Race Weekend - Estoril

Bradley Smith secured his fourth podium finish of the season in a superb show of team riding as he tried to help his team-mate Nico Terol win the 125cc race in the bwin Grand Prix of Portugal at Estoril this afternoon.  Smith eventually finished third in the nine lap race after fighting a tremendous battle with the eventual winner Marc Marquez with Terol in second place.

“Today I was the team player trying to help Nico, but Marquez was fantastic and looks likely to be a worthy World Champion,” said Smith.  “I tried all I could to stop Marquez getting through and I really enjoyed it.”

Danny Webb finished ninth but Danny Kent crashed out in a first corner incident.

In a dramatic Moto2 race, that started in wet conditions, Scott Redding, as the track dried, fought back from a poor grid position to be involved in a battle for the final podium position but had to eventually settle for fourth place in the race won by Stefan Bradl.

Lorenzo wins with style in Estoril

Jorge Lorenzo won from pole position for the third year in succession at Estoril as he took victory at the bwin Grand Prix of Portugal on Sunday, finishing ahead of Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso.

The Fiat Yamaha rider, for whom this was an eighth win in his title-winning 2010 campaign, got the better of his rival and team-mate Rossi as they battled early on and when he took the lead on the 17th of 28 laps he did not look back, eventually taking the chequered flag 8.629s clear of the Italian. It was Lorenzo’s first win since the Brno round, and leaves him on course to still be able to beat Rossi’s 2008 record points haul (373) in a single season in MotoGP with one round still remaining.

The Italian brought home his factory M1 in a lonely second position for his tenth podium at Estoril in 11 visits as he finished almost 18 seconds ahead of Dovizioso, who had engaged in a thrilling battle to the very finish with Marco Simoncelli for the final podium position. It was the Repsol Honda rider who edged it – by just 0.059s – to take his seventh podium of the season and leave the San Carlo Honda Gresini rider still looking for his first rostrum in the premier class.

Ducati Team rider Nicky Hayden placed fifth after coming close to the podium, the American just 0.620s behind Simoncelli, whilst Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) and Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) completed the top seven, both within three seconds of Hayden.

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) came in eighth, with Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini) and Héctor Barberá (Páginas Amarillas Aspar) inside the top ten. Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki), Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP) and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) were the final three riders to finish the race.

Casey Stoner (Ducati Team) suffered the bitter disappointment of crashing out at turn 13 on lap five as he pushed hard while in third position, whilst Pramac Racing pair Aleix Espargaró and Carlos Checa both failed to finish too, the former crashing on lap one and the latter retiring with an arm pump problem with 15 laps remaining.

Ben Spies (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) didn't start the race after crashing on the sighting lap and dislocating his left ankle.

The battle for the runner-up spot in the Championship will now be determined next weekend, with Pedrosa on 236 points and Rossi on 217 and the only two who can now possibly end the campaign in second.

Moto2

Stefan Bradl’s first podium result in the Moto2 class was a hard fought victory as the Viessmann Kiefer Racing rider won from the third row of the starting grid, in a thoroughly engrossing intermediate category race.

Bradl, whose last World Championship race win came at Motegi in the 125cc class in 2008, powered through to take victory ahead of Alex Baldolini by a margin of just 0.068s after the duo had battled closely in the final stages of the race.

For Caretta Technology rider Baldolini today's second place was the first World Championship podium of his career in his 143rd Grand Prix start. At just over 2.7s further back another fantastic battle was being played out, with Alex de Angelis eventually taking third place. The closeness of that fight for the final podium position was well illustrated by the fact that Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing) finished just 0.012s behind De Angelis, having rocketed up from 24th on the starting grid.

Special mention must also go to Turkish rider Kenan Sofuoglu (Technomag-CIP) who on his GP debut led the race by a margin of over six seconds at one stage, before being reeled back in by Bradl and eventually finishing fifth as he rode his Suter MMX machine in dry conditions for the very first time.

Completing the top ten were Raffaele De Rosa (Tech 3 Racing), Anthony West (MZ Racing) – both with a season’s best results – pole man Gabor Talmacsi (Fimmco Speed Up), Dominique Aegerter (Technomag-CIP) and Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing).

The battle for second spot in the Championship will go down to the final race in Valencia after Julián Simón (Mapfre Aspar) finished 12th and Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up) 21st to leave the Spaniard with a six-point advantage over his Italian rival, who crashed when in fourth position having risen from 34th on the grid.

125cc

Marc Márquez opened up a 17-point lead at the top of the 125cc World Championship over Nico Terol with just a single round remaining thanks to his tenth win of the season, which came in amazing circumstances.

Finishing ahead of title rivals Terol (who placed second) and Pol Espargaró (tenth), the Red Bull Ajo Motorsport rider came from the back of the grid in a restarted race to record what will be looked back upon as one the definitive performances of his fledgling career.

The original race was red flagged with 16 laps remaining as rain began to fall, and with the leading four being Terol, Márquez, Smith and Espargaró at the time that was determined as the starting grid for the rescheduled nine-lap race, which was declared wet.

Just when it appeared the drama and pressure could not intensify a crash for Márquez on the sighting lap added to the already tense atmosphere. Unable to retake his place on the starting grid in time the 17 year-old was relegated to 17th position at the back of the grid for the restart.

That did little to hinder him as he rose to fourth position immediately and before long he was hunting down Terol. The Bancaja Aspar rider’s team-mate Bradley Smith did his best to aid his colleague, but after what he had been through Márquez was in no mood to be held back and overtook the Brit to set up a showdown with Terol.

On the final lap the pair swapped the lead a number of times, Márquez eventually getting his nose in front and crossing the line 0.150s ahead of Terol, with Smith taking third place. Jonas Folger (Team Ongetta), Luis Salom (Stipa-Molenaar Racing) and Alberto Moncayo (Andalucia Cajasol) completed the top six with Espargaró’s title hopes ended after he finished tenth, a gamble from his Tuenti Racing team on putting wet tyres on his Derbi machine failing to pay off.

Márquez is still on course to equal Valentino Rossi’s 125cc record of the most victories in a single season (11 in 1997).

Seventeen year old Scott Redding hopes to continue his recent good form in the final two rounds of the Moto2 World Championship, starting at the bwin Portuguese Grand Prix in Estoril on Sunday.

The Gloucestershire teenager has really found his feet in the competitive new class culminating in a second place at the previous round in Australia. Two similar results starting around the 2.599 miles Estoril circuit on Sunday and Valencia a week later could see Redding finish as high as seventh in the Championship.

Bradley Smith’s fourth place in the 125 cc Championship is assured before his departs for Moto2 next season. He was third in a photo finish in Estoril last year with Pol Espargaro and Sandro Cortese. It’s been a frustrating year for Smith and he would love to finish his distinguished 125 cc career with at least a couple of podium finishes.

It’s been a typical rollercoaster ride for Kent-based Danny Webb and he’s done really well to hold onto tenth place in the Championship. He achieved his best ever grand prix result, a fifth place, in Estoril two years ago and a repeat of that would really consolidate a top ten championship finish.

Sixteen year old Danny Kent continues his World Championship education after impressing on the Lambretta in the last three races. A points scoring finish is well within his capabilities on Sunday.

Quotes

Scott Redding:

“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!"

Bradley Smith:

“I had a great race at Estoril last year and how I would just love a repeat this time. It’s been a very frustrating year but as always I will keep my head down and give it 100 per cent throughout the weekend in Portugal. It should be a very interesting race with the Championship so close. You just can’t forecast what is going to happen and I might just be involved which would make it even better.”

Danny Webb:

“I had my best ever grand prix result at Estoril a couple of years ago. Last year I was also well placed when I had a mechanical problem on the last lap. I’m really looking forward to these last couple of race because I’m 99 per cent fit. The thumb which was so painful in Sepang and Phillip Island is much better and I want to finish the season with a couple of good results.”

Danny Kent:

“It was a real experience riding in Japan, Malaysia and Australia. I learn’t so much and I hope I can start scoring points on Sunday.”

CRUTCHLOW TESTS MOTOGP YAMAHA

Cal Crutchlow had his first ride on the MotoGP YZR-M1 Yamaha in Japan last week. The World Superbike star who joins the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha team for his first season in the MotoGP World Championship next year completed a one and a half day test at the Yamaha test track at Fukuroi.

Despite the mixed weather conditions Crutchlow was delighted with the test and will continue testing in Valencia in two weeks time.

“There is a lot of power but it feels very useable,” revealed the Coventry-based rider. “It felt very different to a production-based machine in form of delivery. It was a shame the weather wasn’t great and I’m really looking forward to Valencia so I can get back on it and give it a proper work-out.”

LORENZO CHASES HATRICK ON TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO EUROPE

World Champion Jorge Lorenzo returns home to Europe determined to celebrate his success with a hatrick of victories at the bwin Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril on Sunday. The Fiat Yamaha rider won his very first MotoGP race at the 2.599 miles circuit on the Atlantic coast a couple of years ago and followed up with another win last year. He’s returned home to Mallorca last week to a hero’s welcome and would love to continue the celebrations with victory at Estoril although it will not be easy.

Former World Champion Valentino Rossi looks certain to ride in the last two grands prix of the season after being given permission by Yamaha to test the Ducati after the race in Valencia next weekend. Casey Stoner is signing off with Ducati in the best possible fashion and has won three of the last four races. Second placed Dani Pedrosa will have had an extra couple of weeks for his broken collarbone to recover from surgery after his brave but ill-fated attempt to ride in Australia while his Repsol Honda team-mate Andrea Dovizioso will be fighting back after mechanical problems at Phillip Island.

This penultimate round of the Championship will not crown a World Champion but will have a massive bearing on the next four positions. Pedrosa, who has never won at Estoril, returns after a three race absence holds onto second place with a 23 point lead over the in-form Stoner, a 250 cc winner five years ago. Five times Estoril winner Rossi is a further eight points adrift with Dovizioso, a former 250 cc winner 20 points behind the former World Champion.

Ben Spies and Nicky Hayden are separated by just 11 points in their battle for sixth place while just five points separate last year’s 250 cc winner Marco Simoncelli, Randy De Puniet, Marco Melandri and Colin Edwards in their battle for eighth.

Loris Capirossi looks likely to return on the Rizla Suzuki after missing Australia to partner Alvaro Bautista who has won three times in Estoril while Carlos Checa makes a return to MotoGP. The veteran replaces Mika Kallio at Pramac Ducati for the last two races.

In similar style to Lorenzo the Moto2 World Champion Toni Elias would also love to celebrate his title on his return to Europe. Like Lorenzo he also has a very impressive Estoril record. The Gresini Moriwaki rider won his only MotoGP race at the circuit situated just 20 miles on the coast outside Lisbon four years ago in a race where the Hayden/Pedrosa crash took all the headlines. He has also won a couple of 250cc grands prix and has nothing to lose on Sunday. The real battle is for second place.

Last year’s 125 cc World Champion Julian Simon holds a two point advantage over Italian Andrea Iannone. Simon has yet to win a Moto2 race while Iannone has won three. It promises to be close but as always in Moto2 there are plenty of other factors. Alex De Angelis and Scott Redding have hit great form, Simone Corsi and Hector Faubel are previous Estoril winners and then there are the likes of Jules Cluzel, Robbie Rolfo and Yuki Takahashi who have all won races this year.

The 125 cc race is the last on the revised Sunday programme which could be fitting with the Championship the only one left to be decided with two rounds remaining. Seventeen year old Spaniard Marc Marquez is 12 points in front of Nico Terol with last year’s winner Pol Espargaro just a further five points adrift.

Any other year Marquez would have been celebrating along with Lorenzo and Elias but this particular battle is far from over. He has won nine grands prix on the Red Bull Ajo Motorsport Derbi, including the last three but Terol and Espargaro have hung on in there.

Marquez could be crowned World Champion on Sunday but the outcome looks far more likely to be decided at the final round in Valencia a week later which would be a fitting venue for the all Spanish battle.

EVENT TIME SCHEDULE

Friday 29 October

09.05 – 09.45              125cc Free Practice 1
10.05 – 10.50              MotoGP Free Practice 1
11.10 – 11.50              Moto2 Free Practice 1
13.05 – 13.35              125cc Free Practice 2
14.05 – 14.50              MotoGP Free Practice 2
15.10 – 15.50              MotoGP Free Practice 2

Saturday 30 October

09.00 – 09.45              125cc Free Practice 3
10.05 – 10.50              MotoGP Free Practice 3
11.10 – 11.50              Moto2 Free Practice 3
13.05 – 13.45              125cc Qualifying
14.05 – 14.50              MotoGP Qualifying
15.10 – 15.55              Moto2 Qualifying

Sunday 31 October

09.00 – 09.20              Moto2 Warm Up
09.30 – 09.50              MotoGP Warm Up
10.00 – 10.20              125cc Warm Up
11.15                           Moto2 RACE (26 laps)
13.00                           MotoGP RACE (28 laps)
14.30                           125cc RACE (23 laps)

Time Schedule is GMT + 1 until October 30/GMT October 31