Grand Prix of Portugal The penultimate of total 18 races for the premier class of the MotoGP world championship will take place in Estoril in Portugal next weekend. The MotoGP circus is travelling the eleventh consecutive season to the Portuguese “Circuito do Estoril”, which is located only a few kilometres away from the Atlantic coast of Portugal. Also the Portuguese Grand Prix is a big hope for improvement for Hiroshi Aoyama and the Interwetten Honda MotoGP Team. After the great performance of Aoyama in Sepang / Malaysia he suffered from the hard conditions and had a difficult time at Phillip Island and there was no chance to improve his performance from Malaysia, where he finished 7th. Portugal is a country with milder conditions, which will suit the Honda RC212V, the tyres and Aoyama better. The target is to collect as much points as possible in the last two races and if possible to finish the race in the Top 10 again. To repeat or better the performance of Malaysia would be Aoyama’s biggest wish for the last two races of the 2010 season. Hiroshi Aoyama: “I hope we can improve in Estoril. I like the track, but it is so different to the last two racetracks. Estoril is similar to the Motegi circuit and I hope it suits my bike. My race in Malaysia was so good and I had a lot of confidence and in Australia it was not good and I lost the confidence again. You never know in advance what will happen on the racetrack until you are really on it, so it is not easy to predict what will happen in Estoril and Valencia. The conditions will be different and for sure the bike will react different, so we will see where we are on Sunday afternoon.” More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing: REDDING AND FAUBEL AIMING HIGH AT ESTORIL Scott Redding heads for the penultimate round of the 2010 Moto2 World Championship determined to capitalise on the run of form that saw him finish second last time out in Australia. Hector Faubel is looking for a confidence boosting result at Estoril, ahead of his home Grand Prix at Valencia. Second place at Phillip Island moved Redding back up to tenth place in the series standings and the Marc VDS rider knows that good results in the final two races of the season could see him finish as high as seventh in the first ever Moto2 World Championship. A fifth front row start and second place in Australia have boosted Redding’s confidence significantly and, despite never having ridden a Moto2 bike at Estoril before, the British youngster heads to Portugal with a third podium finish firmly in his sights. Faubel’s Australian Grand Prix ended just seven corners into the race when he was involved in a collision with wildcard rider, Wayne Maxwell. The 27-year-old Spaniard heads for Portugal determined to make amends and to build his confidence with a good performance, ahead of his home race, and the final race of the season, at Valencia in two weeks time. Scott Redding #45 “The Estoril track is pretty good although I’m sure, like most of the tracks we’ve raced at this season, it’s going to seem very different on the Moto2 bike compared to the 125cc machine I raced there before. We’ll have to see how things go in practice on Friday, but I’m confident going into this weekend following the podium finish in Australia and I don’t see why we shouldn’t repeat that success in Portugal. Two good results in the final two races could see me has high as seventh in the championship at the end of the season, so it’ll be full gas once again this weekend!” Hector Faubel #55 “After the bad luck in Australia I hope we can secure a better result in Estoril this weekend. We have shown that we can finish in the points on a regular basis, but now I want to aim higher in the final two races of the season, starting this weekend in Portugal. A good result this weekend will build confidence ahead of the final race at Valencia, which is a very important weekend for me, as it’s my home Grand Prix.” Michael Bartholemy: Team Manager “With a front row start and second place in Australia Scott had a good end to the flyaway races and I hope he can carry this momentum through to Estoril. Scott’s confidence is high and he heads to Portugal looking for another podium finish to add to his tally, and also to improve his position in the championship standings. I have every confidence that he can achieve both this weekend. Hector had a difficult race in Australia and he needs to rebuild his confidence with a good performance in Estoril, ahead of his home race in Valencia just one week later.” More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: FIAT YAMAHA LOOKS TO TRIPLE CROWN AS MOTOGP RETURNS TO EUROPE Having wrapped up the Riders’ and Teams’ titles already this season, the victorious Fiat Yamaha Team returns to European shores this weekend for the penultimate round of the season at Estoril in Portugal. New MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo and his team-mate Valentino Rossi are eager to end the season on a high and hopeful that good results in the final two races will help Yamaha wrap up the coveted Triple Crown. Lorenzo has swept all before him the season and the 23-year-old has a flawless record at Estoril, having won from pole position in both his MotoGP appearances at the track. The track was the scene of his first premier-class win and he was equally dominant last year, taking his fourth win of the season. This year he has taken seven victories but, having not won since Brno, the 23-year-old is keen to stand on the top step of the podium at least once more before the circus shuts down for the winter. Rossi is still the most successful rider in history at Estoril and has taken five wins there. Last year was the first time in his ten visits to the track when he finished off the podium and he will be determined to return to it this year. The flyaway races saw an upturn in his fortunes and he took three podiums, including his stunning win in Malaysia, which have somewhat put the gloss back on a difficult season. With just two races left with Yamaha, the Italian hero is hopeful of ending on a high and will be going for the maximum this weekend. Estoril circuit is located just seven kilometres from the Atlantic and is notorious for dramatic changes in weather, with spells of warm sunshine often interrupted by wild gusts of cold wind and rain. The layout of the Autodromo Fernanda Pires de Silva is similarly contrasting, featuring one of the longe st main straights in MotoGP and one of the slowest corners. Several other twisty sections make for the lowest average speed in the championship but the 200km/h kink at turn five and the final Parabolica corner are two of the toughest tests of any rider’s skill and bravery. The final two races will feature a revised practice timetable, with four 45-minutes sessions over Friday and Saturday taking the place of the usual three one-hour ones. Jorge Lorenzo “I ALWAYS FEEL SO GOOD THERE” “We now have the last two races in a row, and they are two very special races. The first one is Estoril, where I’ve had some of my best moments in MotoGP in the last two seasons. I had never won there before in 125 or 250, but since 2008 I have had two victories. It’s the only one place where I’ve won twice in this category! I like the Estoril track and I always seem to feel so good there. Also it always seems a bit like another Spanish GP. Many people from home are coming and I am looking forward to feeling their support, because it’s the first time I’ve ridden so close to home since becoming World Champion. I am still on a high and I would try to win again, like last year when the astronaut arrived!” Valentino Rossi “I WANT TO FINISH THE SEASON ON A HIGH” “The flyaways were very good for us, three podiums including one win – we were happy with how much we had improved the bike and also the level of my shoulder. Now we return to Europe and I feel very strongly that I want to enjoy these final two races and try to win again. Estoril was not a good track for me last year, we had some problems and I couldn’t make it onto the podium so we will be trying to change that this year. After Phillip Island we hope the weather will be a bit warmer but Estoril can change very quickly so it could be a factor again.” Wilco Zeelenberg “SET FOR THE LAST PART OF THE SEASON” “This will be my first visit to Estoril but I’ve watched the 2008/09 races and seen that Jorge loves the place. It’s exciting coming back to race in Europe after the long trip overseas as World Champions, and it will be a big weekend for Jorge. He is definitely set for this last part of the season – fit, calm and ready to try for his third consecutive win in Portugal.” Davide Brivio “TRY TO BE STRONG FROM THE START” “We are arriving back in Europe satisfied and happy about the flyaway races; three podiums including one great win, and we are looking forward now to trying to continue this trend over the last two races. Portugal wasn’t great for us last year so we will need to make the most of the practice time to find a good setting and try to be strong from the start.”