MotoGP-Estoril

[KUCIAR666]

NICE RACE FOR ROSSI AND HAYDEN AT ESTORIL

The third round of the world championship, at the Estoril circuit, saw Valentino Rossi put in a nice race on a dry track, as there was no rain after this morning?s wet warm-up. The Italian started well from the third row and made up more positions on the first lap, bringing him to fourth place. From there, he maintained a good rhythm for the entire race, holding off Andrea Dovizioso until the very end, when Dovizioso slipped by in the race to the line and finished in front by a hair?just twenty-five thousandths of a second.

Starting from the fifth row, Nicky Hayden also had a very strong launch, and the American was seventh after the first lap. A small shifting problem affected him a little, but it was mainly the contact with Spies that caused him to lose a gap to Aoyama and Crutchlow. He was ninth at the finish.

Tomorrow the Ducati Marlboro Team will stay for a post-race test with the other MotoGP teams, and naturally, good weather is hoped for so that the team can continue its development of the GP11.

Valentino Rossi (Ducati Marlboro Team) 5th
?Apart from Dovizioso, today went well! I?m joking, but Andrea obviously rode a race that was strategically perfect. I think he played with me a little, knowing that on the straight, he could probably beat me to the line. He couldn?t pass me because I was strong on the brakes, so he had me do all the work for 28 laps before making his attempt, and he got me by twenty-five thousandths. Apart from that, the team and I are very happy, because it was a nice race and this, for the time being, is the best we can do. I started well, I made up several positions, and then I was very consistent, with decent times. I practically did the same lap from qualifying for 28 laps, so it?s a good result. My only disappointment is that fourth would have been my best finish with the Ducati. Anyway, another positive is that I?m physically well, as I?m missing just fifteen percent of my strength, but I think I?ll be at 100 percent between Le Mans and Catalunya. As for the bike, there?s certainly still work to do, but we?re working together with the Ducati technicians. They?re pleased with the data they have, and I?m seeing that what I get from the racing department works. It will take some time, but we?re going forward. Tomorrow we?ll have some new things to try, so let?s hope that it?s dry, and we?ll see how it goes. We don?t expect to solve everything in seven hours, just to continue down the path we?ve started on together.?

Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro Team) 9th
?Starting from thirteenth, it was always going to be difficult for us, but the bike was good off the line and I got a good start. I made some early mistakes, but I was also recovering a few positions. I got into seventh, but I was having difficulty back-shifting. Already on the sighting lap, I knew it was an issue. On the grid, we talked about getting on the other bike, but we decided together that it was better to stick with our bike and not start from pit road. It caused some difficulty, especially on corner entry, and some guys came past. Then Spies hit me pretty good and stood me up going into Turn 3, so I lost the bridge to Aoyama and Crutchlow. I?m really happy we have a test tomorrow. We?ve got some stuff to try, and hopefully we?ll get some good weather, because we lost some dry time this weekend with the rain. The bike was great in the wet?third Friday and fourth this morning?but we need to make it better in the dry.?

Vittoriano Guareschi (Team Manager)
?Valentino had a good start and a nice race: we were very consistent with the times, and the gap to the front was reduced, which indicates that the work we?re doing on the GP11 is going in the right direction. Nicky also got away well when the lights went off and, despite a shifting issue, he stayed strong and finished in the top ten. Tomorrow will be a test day, and we?ll try some updates to different areas of the bike, so we hope that the weather won?t play any dirty tricks on us so that we can take advantage of all the track time.?

 

[KUCIAR666]

Masterful Pedrosa wins tense Estoril duel, Stoner third

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) won his first victory of the year in brilliant style at Estoril today, shadowing Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) for much of the race before moving ahead in the final stages. Pedrosa?s 13th premier-class win and his first success at Estoril moves him to within four points of series leader Lorenzo with three of 18 rounds done.

Pedrosa?s team-mates Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC212V) and Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V) finished third and fourth, Dovizioso snatching his position from Valentino Rossi (Ducati) at the finish line. Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) rode well to seventh, but team-mate Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) was out of luck, falling on the first lap after starting the race from the front row.

The race got underway in cool conditions, with the track none too grippy following two days of rain showers. Stoner had a huge moment exiting the very first turn, then Simoncelli highsided three corners later at turn four (the first left-hander), which also claimed Hector Barbera (Ducati). Simoncelli was battered and bruised, but otherwise unhurt.

Lorenzo led the race from pole position chased hard by Pedrosa and the positions stayed like that for 24 laps, the two Spaniards just metres apart as Pedrosa watched and waited.

Pedrosa didn?t know what to expect because this was his first race since he underwent further surgery on the left shoulder he injured in last October?s Japanese GP. Following last month?s Spanish GP, surgeons operated to relieve pressure on a pinched artery that had been interrupting blood flow in the shoulder. The fact that Pedrosa was able to race to the finish without numbness or loss of strength seems to indicate that the op was a success, a huge relief for the former 250 and 125 World Champion.

Today?s race was a masterful tactical display from the 25-year-old. On lap 25 he drew level with Lorenzo and out-braked him into the first turn. Twice in the next three laps he broke the lap record to give his rival no chance to counter attack. Pedrosa crossed the line 3.051s in front.

Stoner spent most of the race alone in third to bring home valuable points following his DNF at Jerez where he was knocked off by Rossi. The Australian has struggled all weekend to get his RC212V working perfectly on this bumpy, patchy racetrack and lacked some feeling during the race, especially in left-handers during the early stages. A further problem was a recurring back injury, which struck him mid-race, putting him in serious pain and discomfort. Stoner has had back problems following a crash at the 2003 Catalan GP.

If Pedrosa left his move to the late stages, Dovizioso left his until the final seconds of the race. The Italian shadowed Rossi from the first lap to the last, apparently unable to make any inroads into his compatriot. In fact he had been biding his time and he timed his attack to perfection, getting superb drive out of the final corner to beat Rossi by 0.025s.

Aoyama won an entertaining battle with rookie Cal Crutchlow, the pair swapping places several times before the Japanese finally prevailed on the final lap. Toni Elias (LCR Honda MotoGP RC212V) had a better race day than he expected. After struggling in practice and qualifying he was able to ride well, attacking Loris Capirossi (Ducati) in the final few laps to finish 11th.

The next round of the 2011 MotoGP World Championship, the French Grand Prix, takes place at Le Mans on May 13/14/15.


Honda MotoGP rider quotes

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1st
?I?m very happy for today?s win, but more than the win I?m happy for my condition and it seems that my surgery was finally successful. I was trying to rest my arm at times as it was cramping with 15 laps to go, I was riding behind Jorge and waiting for the numbness to come together with the loss of power, but it didn?t come! I?m just so happy to see that the surgery has worked. It?s been around six months with this and it?s a big relief. For the race, I was riding at my best; Jorge is amazing here, always riding so smooth and fast. I was trying to stay with him and in the end I felt comfortable and tried to make a move and I was successful. I?m very happy to win here, it?s my first win in this track and thanks to all the doctors, my physio and trainer because it?s been hard work and finally we got a win.?

Casey Stoner, Repsol Honda: 3rd
?We had a pretty good start to the race, but Dani moved across and I had to back off so after that I was challenging Marco for third position in the first turn and he cut me off which I?m not so happy about, then in turn four he crashed and I lost the tow to Dani and Jorge. I didn?t really have a lot of confidence in the first laps with the rear tyre, it didn?t seem to want to work so well especially on the left side, and I nearly crashed a few times so I slowed down a little. Then during the race at some point, I felt my back completely lock up on me and I couldn?t move for three or four corners, I was struggling to do anything and had no breath. I thought I had to go back to the garage, but thankfully within half a lap it eased up a little, got better and we managed to finish so I?m very happy to stay in third place today.?

Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: 4th
?After a difficult weekend we had a good race with the best lap at the end and a good strategy to overtake Valentino. I was riding at the limit during the whole race and Valentino was stronger in two or three points so it was difficult to overtake him. I pushed hard to keep contact with him and at the very last lap I tried to overtake him at turn ten, even if I knew that it?s a difficult corner to overtake. Then at the very last long corner I tried to overtake him inside, Vale closed the door so I tried to exit faster than him, I made it and I could overtake him in the straight with the draft. I?m happy of this result, but we are still too far from the first rider. We need to be competitive from the first day if we want to fight with Dani, Casey and Lorenzo so it?s good to have a test tomorrow where we can work on set up and electronic system.?

Hiroshi Aoyama, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 7th
?First of all I have to say thanks to the team because they have done a great job in changeable weather over the weekend here at Estoril. I tried to stay as focused as possible in the race, which wasn?t easy at the start on cold tyres but after about five laps I started to get confident with them and the bike. At that point I was able to be more decisive and after a tough fight with Crutchlow all the way to the last lap I was able to secure seventh place. It is a positive result but we will try to do better still in the next race.?

Toni Elias, LCR Honda MotoGP: 11th
?Well... it has been a difficult and hard race for me. In the beginning I have struggled a lot because the bike was pushing a lot in the front in the braking points, but then Capirossi and Randy have slowed down and I could catch them. I beat Loris and could have passed Randy with two more laps as my pace was consistent. I am not satisfied about my position but I am pleased with my performance because I pushed hard till the end. In my opinion we have got a big potential and we took a step forward on Friday so in tomorrow?s test we must develop the data we have gathered to improve the bike.?

Marco Simoncelli, San Carlo Honda Gresini: DNF
?I am really disappointed for myself and for the team. I had a warning from the rear tyre coming out of turn one. I also saw Pedrosa and Stoner have trouble so I tried to stay calm and decided to take turn three in a higher gear to keep the engine sweet. I did the same in the next corner to make sure it wasn?t too aggressive but in the middle of the corner with the throttle closed I was thrown out of my seat and that was goodnight. I am really disappointed and I don?t know what else to say. For sure it was my mistake and I have to be more careful next time. It?s a shame because I was fast! We?ll try not to make any stupid mistakes at Le Mans.?
Pole position : 1m37.161m (154.951Km/h) Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha
Fastest lap : Lap 27 - 1m37.629m (154.208Km/h) Dani Pedrosa, Honda
Circuit record lap : 1m36.937m (155.309Km/h) Dani Pedrosa (Honda, 2009)
Circuit Best Lap : 1m35.715m (157.291Km/h) Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha, 2008)
Event results - Round 3 - Race 1
1 Dani Pedrosa 45m51.483s SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Jorge Lorenzo +3.051s SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
3 Casey Stoner +7.658s AUS HONDA Repsol Honda Team
4 Andrea Dovizioso +16.530s ITA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
5 Valentino Rossi +16.555s ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
6 Colin Edwards +32.575s USA YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
7 Hiroshi Aoyama +38.749s JPN HONDA Honda Gresini
8 Cal Crutchlow +40.912s GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
9 Nicky Hayden +54.887s USA DUCATI Ducati Team
10 Randy De Puniet +59.697s FRA DUCATI Pramac Racing Team
11 Toni Elias +1m00.374s SPA HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
12 Loris Capirossi +1m01.793s ITA DUCATI Pramac Racing Team
13 Alvaro Bautista +1m24.370s SPA SUZUKI Suzuki MotoGP
14 Ben Spies NC - 16 Laps USA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
15 Karel Abraham NC - 27 Laps CZE DUCATI Cardion AB Ducati
16 Marco Simoncelli DNF Lap 1 ITA HONDA Honda Gresini
17 Hector Barbera DNF Lap 1 SPA DUCATI Aspar Ducati
Championship standings
1 Jorge Lorenzo 65 pts SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
2 Dani Pedrosa 61 pts SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
3 Casey Stoner 41 pts AUS HONDA Repsol Honda Team
4 Valentino Rossi 31 pts ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
5 Nicky Hayden 30 pts USA DUCATI Ducati Team
6 Andrea Dovizioso 30 pts ITA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
7 Hiroshi Aoyama 28 pts JPN HONDA Honda Gresini
8 Cal Crutchlow 21 pts GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
9 Colin Edwards 18 pts USA YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
10 Hector Barbera 14 pts SPA DUCATI Aspar Ducati
11 Karel Abraham 13 pts CZE DUCATI Cardion AB Ducati
12 Toni Elias 12 pts SPA HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
13 Ben Spies 12 pts USA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
14 Marco Simoncelli 11 pts ITA HONDA Honda Gresini
15 Loris Capirossi 9 pts ITA DUCATI Pramac Racing Team
16 Randy De Puniet 6 pts FRA DUCATI Pramac Racing Team
17 John Hopkins 6 pts USA SUZUKI Suzuki MotoGP
18 Alvaro Bautista 3 pts SPA SUZUKI Suzuki MotoGP