MotoGP action resumes in Estoril
After a long break in the schedule for MotoGP, the premier class back in action this weekend at the Grand Prix of Portugal bwin. The third round of the Championship in Estoril, is presented as an appointment with much to offer.
Nearly four weeks after the appointment of Sherry-long hiatus due to the postponement until October Japanese Grand Prix – the MotoGP World Championship returns to action this weekend with the third race of 2011, the Grand Prix bwin of Portugal which takes place in Estoril, this will be the 14 hand held a Grand Prix of Portugal.
The previous round in Jerez, it was indeed a Grand Prix with little history. World Champion Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) claimed his first victory of 2011 in a wet race, and with him on the podium were a Dani Pedrosa who overcame problems with her left arm and an effective Nicky Hayden. It was a very eventful career full of surprises, and perhaps the greatest of these was the incident between Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi. The crash left the Australian out of the race while the Italian was able to return to the track and crossed the line in fifth position.
Jorge Lorenzo boasts a formidable record on their recent appearances at the Estoril circuit, where he has won the past three seasons after starting from pole position. In addition, the Spaniard has finished in the top four in the last 22 races and leads the standings with nine points over his rival Dani Pedrosa. The Repsol Honda’s Barcelona arrives in Portugal with the hope that the surgery to be submitted immediately after Jerez allowed to forget the pain in his left arm. Despite this handicap, Pedrosa harvested in the Cadiz route his podium number 90 in a GP, becoming the tenth driver to reach this milestone along the 63-year history of the Championship.
Stoner will be eager to forget about his forced departure in Jerez and regain the momentum that made him the reference in the initial stage of the season. Repsol Honda rider has visited the Estoril podium twice in the premier class, but still did not score any victory in MotoGP at this stage (yes he got during his time in 250cc) and will certainly achieve that would be top drawer perfect answer to slip on the Andalusian track. Nicky Hayden Ducati is the best placed rider in the standings after the first two races but his team-mate Valentino Rossi is close behind. The Italian has only completed one time off the podium at the Portuguese circuit in the premier class and has five victories among his many successes in this scenario.
Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini) and Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) had a different fate in the previous round: The Japanese scored his best result so far in the premier class with fourth place, while Italy finished 12th. Dovizioso won his last podium in the premier class precisely at Estoril, in the penultimate race of 2010.
The sixth Hector Barbera (Mapfre Aspar Team) in Jerez was also his best finish ever in the premier class and the Spanish attempt to build on that momentum for further progress in the next confrontation. Behind him in the standings, rookie Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) finished eighth after a fall in the final stages of testing and now available to discover a new track, Estoril, which has never run before. The UK is one of the drivers who have taken the break of almost four weeks to undergo surgery. Fellow rookie Karel Abraham (AB Cardion Motoracing) appear with enhanced confidence after getting the 7 th position in the round in the path of Andalusia.
Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) becomes more determined than ever to catch a first premier class podium already stroked in Jerez before it vanished with his fall when he was leader. And Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) got no points in Jerez when he fell at the end of the test and was running in second position and, like his compatriot Colin Edwards (Yamaha Tech Monster 3), also want to make the trip in the Spanish race. Toni Elias (Honda LCR) returns to the territory of their only victory in the premier class in the Pramac Racing duo Loris Capirossi and Randy de Puniet, will run with the hope of improving its hitherto elusive luck at the beginning of the season. The Frenchman went under the knife after Jerez for you extracted the screw was inserted in his left knee last season, caused by a fracture suffered in Sachsenring.
Alvaro Bautista in Estoril appear determined to return to competition after missing the first two races of the season by a broken left femur suffered in Qatar. The Rizla Suzuki has been working hard to regain fitness and to return only six weeks after the injury, but will have to wait for doctors to give the green light before confirming their participation in the Portuguese GP.