they were simply faster than me. To catch them I had to be at my absolute maximum. The track condition wasn’t so good, because overnight rain cleaned the track and lap-times were higher than in practice. Near the end of the race Thomas Luthi caught us fast but by then my front tyre was finished. I lost grip for a while and it was impossible to get a good rhythm. I’m sad as here we could do better, but in the championship we are near to the top and we can improve.” Ratthapark Wilairot, Thai Honda PTT SAG: 13th Fastest lap 1m43.925s. “We made some changes overnight to fix my front end problem of yesterday, small change on geometry and suspension changes. It felt good in the warm up but the conditions were damp and I could push at maximum. In the race everything felt good from the start, the engine and suspension but after 10 laps the rear tyre was sliding badly and I couldn’t push as hard as I had to. The tyre was destroyed at the finish.” 125cc: Louis Rossi, FFM Honda: Did not race due to injury sustained in practice. Race Results MotoGP Race Classification MotoGP : (28 laps = 117.096 km) Pos/ Rider / Nat / Team / Motorcycle / Time/ KM/H / Gap 1 / Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Fiat Yamaha Team / YAMAHA / 45’53.089 / 153.117 / 2 / Dani PEDROSA / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 45’54.906 / 153.016 / 1.817 3 / Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Fiat Yamaha Team / YAMAHA / 46’05.812 / 152.412 / 12.723 4 / Colin EDWARDS / USA / Tech 3 Yamaha / YAMAHA / 46’10.312 / 152.165 / 17.223 5 / John HOPKINS / USA / Kawasaki Racing Team / KAWASAKI / 46’16.841 / 151.807 / 23.752 6 / Casey STONER / AUS / Ducati Marlboro Team / DUCATI / 46’19.777 / 151.647 / 26.688 7 / James TOSELAND / GBR / Tech 3 Yamaha / YAMAHA / 46’25.720 / 151.323 / 32.631 8 / Chris VERMEULEN / AUS / Rizla Suzuki MotoGP / SUZUKI / 46’29.471 / 151.120 / 36.382 9 / Loris CAPIROSSI / ITA / Rizla Suzuki MotoGP / SUZUKI / 46’31.357 / 151.018 / 38.268 10 / Shinya NAKANO / JPN / San Carlo Honda Gresini / HONDA / 46’32.565 / 150.952 / 39.476 11 / Alex DE ANGELIS / RSM / San Carlo Honda Gresini / HONDA / 46’54.395 / 149.781 / 1’01.306 12 / Toni ELIAS / SPA / Alice Team / DUCATI / 46’56.956 / 149.645 / 1’03.867 13 / Marco MELANDRI / ITA / Ducati Marlboro Team / DUCATI / 47’02.614 / 149.345 / 1’09.525 14 / Sylvain GUINTOLI / FRA / Alice Team / DUCATI / 47’02.723 / 149.340 / 1’09.634 15 / Randy DE PUNIET / FRA / LCR Honda MotoGP / HONDA / 47’04.631 / 149.239 / 1’11.542 Pole Position: Jorge LORENZO 1’35.715 157.291 Km/h Fastest Lap (New record): Jorge LORENZO 1’37.404 154.564 Km/h Lap 18 Circuit Record Lap: Nicky HAYDEN 1’37.493 154.423 Km/h 2007 Circuit Best Lap: Jorge LORENZO 1’35.715 157.291 Km/h 2008 World Championship Positions: 1 LORENZO 61, 2 PEDROSA 61, 3 ROSSI 47, 4 STONER 40, 5 TOSELAND 29, 6 CAPIROSSI 26, 7 HOPKINS 24, 8 EDWARDS 22, 9 DOVIZIOSO 21, 10 HAYDEN 19, 11 NAKANO 16, 12 VERMEULEN 14, 13 MELANDRI 12, 14 DE PUNIET 8, 15 DE ANGELIS 7 250cc Race Classification 250cc: (26 laps = 108.732 km) Pos / Rider / Nat / Team / Motorcycle / Time / KM/H / Gap 1 / Alvaro BAUTISTA / SPA / Mapfre Aspar Team / APRILIA / 44’34.257 / 146.371 / 2 / Marco SIMONCELLI / ITA / Metis Gilera / GILERA / 44’41.307 / 145.986 / 7.050 3 / Mika KALLIO / FIN / Red Bull KTM 250 / KTM / 44’41.320 / 145.986 / 7.063 4 / Thomas LUTHI / SWI / Emmi – Caffe Latte / APRILIA / 44’47.255 / 145.663 / 12.998 5 / Hiroshi AOYAMA / JPN / Red Bull KTM 250 / KTM / 44’48.923 / 145.573 / 14.666 6 / Yuki TAKAHASHI / JPN / JiR Team Scot 250 / HONDA / 44’52.755 / 145.366 / 18.498 7 / Julian SIMON / SPA / Repsol KTM 250cc / KTM / 45’01.069 / 144.918 / 26.812 8 / Hector BARBERA / SPA / Team Toth Aprilia / APRILIA / 45’02.269 / 144.854 / 28.012 9 / Hector FAUBEL / SPA / Mapfre Aspar Team / APRILIA / 45’02.545 / 144.839 / 28.288 10 / Lukas PESEK / CZE / Auto Kelly – CP / APRILIA / 45’11.223 / 144.375 / 36.966 11 / Aleix ESPARGARO / SPA / Lotus Aprilia / APRILIA / 45’12.553 / 144.305 / 38.296 12 / Alex BALDOLINI / ITA / Matteoni Racing / APRILIA / 45’26.327 / 143.576 / 52.070 13 / Ratthapark WILAIROT / THA / Thai Honda PTT SAG / HONDA / 45’47.560 / 142.466 / 1’13.303 14 / Federico SANDI / ITA / Zongshen Team of China / APRILIA / 45’51.849 / 142.244 / 1’17.592 15 / Eugene LAVERTY / IRL / Blusens Aprilia / APRILIA / 45’55.620 / 142.049 / 1’21.363 Pole Position: Marco SIMONCELLI 1’40.257 150.166 Km/h Fastest Lap: Alvaro BAUTISTA 1’41.425 148.436 Km/h Lap 8 Circuit Record Lap: Alvaro BAUTISTA 1’40.521 149.771 Km/h 2007 Circuit Best Lap: Marco SIMONCELLI 1’40.257 150.166 Km/h 2008 World Championship Positions: 1 KALLIO 57, 2 PASINI 45, 3 BARBERA 39, 4 TAKAHASHI 37, 5 BAUTISTA 35, 6 AOYAMA 24, 7 DEBON 23, 8 SIMON 23, 9 SIMONCELLI 20, 10 ESPARGARO 19, 11 LOCATELLI 16, 12 LUTHI 14, 13 FAUBEL 13, 14 ABRAHAM 12, 15 PESEK 12. 125cc: Race Classification 125cc (23 laps = 96.186 km) Pos / Rider / Nat / Team / Motorcycle / Time / KM/H / Gap 1 / Simone CORSI / ITA / Jack & Jones WRB / APRILIA / 40’56.168 / 140.979 / 2 / Joan OLIVE / SPA / Belson Derbi / DERBI / 40’56.467 / 140.962 / 0.299 3 / Nicolas TEROL / SPA / Jack & Jones WRB / APRILIA / 41’02.523 / 140.615 / 6.355 4 / Stevie BONSEY / USA / Degraaf Grand Prix / APRILIA / 41’11.141 / 140.125 / 14.973 5 / Danny WEBB / GBR / Degraaf Grand Prix / APRILIA / 41’11.700 / 140.093 / 15.532 6 / Gabor TALMACSI / HUN / Bancaja Aspar Team / APRILIA / 41’12.036 / 140.074 / 15.868 7 / Mike DI MEGLIO / FRA / Ajo Motorsport / DERBI / 41’12.043 / 140.074 / 15.875 8 / Stefan BRADL / GER / Grizzly Gas Kiefer Racing / APRILIA / 41’14.055 / 139.960 / 17.887 9 / Sergio GADEA / SPA / Bancaja Aspar Team / APRILIA / 41’14.291 / 139.946 / 18.123 10 / Sandro CORTESE / GER / Emmi – Caffe Latte / APRILIA / 41’18.781 / 139.693 / 22.613 11 / Andrea IANNONE / ITA / I.C. Team / APRILIA / 41’23.658 / 139.419 / 27.490 12 / Dominique AEGERTER / SWI / Ajo Motorsport / DERBI / 41’23.712 / 139.416 / 27.544 13 / Pol ESPARGARO / SPA / Belson Derbi / DERBI / 41’24.538 / 139.369 / 28.370 14 / Michael RANSEDER / AUT / I.C. Team / APRILIA / 41’24.585 / 139.367 / 28.417 15 / Efren VAZQUEZ / SPA / Blusens Aprilia Junior / APRILIA / 41’28.881 / 139.126 / 32.713 Pole Position: Simone CORSI 1’45.367 142.883 Km/h Fastest Lap: Simone CORSI 1’45.557 142.626 Km/h Lap 10 Circuit Record Lap: Gabor TALMACSI 1’45.027 143.345 Km/h 2007 Circuit Best Lap: Mattia PASINI 1’44.675 143.828 Km/h 2007 World Championship Positions: 1 CORSI 59, 2 TEROL 42, 3 OLIVE 40, 4 BRADL 37, 5 GADEA 32, 6 DI MEGLIO 29, 7 BONSEY 23, 8 WEBB 21, 9 REDDING 20, 10 CORTESE 17, 11 SMITH 16, 12 TALMACSI 14, 13 ESPARGARO 13, 14 AEGERTER 12, 15 NIETO 11.