Estoril is also a happy hunting ground for Australia's representative in the MotoGP class, veteran Garry McCoy, who won the first GP there in 2000 and finished third last year.

The Portuguese GP marks the end of a long run of European events before the world championships traverse the globe for the final five rounds, including the SKYY VODKA Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Victoria's Phillip Island on October 18-20.

Stoner, 16, from the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, has been buoyed by his best 250cc GP result - fifth at Brno in the Czech Republic two weeks ago - and is keen to repeat or better that feat in Portugal.

The 4.182km circuit at Estoril, 32km west of Lisbon, is one of the few tracks in the 16-round championship that Stoner has ridden before, giving the teenager a head start in his race preparations.

"We did some testing there in February and I was about one second off lap record pace, so I have got good knowledge of the track and some set-up information," Stoner said.

"Hopefully with the developments we have made in the chassis I can be in the top five again."

Stoner's previous best results in his first full world championship season were sixth place at the Jerez and Catalunya circuits which he had already raced on in last year's Spanish 125cc championship. He is riding an Aprilia this season for the Italian-run Safilo Oxydo race
LCR team.

It is 20 years since an Australian has been on the podium with a top-three finish at a 250cc GP. That was Graeme McGregor at the 1982 Belgian GP.  Queensland's Anthony West scored a couple of fourth places finishes in recent years but no podium since 1982, but Stoner aims to change that.  If he does make it on to the podium, at 17 years of age he will be the youngest ever rider to climb the steps of a 250 GP podium.

Meanwhile, McCoy, 30, from Camden on the south-western outskirts of Sydney, is hoping for a good race from the front of the grid at Estoril after failing to capitalise on a superb front-row qualifying performance at Brno two weeks ago.

McCoy took the second of his three 500cc wins at Estoril two years ago, but has been plagued by injuries since 2000 and missed four races early this season.

He is still on a traditional Yamaha 500 with the Red Bull WCM team rather than one of the new 990cc, four-stroke machines, although he is looking forward to getting aboard a Honda similar to the sport's superstar Valentino Rossi's next year.

"The last couple of races have been a little difficult for me, but I'm getting there," McCoy said.

"I've just got to get used to mixing it with the boys again, and just getting in there and having a go.

"The last thing I want to do at the moment is fall off and have another injury."

Italian Max Biaggi will be looking for a follow-up win to his, and Yamaha's, first MotoGP victory of the season at Brno. Biaggi, aboard Yamaha's four-stroke bike, has finished in the top four in seven of the 10 GPs this season, including three straight second places before Brno.

Rossi will be seeking to reassert his dominance after an uncharacteristic non-finish two weeks ago, while Japan's Daijiro Kato is full of confidence after his sensational second place in his first race on a four-stroke Honda at Brno.

In the 250cc class, Italian Marco Melandri is aiming for his seventh straight victory on his Aprilia bike. He leads Spaniard Fonsi Nieto by 37 points in the championship.

The 125cc championship is set to go down to the wire, with just two points separating reigning world champion Manuel Poggiali, from San Marino, and Frenchman Arnaud Vincent. Gilera rider Poggiali is coming under enormous pressure from Vincent on an Aprilia and 16-year-old Spaniard Daniel Pedrosa on a Honda.

Click below for wallpaper