MotoGP 2009 - Round 14 - Estoril

MotoGP 2009 - Round 14 - Estoril - Day One

In good conditions at Estoril, on the opening day of the bwin.com Grande Prmio de Portugal, it was Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo who set the pace in MotoGP free practice with a best time of 1’37.185s in the closing stages, after heading the timesheet for most of the session.

Lorenzo needs to pile as much pressure as possible on his Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi this weekend to stay in the title hunt and the Spanish star will be happy to have started practice in first place, at a venue where he took his first MotoGP win last year.

Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa was the second quickest participant, demonstrating his pace once again with a 1’37.544 time which was 0.359s down on Lorenzo’s hot lap.

Rossi will not be too disappointed to have commenced the Estoril weekend in third place, with a similar time to Pedrosa’s best, 0.421s behind his championship rival Lorenzo - at a circuit where he has scored five premier class wins.

The story of the weekend was the return of former world champ Casey Stoner, who was back on track after a three-round break to recover from fatigue problems. The Australian took his beloved Desmosedici GP9 machine round in a best time of 1’37.966 as the fastest Ducati rider on Friday.

Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Colin Edwards was fifth and top private team rider, a position he has found himself in on several occasions in 2009, going round in just over 1’38 on the satellite Yamaha M1 which it has been confirmed he will ride again next year.

Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) were sixth and seventh respectively, whilst James Toseland (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) made a late surge from lower down the order into eighth place. San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Alex de Angelis and Pramac Racing’s Mika Kallio completed the top ten.

1. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'37.185
2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 1'37.544
3. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'37.606
4. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'37.966
5. Colin Edwards (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1'38.103
6. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda 1'38.244
7. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 1'38.385
8. James Toseland (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1'38.591
9. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'38.629
10. Mika Kallio (FIN) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'38.661
11. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'38.850
12. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1'38.978
13. Niccolo Canepa (ITA) Pramac Racing 1'39.033
14. Gabor Talmacsi (HUN) Scot Racing Team MotoGP 1'39.393
15. Toni Elias (SPA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'39.567
16. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1'39.686
17. Marco Melandri (ITA) Hayate Racing Team 1'39.757

-- Ducati Report

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Casey Stoner made his eagerly awaited return to competitive MotoGP action in Portugal today after missing the last three rounds through illness. The Australian completed a total of nineteen laps of the Estoril circuit, making three runs in total – his fastest time coming on his second run when he clocked a 1’37.966, fast enough for an impressive fourth position overall. Stoner took a short break before his final effort after struggling with arm pump but did not feel as comfortable with the modified set-up and was unable to improve his lap time.

Whilst Stoner used the new bodywork design on each of his Desmosedici GP9 machines today, with a carbon swingarm on one and an aluminium swingarm on the other, his team-mate Nicky Hayden experimented with the new fairing on one machine but was unable to really gauge its performance due to the unusually low winds here. He used the original fairing on his other bike, with both of them fitted with the carbon swingarm. The American made four runs but left it late to set his best time, which came on his penultimate lap of 27.

CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) (4th; 1’37.966)
"So far so good. It was great to be back out there on the bike today and I really enjoyed myself. Physically I feel about as well as you could expect considering that I haven’t trained properly for almost four months now and I’m pleased with that. One thing I did struggle with was arm pump, which I expected, and I needed a bit of a rest in the later stages of the session. I expect the problem to ease over the weekend but I have to be careful not to push it too hard and exacerbate it further. We only did a couple of laps at the beginning but the riding position and brake levers weren’t quite right, so I had to come in and change that. After that we were competitive and making constant improvements, until my final run when we made quite a big change to the setting and it didn’t work out. If it wasn’t for that the lap time could have been better. We have different swingarms on the two bikes but I only tried the carbon one today, so I’d like to try the aluminium one tomorrow and see where we go from there. As far as the new fairing is concerned it was impossible to feel the difference today because it is designed to help the bike handle better in strong winds, which unusually for this circuit we didn’t have today, and fast direction changes, which there are none of here.”

NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati Marlboro Team) (11th; 1’38.850)
“It wasn’t as good as we’d have liked it to be coming out of the gate – I’d thought the gap to the front would be closer than that today so we’ve got a lot of work to do. We need to make a general improvement everywhere – there’s not one part of the track holding me back, I just need to find a little bit more speed in every section. We tried the new cowling in one run but it was just to get a bit of data and get an idea. We still haven’t decided what way we’re going to go with that for the rest of the weekend. It’s still early but I would have liked to start out stronger and we need to pick it up a bit tomorrow. I also want to say congratulations to my chief mechanic “Bibo” (Davide Manfredi), whose wife just had a healthy baby boy.”

-- HRC

Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso finished in second and sixth places this afternoon as the first practice session for the Grand Prix of Portugal took place at Estoril. After a four-week break since the last MotoGP outing, the factory Honda pair and their pit crews quickly blew away the cobwebs and got down to the serious business of tuning their machines to the demands of the tight and bumpy 4.182km (0.613-mile) circuit.

Pedrosa has finished second in the race here for the previous two years, and that’s where the Spaniard ended up today after spending significant time at the top of the standings in the one-hour practice period. Looking confident aboard his RC212V, his fastest lap was just one tenth of a second outside the race lap record set last year. Pedrosa, who turned 24 on Tuesday, was only pipped for top spot today by fellow countryman Jorge Lorenzo and is confident for tomorrow’s practice and qualifying sessions.

On the other side of the Repsol Honda garage, Dovizioso wasn’t far behind his team-mate on a day that saw the riders enjoy warmer temperatures and higher levels of grip than they’ve experienced on several previous visits to Estoril. The 23-year-old Italian is targeting an improved feeling from the rear of his machine and, once that’s achieved, he’s buoyant about his chances of closing in further on the lead riders ahead of Sunday’s 28-lap race.

DANI PEDROSA – 2nd – 1m 37.544s
“That was a good first session and I’m happy with how we’ve started our Estoril weekend. We were fast pretty much from the outset and the feeling from the machine was good straight away. Normally when we visit this circuit earlier in the season it’s cold and the grip is not very good, but today the track temperature was high and the Bridgestone tyres were working well, which allowed me to set fast lap times that were also quite consistent. Of course it’s a bumpy circuit, but we know this is going to be the case so you come here prepared for that - it’s not a big problem. Braking is very important at this circuit and it can make a big difference in the race because you need to be able to overtake into the slow corners at the end of the straights. We can improve on this area and we’ll continue to work on the set-up tomorrow. Overall, I’m pleased with our start to the weekend.”

ANDREA DOVIZIOSO – 6th – 1m 38.244s
“It’s really good to get out on track again because it’s been more than a three week-break since Misano. It actually takes a little while to get back into the groove after this time away but I’m pretty confident that we can have a good race here. This afternoon we struggled a little bit with the rear of the machine, which meant my ultimate lap time wasn’t quite where I wanted it to be, so this is the area we’re going to be focusing on to find some improvements. The tight, slow corners at this track together with the bumps seem to amplify the issue because the rear is working a lot. Still, this means we have the potential to close on the riders in front, and that’s what we’ll be gunning for in tomorrow’s practice and qualifying sessions.”

KAZUHIKO YAMANO - REPSOL HONDA TEAM MANAGER
“It’s been quite a long break since the last race at Misano and the Repsol Honda Team has not been standing still. We’ve continued to work very hard in order to close in on our rivals in the final four races of the season. It was a positive start to the weekend for us in the session this afternoon and Dani was at, or very close to, the front for the whole practice. Andrea also worked well with his team and there is more to come from him too I’m sure. It’s a bumpy surface here and so achieving the optimum machine set-up takes some time. With that in mind, we should be able to make further progress tomorrow.”

-- Yamaha Report

After a month-long break, MotoGP was finally back in action today at Estoril in Portugal for the 14th round of the season. Carrying a special one-off ‘Fiat Punto Evo livery for this race, the Fiat Yamaha pair of Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi made a strong start to the weekend, finishing Free Practice in first and third respectively.

Temperatures were comfortably in the mid-twenties and both riders were happy to be back on board, using the time to reacquaint themselves with their YZR-M1s after the holidays and work on tyre selection and set-up. Dani Pedrosa was on top for much of the first half of the session but with 20 minutes to go Lorenzo moved into the lead and he finished the session well inside the lap record and an impressive 0.359 seconds ahead of Pedrosa. Rossi was less than a tenth off Pedrosa in third and is confident that a little more time to work on set-up tomorrow will enable him improve the balance of his bike in the hard braking areas and close the disadvantage to his young team-mate.

Lorenzo - Position: 1st Time: 1'37.185 Laps: 27
"It's good to be back on the bike after one month but also quite hard! I enjoyed today though and we did a good job and made an encouraging start. After a bit of work we were able to do a very good time and I am happy to be in front, it's important at this stage of the championship to make a strong start this weekend. We have one or two things to improve but we are in good shape. I am happy to see Casey back and also to see that he is already strong. Finally I want to mention the special sticker I have on my bike this weekend for Lukas Sembera, a young Czech rider who had a bad accident two weeks ago - I wish him all the best in his recovery."

Rossi - Position: 3rd Time: 1'37.606 Laps: 26
"This is quite a difficult track to come back to after a long break because the braking is very hard and it's quite stressful on the arms, but I think it will be better tomorrow. We have a slight problem in the balance of the bike in these hard braking areas which we need to work on tomorrow to find a way to improve; we're already quite fast but we need to close the gap a bit more so we will make the most of our time tomorrow so that we're in good shape for qualifying."

Team Manager
"A very good start here at this track and again we are showing that we are consistently competitive, which proves that the base setting of our Yamaha works in all the tracks. It's impressive how Jorge is already under the circuit record lap and this is great for the first day, especially after such a long break. We're quite happy about our performance but now we're looking forward to being a able to improve a few small areas even more tomorrow."

Team Manager
"We made quite a good start today. It looks like we have as bit of work to do but we're not too far away. We also had the possibility to check all the tyres and so it was a good session as far as gathering information is concerned. We could have done with a few more laps at the end to check a couple of different settings, but this isn't a big problem and we will have time to do this tomorrow."

-- Suzuki Report

Rizla Suzuki racers Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen are both confident that the information they gained from today's only practice session will help them improve on their race-pace throughout the remainder of this Estoril Grand Prix weekend.

Capirossi (P12, 1'38.978, 24 laps) tried a radical setting on his Suzuki GSV-R at the beginning of this afternoon's session and with his crew he will be reviewing the data overnight to see where important changes can be made to find extra tenths-of-second to push him further up the leader-board. Capirossi changed to his other GSV-R later in the session, with a more conventional setting, and quickly improved on his times - setting his fastest time on his very last lap.

Vermeulen (P16, 1'39.686, 24 laps) overcame acute back pain following a training accident - which required x-rays this morning to check everything was ok - to fight his way through the session and give him the confidence to push harder with each passing lap. Vermeulen will now rest overnight and hope that he is in a much fitter state to wrestle his Suzuki GSV-R around the 4,182m Estoril track tomorrow.
Under cloudy skies, but warm temperatures, where the track surface reached the high 30ºCs, Jorge Lorenzo on his factory Yamaha set the fastest time of the day.

Rizla Suzuki has one more free session tomorrow morning, followed by an hour of qualifying in the afternoon. Sunday's 28-lap race gets underway at 13.00 local time (12.00hrs GMT).

Loris Capirossi:
"It was a bit of a strange practice today for us. The condition of the track was not too bad and we started the session with an unusual setting that put more load on the rear tyre, we didn't really find that it worked that well for us, but we were able to understand what is needed. On the last run I went out on my other bike and it had a different set-up and I was able to go a bit quicker. I think for us it was a difficult practice today, but it has given us a lot of ideas to do a lot better tomorrow - for sure I will be a lot faster!."

Chris Vermeulen:
"It was a bit difficult in the beginning, because I hurt my back in Australia about a week ago and it didn't make things very comfortable on the bike. It was tough to move around at first, but after a couple of changes to the settings things became a lot easier. We ran the softer compound tyre on the front and rear all session and my lap-times were getting quicker all the time. Towards the end of the hour I changed to my other bike - which had a different geometry setting - but unfortunately we had a couple of issues with that one and I had to come in early, losing a bit of track-time in the process. I am sure if I can get a bit fitter for tomorrow, we will be able to qualify well, because the bike feels as if it is in really good shape."

Paul Denning - Team Manager:
"It is difficult to draw too many real positives from today's free practice session, other than we hope Chris will be in a much better condition tomorrow, and that we will be able to make a big step with the GSV-R following the things we learnt today. One area we have struggled with in the past here at Estoril is the final corner - in terms of generating enough grip - and with the new evolution of the bike that problem does seem to be largely solved. If we can now take a decent step overnight we should be in a position to make a good improvement around the whole racetrack and find a decent chunk of time."

-- Bridgestone Report

Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium. Rear: Medium, Hard (asymmetric)

Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo made a dominant start to the weekend on his return to the scene of his first MotoGP victory. The number 99 rider topped the timesheets at the end of the first free practice session, this time using Bridgestone tyres for the first time at this circuit. His best lap came on the harder of the available front and rear slicks.

The first free practice session for the Portuguese Grand Prix showed encouraging performance from Bridgestone’s slicks as Lorenzo lapped just over 0.2seconds faster than the existing lap record, set by himself last season. Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa finished the session second fastest also on the harder option front and rear Bridgestone slicks, followed by Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner, the Australian returning after a three-race absence.

The harder of the available tyre options, the medium compound front and the hard compound rear, were clearly the faster choice today given the conditions. Most riders tested both available compounds of front and rear slick tyre during the hour-long session in preparation for the region’s notoriously unpredictable weather and fluctuating temperatures over the next two days.

Estoril is a track that demands a lot from the tyres, but all the available compounds worked well during the session and the wider operating range of this year’s Bridgestone tyres was advantageous in giving the riders a consistent feeling throughout the varied nature of each lap.

Tohru Ubukata – Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department
“The performance we have seen today is very encouraging and I am happy that Jorge has gone faster already than the existing lap record he set last year. This shows the advances we have made in tyre performance at this circuit, which I think come primarily from the wider operating range we have designed into our tyres for this single supply era. This wider operating range lends itself well to the varied nature of this circuit, which is what makes it so tough, and gives the riders a more consistent feeling from the slow and twisty corners such as the chicane through to the fast and open final corner. It is also good to see Casey back and fighting at the front where we are used to seeing him. If the conditions allow, I am confident from today’s performance that another lap record will be claimed on Bridgestone tyres on Sunday.”

-- Minor Categories

The fastest 250cc competitor of the day was Héctor Barberá, as he took his Pepe World Team Aprilia machine around the Estoril track in 1’40.777, to lead the way by more than half a second.

Closest to Barberá on the timesheet was his compatriot Alex Debon (Aeropuerto-Castello-Blusens), who was 0.55s off the pace. Mike di Meglio (Mapfre Aspar) and Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing were third and fourth fastest, ahead of World Champion Marco Simoncelli (Metis Gilera) in the top five.

World Championship leader Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Racing Team) was down in the recently unfamiliar territory of tenth place, with Álvaro Bautista (Mapfre Aspar Team) also looking slightly out of sorts in sixth.

A weekend which could conclude with Julián Simón being crowned as the 2009 125cc World Champion commenced with the Spaniard registering the fastest lap by a 1.078s margin in the single cylinder free practice.

The Bancaja Aspar rider has his first mathematical chance of winning the World Championship in Portugal, but he would need his two closest rivals – Nico Terol and Bradley Smith - to both have an off-form weekend.

Indeed, although it is only early in proceedings, Simón’s 1’45.880 hot lap at the end of the session, coupled with a crash for Smith which saw his practice cut short as he ended up down in 18th place and a sixth fastest start for Terol, could be telling signs. Smith did not finish the session but only has bruised feet from the accident.

The rider getting nearest to Simón on the timesheet was Andrea Iannone (Ongetta Team I.S.P.A.) with a 1’46.958 lap, the only other rider to go round under the 1’47 mark. Also in the top five and all within 0.2s of Iannone were Sergio Gadea (Bancaja Aspar), Marc Márquez (Red Bull KTM) and Simone Corsi (Fontana Racing).

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