MotoGP Estoril Preview

After a month-long hiatus, MotoGP is back this weekend at Portugal and the Estoril circuit for Round 14 of the 2009 season. While the reigning champion Valentino Rossi will take center stage in his title duel with teammate Jorge Lorenzo, this weekend’s action will also mark the return of former Rossi nemesis, Casey Stoner.

Fiat Yamaha teammates and rivals, Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, will return this weekend after the break to the Grand Prix of Portugal at Estoril and continue their duel for the championship lead. Rossi has graced the podium here during nine previous races, including five wins, and will look to extend his 30-point lead. However, in 2008 it was Lorenzo who recorded the circuit record with a time of 1’37.404 and finished ahead of Rossi for his first win. With only four races remaining, Lorenzo can ill afford to finish behind the Doctor this weekend.

Casey Stoner will be back aboard the Ducati, though he will remain under constant supervision. Stoner’s doctors believe previous injuries and overtraining in combination with a sodium-deficient diet were to blame for his debilitating illness. In three trips to Portugal in the premier class, Stoner has only one podium to his credit and will work on getting back to speed aboard the fickle Ducati.

Stoner is fourth in the points standings with only seven separating him and Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa. Pedrosa led part of the Misano MotoGP race before finishing in third with teammate Andrea Dovizioso, following right behind to take fourth. The new Repsol riders are riding now with renewed job security for 2010 and will look to end the season strong with podium finishes and perhaps move up the final points standings. Another Honda looking for a top-five result is LCR Honda’s Randy de Puniet, who has developed this season into one of the more consistent performers aboard the RC212V. San Carlo Honda Gresini's Toni Elias has won at Estoril in the past, but can the Spainard pull off another surprise?

American Nicky Hayden, Stoner’s Ducati teammate, crashed out of Misano last month during an accident at the beginning of the race that also removed Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Colin Edwards and San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Alex de Angelis, the latter rider being the instigator of the whole mess. Hayden, who has also extended his contract for 2010, is looking to extend his positive steps forward on the Ducati at Portugal and improve on his dismal 14th position overall, saying of the Estoril circuit, “The track is nothing real special but I like it. It’s pretty narrow, with probably the tightest and slowest chicane on the whole calendar, but has a great fifth gear kink on the back straightaway and the final turn is a very long, cool corner.” 

Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen of Rizla Suzuki are anxious to return to the track after the long break. In 2008, Capirossi and Vermeulen finished in eighth and ninth at Estoril, and hope the recent modifications to the GSV-Rs will land them in higher positions. Capirossi said, "We had a good result last time out at Misano, but we still want more. The factory has been working hard recently and we have showed big improvements and we need to keep that going for the rest of the year and carry it through the winter and into 2010.”

Rider’s Quotes:

Casey Stoner - Ducati Marlboro Team:
“I’m definitely looking forward to the race weekend. Having three races off is the biggest period away from racing in my life. It was very difficult to accept the advice of the doctors to stop racing. In the past I have raced even when injured, like in the last few races of the 2008 season when my wrist was broken, but this time it was really not possible and of course I felt very sorry for the team. Now I’m looking forward to getting back together with the team and everyone and I hope I’ll be able to be more competitive than I was in the past, but we will have to wait and see. The doctors have put me on some salt tablets to increase my sodium levels but we will have to see if it helps. We will understand more during the weekend. Of course it’s going to be difficult: at first we won’t know if it will work because I’ve been off the bike so long that in any case my muscles will take some time to get race fit again. But, as I said, I’m looking forward to getting back and to starting work on the bike, looking towards the future.”

Nicky Hayden - Ducati Marlboro Team:
“A few weeks off is always nice but I’m definitely over it now and ready to get back to the track and on the bike. I haven't really been up to anything exciting over the break, just training and hanging out getting prepared for the final stretch of the season. Any time we get a few weeks at home is like gold when you travel like we do. I am very excited for Portugal - we go there feeling pretty positive after finding some decent speed over the last few races. We go there at a different time in the season from last year so it has been almost a year and half since we’ve been to the track, which makes it a little difficult. Also we will have Casey back which is great for the team and the championship and I’m sure he will be as fast as ever. Getting on that front row or podium just got even harder for me!”
 
Valentino Rossi – Fiat Yamaha:
"It was great to go away for the break after winning in Misano and with a good championship lead and I have enjoyed having three weeks off, but now I am ready to return to work. We're in the final stage of the championship and we have a strong position but, as we've seen throughout this season, anything can happen and we know that the championship is far from over yet. The next three races are all good tracks for us and my team and I will aim to get as many points as possible each time and then we will see where we are in Valencia! Last year we struggled a little in Estoril but it's been a great track for me in the past, especially with Yamaha, and it's a place that usually produces good, close racing so I hope that's the case again this year. I also hope to see Casey back in good shape and recovered because the championship misses him."

Jorge Lorenzo – Fiat Yamaha:
"I am really excited to be coming back to race, a month ois too long after the summer! It's been strange to have such a long break but I've tried to use the time to prepare for the final races; I spent a week in Mallorca, training with my father and resting with my family and I enjoyed myself a lot. Now we go to Estoril, where I had one of the best moments of my life. In the past I was never strong there but last year I did an unbelievable race. This year it's a different situation; a different time of year, everyone has the same tyres and we are in the closing stages of the championship. My aim is to have a good weekend in order to keep the championship going. I am also happy that we will see Casey back this weekend because he brings another challenge for all of us."

Loris Capirossi – Rizla Suzuki:
"I've had a couple of podiums at Estoril as well as a pole position start and I'd really like to add to that this weekend, we know it will be tough, but we need to believe in ourselves and try to take that next step."

Chris Vermeulen – Rizla Suzuki:
"I can't wait to get back on the bike again after the short break we've had, I feel fully refreshed and totally focused on the rest of the season. Estoril is a tough track for us, but with the changes we've made recently I'm hoping that will point us in a new direction. I'm really looking forward to the weekend and will be doing all I can to push the bike up towards the front."

Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda:
“It’s been quite a long break since the last race and I really enjoyed it - combining time to relax as well as taking the opportunity to put in some good training. It’s unusual to have three weeks off at this stage of the year, but now it’s time to get back on track and I’m very much looking forward to facing the last part of the season. We need to be very focused from the first practice on Friday to prepare the bike as much a possible for this race. At this track you need a machine that performs well on the brakes and over the bumps and is able to maintain good rear grip. It’s quite a tough track from a riding point of view, but I feel confident on this front because physically I’m in really good condition now. We’ll see how the weather is compared to last year when we raced in April. I have good memories from 2008 when we managed to finish second even though we had mixed conditions on Sunday with some light showers at the beginning of the race. Obviously I would prefer to have stable weather and dry conditions, but whatever happens I’m looking forward to getting back on track.”

Andrea Dovizioso – Repsol Honda:
“Estoril is a track where I have achieved some good results and I’m really looking forward to getting back on the bike after this long break. Last year’s race here was looking going well for me too, and I was fighting with Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Valentino before I crashed, so I have a positive feeling coming into this weekend and I’m confident I can have a good race. It’s a very slow circuit and some parts are a bit tight and narrow for MotoGP machines. This means it’s not easy to tame these bikes around here and it takes a while to understand how to approach the track and fully exploit the MotoGP bike’s performance. At the last race at Misano we collected important data on the way to fourth place and the team and I have some ideas of how to further improve the machine set-up with the Ohlins suspension. I‘m really curious to see how these new setting solutions will work out. We’re feeling confident for the final four races of the season and I’m definitely looking forward to racing at Estoril.”