— Dominant Stoner takes championship lead with win at Estoril
Repsol Honda Team’s Casey Stoner made it two wins in a row to take the lead in the MotoGP™ championship with victory at the Grande Prémio de Portugal Circuito Estoril.
Having led from the start, the reigning World Champion never gave up the lead, as he put in another dominant performance at the Portuguese circuit, ahead of championship rival, Factory Yamaha Team’s Jorge Lorenzo. Stoner’s win now means he has won at every track on the current MotoGP calendar in the premier class.
The Australian pulled out a gap early on, but Lorenzo and Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa did not give up without the fight, as they slowly closed in on the leader throughout the race. It was however Stoner who put the hammer down in the final laps, to take victory and the championship lead.
Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Andrea Dovizioso fought a race-long battle with teammate Cal Crutchlow, and came out on top for the first time this season finishing in fourth. San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista put in another solid performance to take sixth place, finishing ahead of Ducati Team´s Valentino Rossi, who recorded his best finish of the season. Despite still not being near the front, Rossi has stated that he is starting to feel more comfortable on-board his Desmosedici.
After showing promising form all weekend, Yamaha’s Ben Spies had another disappointing race, finishing down in eighth after running wide early on in the race. He displaced LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl into ninth, ahead of Pramac Racing’s Héctor Barberá in tenth. Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaró took top CRT spot for a second race in succession.
Cardion AB Racing’s Karel Abraham, Speed Master’s Mattia Pasini and Avintia Blusens’ Yonny Hernández all crashed out in the race, while Hernández’s teammate Iván Silva pulled into the pits early on after suffering pain from his earlier warm-up crash. Paul Bird Motorsport’s difficult start to the season continued, as Briton James Ellison retired with a mechanical issue on his ART bike.
1 Casey Stoner 45’37.513 AUS HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Jorge Lorenzo +1.421 SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team
3 Dani Pedrosa +3.621 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
4 Andrea Dovizioso +13.846 ITA YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
5 Cal Crutchlow +16.690 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
6 Alvaro Bautista +21.884 SPA HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini
7 Valentino Rossi +26.797 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
8 Ben Spies +33.262 USA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team
9 Stefan Bradl +35.867 GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
10 Hector Barbera +53.363 SPA DUCATI Pramac Racing
11 Nicky Hayden +1’02.630 USA DUCATI Ducati Team
12 Aleix Espargaro +1’20.736 ESP ART Aspar Team MotoGP
13 Randy De Puniet +1’23.483 FRA ART Aspar Team MotoGP
14 Michelle Pirro +1’37.905 ITA HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini
15 Danilo Petrucci 1 lap ITA IODA Ioda Racing Project
16 Karel Abraham DNF CZE DUCATI Cardion AB Motoracing
17 James Ellison DNF GBR ART Paul Bird Racing
18 Yonny Hernandez DNF COL BQR-FTR BQR
19 Mattia Pasini DNF ITA ART Speed Master
20 Ivan Silva DNF SPA BQR-FTR BQR
21 Colin Edwards DNS USA SUTER NGM Mobile Forward Racing
Championship standings
1 Casey Stoner 66 pts AUS HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Jorge Lorenzo 65 pts SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team
3 Dani Pedrosa 52 pts SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
4 Cal Crutchlow 37 pts GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
5 Andrea Dovizioso 35 pts ITA YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
6 Alvaro Bautista 29 pts SPA HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini
7 Stefan Bradl 24 pts GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
8 Nicky Hayden 23 pts USA DUCATI Ducati Team
9 Valentino Rossi 22 pts ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
10 Hector Barbera 19 pts SPA DUCATI Pramac Racing
11 Ben Spies 18 pts USA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team
12 Aleix Espargaro 9 pts ESP ART Aspar Team MotoGP
13 Randy De Puniet 6 pts FRA ART Aspar Team MotoGP
14 Danilo Petrucci 4 pts ITA IODA Ioda Racing Project
15 Colin Edwards 4 pts USA SUTER NGM Mobile Forward Racing
16 Mattia Pasini 2 pts ITA ART Speed Master
17 Michelle Pirro 2 pts ITA HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini
18 Yonny Hernandez 2 pts COL BQR-FTR BQR
19 Ivan Silva 1 pts SPA BQR-FTR BQR
20 James Ellison 0 pts GBR ART Paul Bird Racing
21 Karel Abraham 0 pts CZE DUCATI Cardion AB Motoracing
Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol’s Marc Marquez took victory at the Grande Prémio de Portugal Circuito Estoril after a phenomenal last-lap battle with compatriot Pol Espargaró.
Márquez took the holeshot and led the opening stages from Interwetten-Paddock’s Tom Lüthi, as Pons 40 HP Tuenti’s Espargaró and JiR Moto2’s Johann Zarco made their way to the front. It was however Lüthi who took the lead early on, which he held for most of the race. The relentless efforts of Spanish pair Marquez and Espargaró meant that they soon re-caught the Swiss rider, and went past his for the lead. They went on to provided one of the best last-lap battles seen in Moto2, as the pair swapped positions numerous times in the final minute, with Marquez coming out on top after a mistake by Espargaró going into the final chicane.
This makes it two wins from three races for Márquez to extend his championship lead. Lüthi took the final spot on the podium, followed by Zarco, Speed Master’s Andrea Iannone and NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Alex De Angelis. Rounding out the top ten are Mapfre Aspar Team’s Toni Elías, Blusens Avintia´s Julián Simón, Marc VDS Racing Team’s Mika Kallio and Tech 3 Racing’s Bradley Smith.
There were numerous crashed throughout the race including NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Yuki Takahashi, Pons 40 HP Tuenti’s Axel Pons, his teammate Esteve Rabat, Came IodaRacing Project’s Simone Corsi and S/Master Speed Up’s Mike Di Meglio. Federal Oil Gresini Moto2’s Gino Rea went into the pits with an electrical problem, and subsequently had to retire.
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Sandro Cortese took victory in a thrilling battle to the line with rival Maverick Viñales in the Moto3™ class at the Grande Prémio de Portugal Circuito Estoril.
It was Cortese who got the holeshot and led into the first corner, ahead of Blusens Avintia’s Viñales. After the typical Moto3 melee of 34 bikes swapping places in the opening laps, a leading group containing Cortese, RW Racing GP’s Luis Salom, JHK T-Shirt Laglisse’s Efrén Vázquez, Viñales and Cortese’s teammate Danny Kent started to pull away early on.
In the latter stages of the race, Cortese moved past Viñales at the end of the straight to take the lead, though could not shake the young Spaniard, as the two were wheel to wheel for the final three laps. Salom, then lying in fourth, also took the fight to Air-Asia-SIC-Ajo’s Zulfahmi Khairuddin in front, as he pushed past him on the first bend with two laps to go.
The last lap was a nail-biting affair as Viñales and Cortese touched fairings throughout, yet it was the German who won the drag to the line after the final bend, to take his first victory of the season and the lead in the championship. The last step on the podium went to Salom, who manage to hold Khairuddin at bay to secure third. The top ten were rounded out by Efrén Vázquez, San Carlo Gresini Moto3’s Niccolo Antonelli, Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Alex Rins, Danny Kent, Caretta-Technology’s Alexis Masbou and Redox-Ongetta-Centro Seta’s Jakub Kornfeil.
– HRC Report
Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC213V) moved into the MotoGP World Championship lead with a brilliant victory in today’s Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) also rode a superb race to finish in third place, just 2.2s behind his team-mate.
Starting from pole position for the first time this year, Stoner resisted relentless pressure from Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) throughout the 28 laps to score his second MotoGP victory in eight days. It was a thrilling encounter with Stoner leading from the first corner of the first lap to the chequered flag, but only just.
The reigning World Champion struggled with tyre chatter in the early laps and had to back off a little, which allowed Lorenzo to close right up on him. The Australian dug deeper, experimenting with different mapping settings and then adjusting his riding technique to deny the Spaniard a chance to attack. At the end he crossed the finish line 1.421s ahead of his great rival. This win was Stoner’s 35th success in the elite class and moved him into the series lead, a single point ahead of Lorenzo.
Pedrosa led into the first corner, but encountered some wheelspin on the exit, which had him fighting for control and allowed both Stoner and Lorenzo past. From there Pedrosa stay in touch with the leaders, but he too had his issues. He was not as fast as he would have liked through the corners and he too suffered some chatter, so he never quite got close enough to challenge his compatriot for second place. However, his third podium result from the first three races of the year keeps him very much in the title hunt. It was also Pedrosa’s 100th podium finish across the MotoGP, 250 and 125 classes.
Alvaro Bautista (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC213V) had another strong ride to sixth place, though he was hoping for more. The Spaniard could not stop or turn his bike as well as he wanted to and will aim to fix those issues in tomorrow’s tests here, which will be attended by all the top teams.
Rookie Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP RC213V) once again impressed the MotoGP paddock with a ride that belied his lack of experience in the premier class. The reigning Moto2 World Champion enjoyed himself, starting from the fourth row to chase Valentino Rossi (Ducati) during the early stages and then settling into a lengthy duel with former World Superbike Champion Ben Spies. The pair swapped positions on several occasions, the more experienced Spies eventually winning the contest aboard his factory Yamaha, putting Bradl ninth at the finish.
Michele Pirro (San Carlo Honda Gresini FTR-Honda) made something of a breakthrough at Estoril today, scoring his first MotoGP points aboard his Fireblade-powered CRT bike. The Italian was the third CRT machine to get to the chequered flag, in 14th place.
Marc Marquez (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol-Suter) scored his second Moto2 victory of the season following an intense race that climaxed with a breathtaking final-lap encounter with Pol Espargaro (Pons 40 HP Tuenti-Kalex), winner of last weekend’s Jerez round.
Marquez and Espargaro spent much of the race following the impressive Thomas Luthi (Interwetten-Paddock-Suter). This was all part of Marquez’s plan – to let one of his rivals do the hard work while he tried to preserve his rear tyre for the all-important final few laps. With seven laps to go the two Spaniards moved ahead of the Swiss and the race became a straightforward duel.
Espargaro could match Marquez for outright speed and decided to stay just behind his compatriot, preparing himself for an all-out effort on the last lap. The 20-year-old made his first attack at turn one, passing Marquez on the inside, only to run wide, allowing the series leader to retake the lead. Turn four was exactly the same – Espargaro squeezed ahead through on the entry, only to run wide again. Espargaro tried once again at the very next turn, this time making contact with his teenage rival. Again Marquez held on.
Undaunted, Espargaro tried once more at the ultra-tight chicane, but lost control on the brakes and ran wide, leaving Marquez a clear run to the finish line. Espargaro’s mistake nearly lost him second place to Luthi at the flag, the pair separated by just 0.084s.
Moto2 rookie Johann Zarco (JIR Moto2 – Motobi) scored a brilliant fourth-place finish in only his third race in the Honda-powered series. The Frenchman ran with the leaders during the early stages, eventually slipping back to finish just ahead of former Moto2 race winner Andrea Iannone (Speed Master – Speed Up).
Iannone finished well clear of a frantic four-way skirmish for sixth between Alex De Angelis (NGM Mobile Forward Racing – Suter), former Moto2 Word Champion Toni Elias (Mapfre Aspar Team – Suter), Julian Simon (Blusens Avintia – Suter) and Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team – Kalex). Positions changed constantly as the group fought their way round this complex racetrack. At the chequered flag De Angelis beat Elias by less than two tenths.
Maverick Vinales (Blusens Avintia – FTR Honda) came within 0.055s of scoring his second Moto3 victory of the year at Estoril today. The Spaniard was thwarted in his efforts by Sandro Cortese (KTM), the pair spending the entire race jostling back and forth at the front of the pack. Vinales had the speed through the corners while Cortese enjoyed the advantage on the Portuguese track’s long main straight. On the final lap Cortese retook the lead on the straight and Vinales was unable to find a way past the German as they sped towards the finish line.
Efren Vazquez (JHK T-Shirt Laglisse – FTR Honda) was Honda’s next best finisher, taking fifth place after a long battle with fellow Honda rider Niccolo Antonelli (San Carlo Gresini – FTR Honda). Honda’s other top-ten finishers were Alex Rins (Estrella Galicia 0.0 – Suter Honda), Alexis Masbou (Caretta Technology – Honda) and Jakub Kornfeil (Thomas Sabo GP Team – Honda) who finished seventh, ninth and tenth.
Last weekend’s runaway Jerez winner Romano Fenati (Team Italian FMI – FTR- Honda) did not finish the race. The sensational teenage rookie was contesting fifth place when he was hit by another rider coming back onto the track after an off-track excursion. He was not hurt in the incident. Local favourite Miguel Oliveira (Estrella Galicia 0.0 – Suter Honda) had a home Grand Prix to forget, withdrawing in the early stages after starting the race from the front row of the grid.
After two events on consecutive weekends the MotoGP circus now takes a week break before returning for the French Grand Prix at Le Mans on May 20.
Casey Stoner, Repsol Honda: race winner
“In the end it was another fantastic weekend for us. This morning we were more confident but also a little concerned because yesterday afternoon when we had a very similar setting to what we had in FP3 the bike was a bit worse in the warm conditions. In warm-up we didn’t have a big problem with chatter, but in the race, in warmer conditions, we struggled a lot more. This was very difficult to ride with. In the first part of the race I was confident and attacking the track, but I almost lost the front twice due to the chatter. From this point I backed off a little, tried to stay smooth and just wanted to stay in front of Jorge and Dani, but Jorge was coming strong. I had to try and keep my pace and not make too many mistakes, so I was changing the mapping to try and reduce the chatter problem. Towards the end of the race I began to understand how to ride around it, this made things smoother and I found some more pace and was able to bring it home for a great race win.”
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 3rd
“It was a really tough race from the beginning. The pace was very, very high from the first lap to the final one. Casey rode a good race, unbelievably strong. I had a big shake in the first braking area, Casey and Jorge overtook me and I lost 1.5 seconds on the first lap. During the race I had some issues in the middle of the corner, I was not fast with corner speed. Each lap I tried to get a little better, to try and modify my riding style, the mapping and my braking points. I tried everything. I managed to match their lap times, but I couldn’t close the gap. Three races on the podium is very good overall, but in three races we missed something, so let’s try it again in the next one. To reach my 100th podium is amazing and shows how fast the time goes. I’m very happy for that and I want to thank all my teams and sponsors during this time and especially Honda because I’ve been with them for my whole career”.
Alvaro Bautista, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 6th “It was a tough race. After practice I thought I had the pace to fight for fourth place, but I didn’t have a good feeling from the front so I was struggling to turn the bike. It cost me a few valuable tenths that made me lose touch with Dovizioso and Crutchlow. Now we will have a close look at the data and try to understand why this happened, as well as working on our weak point, which is braking. Sixth place isn’t a bad result but we should have been much closer to the two
Tech3 bikes. We have a test tomorrow and that will be very useful to us.”
Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP: 9th
“Well… this has been a very hard weekend for us in general. We have struggled a lot with rear grip immediately on Friday morning but Saturday we have found some good adjustments.
Unfortunately for the all race we had some issues going into the corners. My start was okay and I could make some good manoeuvres in the beginning but then I was a bit on the limit and in the middle of the race I was losing too much in the corners entries which was always our problem this weekend. Especially in the fast corners I needed to wait to open the throttle and this cost us a lot of time. We have never had this problem before and Spies had a better pace than us during the race, but in the end I can say this was another good weekend.”
Michel Pirro, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 14th “With eight laps to go I could see on the big screen that Stoner was starting to lap people so I pushed extra hard to the end because I would have been really disappointed to get lapped. I’m happy we made it to the end and I picked up my first points of the season. Today I just tried to stay upright and make the most of what we had underneath us and hopefully in the future we can hope for more than that. I want to thank the team for their hard work here; hopefully we can have some new stuff to work with at Le Mans.”
Moto2 rider quotes
Marc Marquez, Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol-Suter: race winner “That was like a 125 race – really difficult, especially at the end. Early in the race I was trying to save the rear tyre, but even though I did that the grip still wasn’t so great at the end. Step by step I got my confidence, just as I did in practice and qualifying, and I felt very comfortable on the bike. When I got into the lead I tried to push really hard and make a gap but I couldn’t manage it. On the last lap I tried to close the door on Pol and give 100 per cent. It was a great race and I think we are going to enjoy this win.”
Pol Espargaro, Pons 40 HP Tuenti-Kalex: 2nd “The race was fun; I was a bit nervous at the end but it was a lot of fun! It was great to fight with Marc like we were on 125s. I tried everything I could on the last lap, but when I tried to pass Marc at the chicane he had the best line so I could not make it past and I ran a bit wide, so that was my chance gone. Anyway, I am happy because we have had three races and three podiums, including my win at Jerez last weekend. We are working for the championship, not for the races, so I think things are going okay. My thanks to the team and everyone around me.”
Thomas Luthi, Interwetten Paddock-Suter: 3rd “I had a good pace at the start of the race but I always knew the boys were right behind me. So I knew it was going to be really hard, especially because in the beginning I was riding so hard that I wasn’t saving my rear tyre for the end of the race. When they both came past me I tried to push hard to stay with them but it just wasn’t possible. Anyway, I tried my best and we got third place so I am quite happy.”
Moto3 Rider Quotes
Maverick Vinales, Blusens Avintia – FTR Honda: 2nd “I tried everything I could and we had a very strong race, but in the end we couldn’t quite get the win. The last lap was amazing, but I don’t think that Cortese was polite, he gave me no room. But I won’t worry about that, all I’m thinking about now is the next race and how we can make the bike better and take another win.
Efren Vazquez (JHK T-Shirt Laglisse – FTR Honda): 5th “I enjoyed my race with Antonelli – we were very close for a lot of laps and it was fun. But the main thing is that we got some points – and some good points – after taking nothing from the first races. This shows that the team and I are moving forward in a good way. I think we can look forward to the rest of the season thinking that we can be strong at the next races.”
Niccolo Antonelli (San Carlo Gresini – FTR Honda): 6th “Of course I am happy with today’s result. This was my third race in the World Championship and I have taken my second points and also made my best result. It was a tough race, fighting with Vazquez who has much more experience of this track than I do. In the end I couldn’t quite beat him, but we learned a lot this weekend and I can’t wait for the next race at Le Mans.”
– Yamaha Report
Yamaha Factory Racing rider Jorge Lorenzo continued his unbroken podium record at Estoril today. Starting from fourth on the grid he was quickly into second at the first corner and held the position to the line after a determined effort to stay with race leader Casey Stoner. The Mallorcan’s legendary consistent lap pace meant Stoner was never more than one second ahead until the final lap and at times just 0.2 seconds in front. Lap three of the race saw Lorenzo deliver a new fastest lap record for Estoril of 1’36.909. He now heads to Le Mans in two weeks time just one point adrift of the Championship lead.
Team mate Ben Spies started well from fifth, slotting into fourth in the first corner before running wide and dropping back several places. The Texan made a couple of mistakes and dropped to ninth where he battled Stephan Bradl for eighth, eventually passing the German to take the position at the line. Spies will arrive in Le Mans in 11th position with 18 points.
Jorge Lorenzo / Position 2nd – Time: +1.421
“I’m happy with this second position because I was expecting to fight for third or fourth and not the victory. The bike improved a lot from the practices so it was possible. I had two problems, at the start I used a lot of clutch and burnt it so for two or three laps it was burning and I lost a lot of distance from Casey. Also at the end Casey was very strong. After this everything was working well and I made a fastest lap, which is not very common for me. We are just one point behind Casey, hopefully we can improve something on the bike tomorrow and be in front again.”
Ben Spies / Position 8th – Time: +33.262
“Very mixed emotions today, this is actually the first time in three years that I’ve finished a race here. As I told the team, I made four or five big mistakes during the race, they cost me time and places. It was a rough race but I’m continuing to build my confidence, I don’t enjoy Estoril so I’m happy to have finished. Now we go to Le Mans which is a great event with an amazing crowd but another track I don’t love so much! I’m happy with the bike and it’s performance so we’ll continue to build my confidence and improve the results.”
Wilco Zeelenberg – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager
“A fantastic result after a very tough race weekend. Both Jorge and the bike got on very harmoniously in the race and he was able to push. We are only one point behind Casey and we’re consistently finishing on the podium which is important. We’ll test tomorrow to see what developments we can use to improve and see what happens in Le Mans in two weeks time.”
Massimo Meregalli – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director
“Ben had some difficulties during the race, he made a few mistakes, I think the first one put a lot of pressure on him so he was trying to push harder and was unable to. The most important thing is he got back his feeling and was quite satisfied with the set up which gives us good confidence for the coming races. Tomorrow we will test some new items, let’s hope they give us some good results. Jorge did a really great job and pushed really hard. He never gave Casey room to breathe and he couldn’t do more than that. This is the right attitude to get the title.”
Determined Dovizioso claims best Yamaha result in Estoril
Andrea Dovizioso secured his best Yamaha result so far in today’s Estoril MotoGP round, the Italian leading home Cal Crutchlow to help the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team celebrate a third consecutive double top five finish in 2012.
For the third race in a row in the new 1000cc MotoGP World Championship category, fans were thrilled by an exciting inter-team duel between Dovizioso and Crutchlow for fourth position.
The pair were barely split by more than just a couple of tenths throughout the 28-lap race, with British rider Crutchlow holding the early advantage going in search of his third straight fourth place finish.
But it was Dovizioso who prevailed with a display full of determination and skill once he seized fourth place from Crutchlow with a clinical overtake at the first corner on lap five.
Crutchlow shadowed the former 125cc World Champion for the remainder of the race but despite exerting intense pressure, Dovizioso rode a faultless race to ensure he finished top non-factory rider to collect 13 valuable World Championship points.
Today’s result means Crutchlow remains in fourth place in the overall rankings on 37-points, with Dovizioso just two-points further back in fifth. Dovizioso and Crutchlow’s brilliant consistency also helped the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team strengthen its positi on in third place in the Team World Championship standings heading to the squad’s vital home race in Le Mans on May 20.
Andrea Dovizioso / Position 4th – Time: +13.846
“I am very satisfied with my performance in today’s race and particularly with the pace I could run because I was very fast and consistent throughout. It is a good way to end the weekend because a few small problems on Friday and Saturday meant we could not work as much as we would have liked to improve the bike. I am happy because the target this weekend was to reduce the gap to the fastest and we managed to achieve that. But the fact I could keep the speed for 28-laps that I was not able to find in practice is a very positive point. It is a good fourth place but there’s no doubt starting from third on the grid hampered me at the beginning of the race because I couldn ‘t even try to stay with the leading group. Maybe it would have been closer or maybe we could have even been with Pedrosa, but we will never know. Now I am looking forward to racing in Le Mans because it is the home race of the Tech 3 Team and it is also a raced sponsored by Monster Energy, so everybody has a lot of motivation to do well.”
Cal Crutchlow / Position 5th – Time: +16.690
“I’m pretty happy with fifth place but I would like to have been a bit closer to the top three like I was in Jerez. Fair play to Andrea because he rode a great race once he passed me early on and it didn’t matter how much pressure I put on him, he never cracked. I certainly couldn’t have done anything else to try and pass him but it is another top five finish and I am still fourth in the points. I had a couple of issues, which didn’t help me. I knew rear grip was going to be an issue in the race and that’s how it turned out. I’m not really sure why so we will have to have a close look at the data to understand this. Stopping the bike was also a bit of a problem and it felt like I was having to push a lot harder than the four in front of me to run the times. But it was a good race with Andrea and we have carried on the momentum from the first two races and now we can look forward to Le Mans. That’s a massive weekend for Monster and Tech 3 Yamaha, so I’ll be determined to be back fighting for the podium again.”
Herve Poncharal – Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team Manager
“That’s three races now in 2012 that have been exciting but also nerve-wracking to watch as the manager of the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team. On one hand I want to see all the races like t his with Andrea and Cal battling inside the top five, but it is always tense when they are fighting so hard together. But credit to both of them because they delivered another fantastic double result for Tech 3 and today confirmed how strong our line-up is in 2012 and how competitive the Yamaha YZR-M1 package is. I’m really happy for Andrea because I think a few times this season he has been quite unlucky but he needed to be riding at his best to keep Cal at bay today. We knew that Cal was never going to give him a moment to relax but he dealt with that pressure extremely well. It was another great ride by Cal today and a measure of how far he has come to be battling again comfortably inside the top five. Clearly I think for the whole team it’s very exciting to see us being so competitive. We are fighting at the front in every session and every race and keeping Yamaha and our sponsors happy, which is vitally important. Now we look forward to our home race in France where we will arrive higher in the Championship than we have ever been going to Le Mans. We are excited and hoping to perform for the French fans as we have in the first three races.”
– Ducati Report
The Portuguese Grand Prix saw the Ducati Team improving with Valentino Rossi and unfortunate with Nicky Hayden. After two days of working on his GP12’s settings, the Italian lapped at a pace that was both relatively fast and very consistent, eventually finishing in seventh place, which is his best result of the season so far.
Nicky Hayden, on the other hand, had to just try make it to the finish due to an electrical problem with his bike’s ECU, which was subject to interference from a radio signal near the track. As a result, all of the electronic calibrations were out of phase around the circuit, making riding extremely challenging. The American nonetheless rode with great determination to an eleventh-place finish.
Tomorrow the Ducati Team will remain in Portugal for a one-day test, with hopes that the rain forecasts turn out to be wrong so that development can continue on the GP12.
Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) 7th
“It went a bit better this time, in the sense that we started from a better base on Friday and we managed to prepare for today over the course of the weekend. I was able to approach the race knowing what to expect from the bike, and I therefore managed to push harder and get a little closer to the limit. The first laps were decent. I moved up a couple of positions and then I maintained a consistent pace, doing times that we expected to do. We can say that we took advantage of our current potential, and now we’ll have to work to make another step forward. We must improve on corner exits and on acceleration because right now we’re not able to be as effective as the others due to the fact that we can’t get all of the power to the ground. We have a test tomorrow, and we’ll start working. Anyway, today I even managed to have some fun.”
Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) 11th
“Starting from the first lap, there was an electrical problem and the bike didn’t know where it was on the track. I tried my best to ride around the problem and not make mistakes. It’s really a shame to work hard all weekend but not be able to take advantage of it with a result in the race. The team did a great job overnight, and I felt so much better this morning in the warm-up. I almost matched my qualifying lap and was pretty consistent. Of course I’m not saying I was going to fight for the win, but it would have been nice to at least have a decent race. We’ll focus on tomorrow’s test now and look forward to the next race at Le Mans.”
Vittoriano Guareschi (Team Manager)
“We managed to work well this weekend, taking full advantage of our dry track time to improve the setup and confirm that we now have a good base setting. Today Vale rode the whole race at close to the same pace as his qualifying time, he made some nice passes, and he was able to push a bit closer to the limit. I think this is a good starting point. We’re really sorry for Nicky because during the race, a radio signal interfered with our ECU’s transponder, forcing him to ride with the electronic calibration out of phase. Riding in those conditions is truly difficult, and he did a great job to finish the race.”
– Bridgestone Report
Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium; Rear: Medium, Hard (Asymmetric)
Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative)
Weather: Dry. Ambient 19-20°C; Track 32-38°C (Bridgestone measurement)
Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner has now won a MotoGP™ race at every circuit on the calendar after the Australian took his second successive victory in a strong performance at Estoril.
Jorge Lorenzo on the Yamaha Factory Racing M1 put Stoner under pressure throughout the entire race but ultimately could not find a way past the defending champion. Dani Pedrosa completed the podium on the second Repsol Honda RC213V while for the second race in a row, Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro was the first CRT rider across the finish line in 12th place, just ahead of teammate Randy de Puniet.
As track conditions for the race were warm, but not hot at around the mid-35°C mark, all riders on the grid chose to run the softer rear slick, which at Estoril is the medium compound, in combination with the medium compound front slick tyre. Of the twenty riders that selected the medium front slick, thirteen opted for the compound in the new specification front slick tyre including top-five finishers Jorge Lorenzo and Monster Tech3 Yamaha riders Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow.
Casey Stoner now leads Jorge Lorenzo by one point in the MotoGP™ standings, with Dani Pedrosa 14 points adrift in third place overall.
Hiroshi Yamada – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department
“I’d like extend my congratulations to Casey Stoner on his first MotoGP win at this circuit. Track conditions were better today and our tyres performed very well with Jorge Lorenzo setting a new lap record using a combination of the medium compound rear slick and new specification front slick tyre, also in the medium compound. The winning race time was fourteen seconds quicker than last year with the top three riders pushing each other hard at a very fast and consistent pace right up to the checkered flag.
“The whole race weekend for us was very constructive and I am happy how our 2012 specification tyres performed at this demanding circuit. Now we are focused on assisting teams at tomorrow’s post-race test and preparing for the next race at Le Mans in two weeks time.”
Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department
“Race conditions today were similar to those we had in qualifying yesterday and as expected all the riders selected the combination of the softer rear slick and the harder front slick. This combination gave riders the best mix of rear grip and front-end feel. I am pleased with the performance of our 2012 specification tyres here at Estoril and in particular, the positive feedback we have received on our new specification front tyre at the last two races shows it performs very well in a wide range of conditions.”
Casey Stoner, Repsol Honda – Race Winner
“In general we’ve been pretty happy this weekend, though for the race I had to keep up the pace as best I could as my pit-board showed that Jorge was always there behind me. In the middle of the race I tried a few changes to the map settings and slightly changed the way I rode which helped things and in the end we had enough in the bag to hold on for the win.”
– Red Bull Rookies – Deroue double with Estoril 2 win
Scott Deroue scored a sensational double win at the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril to lead the Red Bull MotoGP Cup points table after 4 of the 15 races. The 16 year old Dutchman repeated his genius of Saturday, running 2nd out of the final corner to inch past German 16 year old Philipp Oettl before the line. Karel Hanika, the 16 year old Czech, picked up a very close 3rd to match his own performance from the previous day.
“That was fantastic,”said Deroue who was 6th on the grid. “I seem to be able to get the good starts and I did again. We had a lot of fun in the race the guys were riding very well and I could just see that it was going to work out like yesterday. I went wide into the chicane on the last lap so no one could get past and then I had a good line through the last corners behind Philipp and I knew I could get him before the line.”
Oettl was not too devastated by losing on the line. “I’m happy to be back on the podium after such a difficult start to the Rookies season,” he said referring to the troubles he has had switching from the 4-stroke he rides in the Spanish Championship back to the 2-stroke KTM. “We had the bike working well this weekend and the only thing wrong yesterday was the start and the opening laps. Today I got away with the group and that made the difference. It is a great feeling to be up here again. I really thought I had it won out of the last corner but then I saw Scotty out of the corner of my eye.”
Florian Alt, who flashed across the line 2nd on Saturday was even more unlucky in the 2nd race, crashing out with 4 laps to go after a wicked almost-high-side that led into a brush with Hanika and fall that damaged the 16 year old German’s KTM. Up to the point Alt had done much of the leading just as he did on Saturday and the misfortune cost him the points lead.
Hanika was happy to be 3rd again. “It was another great race, a lot of fun. I changed my seating position a bit from yesterday and that made things better on the straights,” explained the lanky blond. “I was enjoying the race and then about 4 laps to go Florian hit me on the inside and went down, I don’t think it was my fault. I lost ground to Philipp and Scott but managed to catch back up, I just couldn’t get in front before the line.”
Not surprisingly Alt saw things differently. “The race was going fine up to then, no problems at all, then I was inside and Hanika hit me, there was nothing I could do.”
From 4 races Alt has been unlucky enough to fail to finish twice, a technical problem in Race 2 in Jerez after the 1st leg victory and another zero after 2nd in Race 1 in Estoril. He slipped from 1st to 3rd in the points table and local hero Ivo Lopes slipped from 2nd to 4th with similar misfortune. The home town hero failed to score after being brought down in the lead pack when 14 year old Briton Bradley Ray tucked the front on the brakes and took the wheels out from under the 15 year old Portuguese.
Crossing the line 4th was Kyle Ryde, the 14 year old Briton who had also been in the lead group all race. “We changed the suspension from yesterday looking for more grip. It helped in some places but I just couldn’t get the drive out of turn 4 and onto the back straight. We were still doing OK but then Florian crashed in front and it was tough to catch up from there.
The British 125 Champion defended his position ahead of 5th place finisher Joe Roberts who had also had a fine race, including snatching the lead, “That was great,” said the 14 year old American. “I knew I had to push hard from the start to get with the lead pack and that’s what I did. Then Bradley crashed and I lost touch a bit, I fought back but then Florian went down so it was difficult in the end but I am happy enough because I know I can run with the guys at the front.”
Races 5 and 6 of the 2012 Rookies Cup are at Silverstone on June 16th and 17th.
MOTO2
RACE: (26 laps = 108.732 Km)
POS / RIDER / NAT. / TEAM / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / KM/H / GAP
1 / MARC MARQUEZ / SPA / TEAM CATALUNYACAIXA REPSOL / SUTER / 44’04.086 / 148.041 /
2 / POL ESPARGARO / SPA / PONS 40 HP TUENTI / KALEX / 44’06.073 / 147.93 / 1.987
3 / THOMAS LUTHI / SWI / INTERWETTEN-PADDOCK / SUTER / 44’06.157 / 147.925 / 2.071
4 / JOHANN ZARCO / FRA / JIR MOTO2 / MOTOBI / 44’13.313 / 147.526 / 9.227
5 / ANDREA IANNONE / ITA / SPEED MASTER / SPEED UP / 44’14.567 / 147.457 / 10.481
6 / ALEX DE ANGELIS / RSM / NGM MOBILE FORWARD RACING / SUTER / 44’25.266 / 146.865 / 21.18
7 / TONI ELIAS / SPA / MAPFRE ASPAR TEAM / SUTER / 44’25.480 / 146.853 / 21.394
8 / JULIAN SIMON / SPA / BLUSENS AVINTIA / SUTER / 44’25.590 / 146.847 / 21.504
9 / MIKA KALLIO / FIN / MARC VDS RACING TEAM / KALEX / 44’25.667 / 146.843 / 21.581
10 / BRADLEY SMITH / GBR / TECH 3 RACING / TECH 3 / 44’28.186 / 146.704 / 24.1
11 / SCOTT REDDING / GBR / MARC VDS RACING TEAM / KALEX / 44’31.334 / 146.531 / 27.248
12 / DOMINIQUE AEGERTER / SWI / TECHNOMAG-CIP / SUTER / 44’34.173 / 146.376 / 30.087
13 / XAVIER SIMEON / BEL / TECH 3 RACING / TECH 3 / 44’34.218 / 146.373 / 30.132
14 / CLAUDIO CORTI / ITA / ITALTRANS RACING TEAM / KALEX / 44’34.343 / 146.366 / 30.257
15 / RICARD CARDUS / SPA / ARGUIÑANO RACING TEAM / AJR / 44’34.965 / 146.332 / 30.879
Pole Position: Marc MARQUEZ 1’40.934 149.158 Km/h Fastest Lap (New record): Pol ESPARGARO 1’40.921 149.178 Km/h Lap 8 Old Circuit Record Lap: Andrea IANNONE 1’42.026 147.562 Km/h 2011 Circuit Best Lap: Pol ESPARGARO 1’40.921 149.178 Km/h 2012
CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS TO DATE:
1 MARQUEZ 70, 2 ESPARGARO 61, 3 LUTHI 43, 4 IANNONE 33, 5 REDDING 28, 6 ZARCO 23, 7 KALLIO 22,
8 ELIAS 19, 9 SMITH 18, 10 DE ANGELIS 14, 11 RABAT 13, 12 NAKAGAMI 13, 13 CORTI 12, 14 AEGERTER 12,
15 DI MEGLIO 9.
MOTO3
RACE: (23 laps = 96.186 Km)
POS / RIDER / NAT. / TEAM / MOTORCYCLE / TIME / KM/H / GAP
1 / SANDRO CORTESE / GER / RED BULL KTM AJO / KTM / 41’34.536 / 138.811 /
2 / MAVERICK VIÑALES / SPA / BLUSENS AVINTIA / FTR HONDA / 41’34.591 / 138.808 / 0.055
3 / LUIS SALOM / SPA / RW RACING GP / KALEX KTM / 41’45.574 / 138.199 / 11.038
4 / ZULFAHMI KHAIRUDDIN / MAL / AIRASIA-SIC-AJO / KTM / 41’46.731 / 138.135 / 12.195
5 / EFREN VAZQUEZ / SPA / JHK T-SHIRT LAGLISSE / FTR HONDA / 41’55.470 / 137.656 / 20.934
6 / NICCOLÒ ANTONELLI / ITA / SAN CARLO GRESINI
MOTO3 / FTR HONDA / 41’55.512 / 137.653 / 20.976
7 / ALEX RINS / SPA / ESTRELLA GALICIA 0,0 / SUTER HONDA / 41’56.328 / 137.609 / 21.792
8 / DANNY KENT / GBR / RED BULL KTM AJO / KTM / 41’56.424 / 137.603 / 21.888
9 / ALEXIS MASBOU / FRA / CARETTA TECHNOLOGY / HONDA / 41’57.582 / 137.54 / 23.046
10 / JAKUB KORNFEIL / CZE / REDOX-ONGETTA-CENTRO SETA / FTR HONDA / 41’57.846 / 137.526 / 23.31
11 / BRAD BINDER / RSA / RW RACING GP / KALEX KTM / 41’57.915 / 137.522 / 23.379
12 / HECTOR FAUBEL / SPA / BANKIA ASPAR TEAM / KALEX KTM / 41’58.299 / 137.501 / 23.763
13 / ARTHUR SISSIS / AUS / RED BULL KTM AJO / KTM / 41’58.844 / 137.471 / 24.308
14 / ALBERTO MONCAYO / SPA / BANKIA ASPAR TEAM / KALEX KTM / 41’59.551 / 137.433 / 25.015
15 / ALEX MARQUEZ / SPA / ESTRELLA GALICIA 0,0 / SUTER HONDA / 42’00.986 / 137.354 / 26.45
Pole Position: Sandro CORTESE 1’47.145 140.512 Km/h Fastest Lap (New record): Sandro CORTESE 1’47.354 140.238 Km/h Lap 18 Circuit Record Lap: New category Circuit Best Lap: Sandro CORTESE 1’47.145 140.512 Km/h 2012
CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS:
1 CORTESE 57, 2 VINALES 55, 3 SALOM 49, 4 FENATI 45, 5 KHAIRUDDIN 29, 6 RINS 28, 7 MASBOU 18,
8 ANTONELLI 18, 9 KENT 16, 10 FAUBEL 15, 11 MONCAYO 13, 12 SISSIS 12, 13 VAZQUEZ 11, 14 OLIVEIRA 11,
15 ROSSI 7.
