DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM READY FOR FINAL PUSH Ducati Marlboro Team riders Casey Stoner and Loris Capirossi go into the Portuguese Grand Prix aiming to obtain the best possible points haul before jetting overseas for the Japanese, Australian and Malaysian GPs. The remarkable Stoner currently leads the World Championship by an amazing 85 points after scoring his eighth win of the year at Misano earlier this month, while Capirossi lies eighth in the championship. And if at Estoril Stoner scores 15 points more than current second-placed rider Valentino Rossi, he will be crowned 2007 MotoGP World Champion. Stoner is on a roll at the moment – he has scored the ‘triple crown’ of pole position, race victory and fastest lap at the last three MotoGP events in the USA, Czech Republic and San Marino, his genius riding talent getting the absolute maximum out of his Desmosedici GP7 and its Bridgestone tyres. As the Australian says: “the more I ride the Ducati, the more comfortable I become and the faster I become”. The 2007 MotoGP series enters its final phase after Estoril, with the three flyaway events followed by the season-ending Valencia GP on November 4. LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project director “We are starting the final phase of the championship, so Estoril will be an important race for us and we are looking forward to the weekend. We are leading the championship thanks to Casey’s amazing riding – eight wins from 13 races is incredible – but we still have work to do. In any case Casey is doing a fantastic job – Bridgestone has won nine races this year, but only one with another rider. I believe he deserves full recognition for his riding talent and for the way he approaches racing. Of course, Ducati and our technical partners have also worked hard to achieve this success – this is competition, this is what racing is all about.” CASEY STONER, World Championship leader on 271 points “We’ve got five races left now and if we are able to win the championship it doesn’t matter at which race we win it, anywhere will do. Everything’s working really well with our package at the moment. The team and the technicians are great, we work very well together, we are like a family. That helps a lot, you can do the same job if you don’t have that relationship, but having a good relationship makes things more relaxed. I know the team believes in me and in my ability, which takes the pressure off, I felt this from the very first race. I’ve always gone quite well at Estoril, I won the 250 race there in 2005. Some of the track flows, some of it doesn’t. The fast right onto the back straight was almost flat out on the 990s, so it should be flat out this year, but it’s nothing like turn 11 in Turkey. The chicane is a bit too slow, really. There’s a couple of parts I really enjoy, like turn two, which is a very, very difficult off-camber downhill corner that catches out a lot of riders. There seems to be a lot of passing opportunities at Estoril, so you get a lot of overtaking, so it should be a reasonably good race.” LORIS CAPIROSSI, 8th overall on 98 points “I like riding at Estoril. Last year we had a difficult time there with the tyres but everything is different now, Bridgestone has made an amazing step forward this year. I think we have a good opportunity to have a good race in Portugal. We had quite a difficult weekend at Misano but we were able to recover really well for the race, and maybe what we learned there will help us at Estoril, which also features quite a few tricky corners. Estoril isn’t a bad racetrack, it’s not that interesting or that boring either, but it’s tight and bumpy, so it’s very physically demanding. A lot of the layout is fun, though the first corner is a bit of a joke and I’m not so keen on the tiny chicane which really, really tight and therefore a bit awkward, but I guess it’s the same for all the riders. For me, the best corner is turn five – for sure this is one of the best corners that we find throughout the whole MotoGP championship. It’s a big test of rider, machine and tyres, and it is very enjoyable, when you make a good job of it.” THE TRACK Estoril is MotoGP’s slowest track, but its contrast of very slow and very fast corners requires careful compromises in chassis settings, and it’s the same with the engine – the contrast between the fast start-finish straight and the many slow-speed corners requires maximum peak horsepower as well as gentle low-rpm performance. But perhaps the greatest concern for riders is the track’s proximity to the Atlantic. High-speed winds often whip off the ocean, blowing bikes and riders off course, and throwing dust onto the circuit, reducing grip. Estoril hosts its eighth World Championship GP this year, though this is the ninth Portuguese GP. The nation’s first two GPs were held at Spanish tracks in 1987 and 1988, because Estoril failed MotoGP’s stringent track safety standards. ESTORIL DATA Lap record: Kenny Roberts Junior (KR211V), 1m 37.914s, 153.759km/h-95.541mph Pole position 2006: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 1m 36.200s More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: BWIN.COM GRAND PRIX OF PORTUGAL, ESTORIL CIRCUIT SEPTEMBER 14-16, 2007 ROUND 14/18 REPSOL HONDA TEAM AIMING HIGH AT ESTORIL The Repsol Honda Team goes to this weekend’s Grand Prix of Portugal ready to secure a strong points haul as the 2007 MotoGP World Championship begins its final five races. With both Dani Pedrosa and defending World Champion Nicky Hayden in good form following the post-race test at Misano, the factory Honda pair will arrive at the Estoril circuit near Lisbon in positive mood. Both riders will be eager to avoid the sort of bad luck that saw them the innocent victims of a first lap incident at the last race in Italy. Though Pedrosa’s previous race results at Estoril don’t quite match up to his own record-breaking standards the Spaniard has proved he has plenty of pace at the 4.182km (2.597-mile) track. He secured pole position on his second visit to Estoril in the 125cc class in 2002 and was on pole again in the 250cc class in 2004. With an 18-point gap to Valentino Rossi in second place in this year’s World Championship, the 21-year-old from Barcelona is determined to put the misfortune of Misano behind him and return to the podium in Portugal. Hayden arrives at Estoril after a confidence-boosting test following the San Marino Grand Prix. Though like Pedrosa, Hayden’s Misano race was ruined on lap one, the following day the 26-year-old American finished second on the timesheets and was the top rider on Michelin tyres, recording impressive lap times on race rubber. With the pressure off Hayden in the championship race, the former dirt-track champion from Owensboro, Kentucky, is looking forward to having some fun this weekend. Estoril claims the title as the slowest circuit on the Grand Prix calendar with the MotoGP lap record set last season at an average speed of 154km/h (96mph) by Kenny Roberts Jr on the Honda powered KR211V. However the track features a fast start/finish straight which sees the Repsol Hondas hitting speeds of over 320km/h (200mph). The rest of the circuit is dominated by medium and slow corners, particularly the chicane complex preceding the final corner one of the tightest sections of track on the entire MotoGP world tour. Located close to the Atlantic coast, the circuit is also often affected by strong winds and wet weather. Last year’s race was won in spectacular fashion by the Honda RC211V of Toni Elias who crossed the line just 0.002s ahead of Valentino Rossi after a thrilling battle. Since the first Grand Prix was held at Estoril in 2000, Honda has won five of the seven races, with Valentino Rossi victorious in 2001, 2002 and 2003, Alex Barros taking the honours in 2005 and Elias’ brilliant win last year. The Grand Prix of Portugal takes place on Sunday at 15.00hrs local time. Dani Pedrosa World Championship Position: 3rd 168 points “It will be really good to get to Estoril and begin working with the team again. It’s so frustrating for everyone when you have a race like the last one at Misano, especially when it’s out of your control, and so I know the guys in my garage are as keen as I am to go for the result we deserve in Portugal. My results at this circuit haven’t been the best, but I’ve had a couple of pole positions before and I think that, if we can get the correct package this weekend, we should be able to be competitive. The tyres will be really important again of course and the weather here can really play a part. It rains quite often at this track, but since we’ve had a lot of rain already this year I hope we get a dry weekend in Portugal we’ll see. Obviously the memories from last year’s race are not great but that’s behind us now and we’ll go into the weekend with the normal approach and try to close the gap to second place in the championship.” Nicky Hayden World Championship Position: 9th 92 points “So we’re back in Portugal. It kinda makes me smile now to think about last year when I almost saw my dream of being World Champion go out of the window there. So it would be nice to get a little bit of redemption this weekend. It’s been a struggle at times this year and we’ve had some bad luck and made a few mistakes, so I am excited to go to Estoril and try to turn it around. The weather is always unpredictable which makes Thursday’s tyre choice really critical. I think right now the Michelins are quite depended on the weather conditions so we need to work to try to improve that. It would be really nice to roll something out of the truck on Friday morning that was nearly perfect and just have to sweeten it up a little. Though one thing we’ve learned this year is that our bike takes quite a while to set up we’ve really got to dial it in. My guys are doing some good work and we’ve been making some progress in the last few races. It’s not like I’m under the same kind of pressure as last year so we’ll just try to have fun, let it roll and see what we can do on Sunday.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna: MotoGP hits Portugal for possible title decider bwin.com Grande Premio de Portugal Race preview MotoGP The 14th round of the 2007 MotoGP World Championship takes place at the Estoril circuit on September 16th, as the best riders on two wheels go head to head at the bwin.com Grande Premio de Portugal. Always an exciting race, this year’s visit to Portuguese soil also has the added intrigue of being a possible title decider. With Casey Stoner currently leading the World Championship by 85 points with five races remaining, and a lowest finish of fifth this season, the Australian has an outside chance of clinching his maiden crown before his departure from Estoril. If Stoner manages to win his ninth race of the season, and only serious title rival Valentino Rossi is unable to finish higher than sixth, then the Ducati man will have accomplished his task and become the first Australian to win the World Championship since the heyday of Mick Doohan. Stoner failed to finish the race last year in Portugal, taking out Sete Gibernau in the Spaniard’s final Grand Prix appearance. He will have happier memories of his 2005 ride at the track, where he took victory in the 250cc class onboard a factory Aprilia. Currently lying in second place in the classification, Valentino Rossi has been having a tough time as of late. The Italian has not won a Grand Prix since the visit to Assen back in June, and most recently was forced to retire after just five laps in front of his home fans at Misano. ‘The Doctor’ has never finished off the podium at Estoril, winning four consecutive Portuguese Grands Prix between the 2001 and 2004 seasons. For the past two years he has played second fiddle, most excitingly last year when he was involved in a three man showdown with Kenny Roberts Jr and eventual winner Toni Elias. Although his title chances now remain slim, Rossi has indicated that he will believe that the season is over only when the mathematicians say so, and will not be easing off despite Stoner’s huge points advantage. For proof that anything can happen in MotoGP, one need look no further than current third placed rider Dani Pedrosa’s collision with team-mate Nicky Hayden at last year’s race in Portugal. The Spaniard looked to have cost the eventual 2006 World Champion his chance of the title when he made a rash move which forced both factory Honda riders into retirement, an embarrassing incident for Pedrosa of which he will be keen to avoid a repeat in 2007. Estoril is not one of the former 125cc and 250cc World Champion’s favoured circuits, as he has been unable to finish higher than fourth there in any class. Whilst Rossi is within catching distance of Pedrosa, the Spaniard himself has a group of riders hunting him down in search of third place in the World Championship. The Suzuki duo of Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins have been on a run of podium finishes as of late, and shared the rostrum for the first time at Misano. Friendly rivalry between the two has led to the continued success of the Suzuki GSV-R800, and just four points separate the Australian and the Anglo-American in their most successful seasons respectively in MotoGP. Vermeulen is the closest to Pedrosa in the standings, trailing the Honda rider by 24 points. On recent form, Marco Melandri appears to be a rare anomaly in motorcycle racing: a rider who actually performs better when injured. MotoGP’s own ‘Man of steel’ has been the recipient of a number of knocks and blows over the past three races, having taken hard practice crashes to his back and ankle and received a mystery neck injury at Brno. Despite this, the Italian has finished in the top four at the last two races that he has started, including a second podium of the season at Laguna Seca in the United States. Hopefully back at full strength for the race at Estoril, Melandri has been on the podium twice in the 250cc class at Portugal, but has a highest position of fourth in the premier class. The remainder of the top ten is comprised of Colin Edwards, Loris Capirossi, reigning World Champion Nicky Hayden and veteran Alex Barros. The latter is favoured to have his best race of the season in Portugal, where he won on his last visit in 2005. A good result would be important to the Brazilian, who is still in the shop window for a 2008 ride. The bwin.com Grande Premio de Portugal takes place on Sunday September 16th, with the opening practice sessions beginning on the preceding Friday. 250cc There is also a runaway leader in the 250cc class, where Jorge Lorenzo has been unstoppable in recent races. The Spaniard has won eight races so far this year, all from pole, and victory at Misano made him the most successful rider from his country in the history of the quarter litre class. The Aprilia factory rider has a pending issue to address at Estoril, as it is the only circuit on the calendar where he has failed to step onto the podium in 250cc. Lorenzo currently heads the standings by 54 points over Alex de Angelis, who has suffered a dip in form at the worst possible moment. Having gone 15 races without finishing lower than fourth, since crashing in Brno the San Marino rider’s batting average has dropped slightly with an eleventh and fifth place from the last two races. His focus now must surely be more trained on keeping ahead of Andrea Dovizioso, who he leads by a solitary point in the World Championship after the Italian suffered a heartbreaking blow to his title hopes with a mechanical problem at Misano. Alvaro Bautista, Hector Barbera and Hiroshi Aoyama complete the top six in the 250cc class. 125cc Arguably the most exciting races of recent weeks have come in the 125cc class, which is currently wide open after a series of twists in the title thriller. Gabor Talmacsi is currently on top of the lower cylinder category tree after a spectacular race at Misano, where team-mate and title rival Hector Faubel collided with Simone Corsi in a jaw-dropping race eventually won by the in-form Mattia Pasini. Talmacsi leads the way by ten points, turning around Faubel’s pre-Misano advantage. Bearing down on the duo is KTM rider Tomoyoshi Koyama, albeit from afar with a 44 point deficit to recover. Lukas Pesek’s title push appears to be over after he suffered a crash at the last round, and he lies in fourth ahead of Simone Corsi and Sergio Gadea. Circuit Info Situated on the Atlantic coast of Portugal, 28km from capital city Lisbon, the Estoril circuit was used as a MotoGP venue for the first time in 2000. Built in 1972 by Fernanda Pires da Silva the circuit was used mainly for European F2 races in the seventies and after major redevelopment in the early eighties it staged its first Formula 1 Grand Prix in 1984. One of the trickiest tracks on the GP calendar, Estoril combines long, constant radius corners with heavy braking zones, bumpy straights and a difficult chicane which was added to the back section in 1994. Its geographical position means that weather can be unpredictable and often windy, although its generally warm, dry nature makes it a regular choice for pre-season testing sessions.