Portuguese MotoGP Results: Round 14 from Estoril
Stoner is Back, Fast and Lasts
Casey Stoner blasted back into the MotoGP series after missing 3 rounds to a mystery illness in fine form qualifying on the front row and taking 2nd place in the race. Stoner looked fast all weekend and quickly settled into 2nd behind winner Jorge Lorenzo. Dani Pedrosa took 3rd ahead of a disappointed Valentino Rossi in the largely processional race that sees the championship race close up ahead of the next round in Australia.
Pedrosa blasted off the line in his customary style to take the lead but Lorenzo wasted no time in nipping past and then was unchallenged for the remainder of the race. Stoner also quickly got past Pedrosa and tried hard to stick with the Yamaha ahead of him but the Spaniard drew inexorably away. Rossi looked out of place, taking a distant 4th and the first time he had been off the podium at Estoril. Mika Kallio crashed out of a strong race when he was running ahead of Nicky Hayden who eventually finished 8th.
Lorenzo’s victory was somewhat overshadowed by the stunning return of Casey Stoner, who admitted to still not feeling that well only 10 days ago yet slotted back in at the front of the field very much like he had never been away. Stoner shrugged off the intense pressure of the press and even calls by principal Ducati sponsor, Marlboro, for him to apologize (Stoner did apologize at a press conference later to his team). He seemed to take some pleasure from proving the pundits wrong.
Rider Comments
Jorge Lorenzo 1st:- “I didn’t expect to win with such a gap. It was a perfect weekend as we dominated in practice, feeling great on the bike and also in the race I think it was one of the best performances in my life. At the beginning it was a little bit difficult to open a big gap because I could only do it one tenth of a second at a time, but then Casey’s rhythm dropped and I was able to maintain my pace.”
link: MotoGP.com
Casey Stoner 2nd:- “There was a lot of criticism of my decision to stop but people need to understand that if you are not competitive and you are getting worse every race there is no sense to just keep going. You have to stop, find the problem and fix it.” “So to come back like this and be more competitive than I have been in a long, long time it was a really good feeling. In the last five races I rode I was putting in so much effort and still slowing down at the end of the races, so today it was nice to be able to relax towards the end and still do a good lap time. I was nervous again today and I haven’t been nervous for a long time, so it is nice to be here again on the podium.”
link: MotoGP.com
Dani Pedrosa 3rd:- “When Casey came past I tried to stay with him and was able to put some pressure on and maintain a good pace. I had a moment though where the bike was snaking as I braked, I ran wide and I nearly crashed – that cost me some time and opened up the gap to Casey.” Putting the championship battle for third into perspective Pedrosa stated, “It definitely will now be an interesting fight for third place in the championship with Casey. He is the reference in Australia and so the next race is going to be hard fought – I’m looking forward to it. I definitely want to win at least one of the three races left and maybe the next one is the most important.”
link: MotoGP.com
Valentino Rossi:- “It was a very difficult race for me,” Rossi said. “I was never able to be fast because I did not have enough grip in the rear and our tyre did not work well, but I think it was more a problem of setting. After a few laps I was in great difficulties and I immediately understood that this was not going to be our race.”
link: MotoGP.com
Portuguese MotoGP Results
1. Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha), 28 laps, 45:35.522
2. Casey STONER (Ducati), -6.294 seconds
3. Dani PEDROSA (Honda), -9.889
4. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha), -23.428
5. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha), -32.652
6. Toni ELIAS (Honda), -35.709
7. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda), -35.723
8. Nicky HAYDEN (Ducati), -38.830
9. James TOSELAND (Yamaha), -44.093
10. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki), -52.863
11. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda), -55.698
12. Marco MELANDRI (Kawasaki), -64.515
13. Niccolo CANEPA (Ducati), -64.538
14. Gabor TALMACSI (Honda), -87.299
15. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki), -8 laps, DNF, retired
16. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda), -20 laps, DNF, retired
17. Mika KALLIO (Ducati), -23 laps, DNF, crash
Lorenzo is now just 18 points behind Rossi and he re-ignited his championship hopes with 3 rounds still to go. The next race is at Phillip Island in Australia on October 18th. Rossi will be looking to reassert himself and Stoner will be looking to win in front of his home crowd.
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