Loranzo scores sensational first win

From Yamaha: Jorge Lorenzo topped off an incredible opening month in MotoGP with his maiden premier class victory on the weekend, his first ever career win at Estoril. After three pole positions and two podiums, the Fiat Yamaha Team rookie went one step further to win the Portuguese Grand Prix in fine style, taking joint first in the championship standings in the process. It was also the second double podium of the season for the team, with Valentino Rossi finishing third.

The first lap was a close battle between Lorenzo, Rossi and Dani Pedrosa with Lorenzo just prevailing over the line. Rossi however then passed him into turn one and pushed on ahead, leaving his team-mate to defend second position from Pedrosa, who was right on his tail. It began to spot with rain but Lorenzo kept his head and kept in touch with Rossi, despite pressure from Pedrosa behind him. On lap 11 Pedrosa made it past Lorenzo and stayed in front of him for two laps, but the Mallorcan was clearly cruising and, after setting the fastest lap of the race so far on lap 12, the Michelin-shod rider passed Pedrosa into turn one and set off after Rossi. He made his move later that lap in typically flamboyant fashion with a bold pass at the chicane and from then on it was a one-man-show as he extended his lead and eventually crossed the line 1.817 seconds in front of Pedrosa, who had passed Rossi on lap 15.

Meanwhile world champ Casey Stoner was clearly struggling in the early part of the race on his Ducati. An ordinary grid position developed into an even worse start and the Australian never looked really comfortable on the bike. Life was hugely complicated by an on-board camera that came loose and was flapping around the handlebars, at times interfering with the steering. However he was starting to match the pace of the leaders by the end of the race and was hauling in Kawasaki-mounted John Hopkins.

WHAT THEY SAID
Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, 1st: “I feel like I’m in heaven! First of all I have to say thank you to Yamaha and to Fiat because without their confidence in me I wouldn’t be here now. I can’t believe it and it’s really impossible for me to describe my feelings, I’m so happy for everyone! My team did a fantastic job and my Yamaha and my Michelin tyres worked very, very well today. The start of the race was quite crazy because there were some drops of rain and it looked like it might get worse. Anyway I just carried on and really I can’t remember the details of exactly what happened…I remember making my pass on Valentino; I know it was quite a risk so I’m sorry to him but at that point I felt that I could make it and get away from him, so I took the chance and it worked. I’m so proud of everyone, to be here after just three races and at the top of the championship as well is something that I could never have even dreamed of. We can’t afford to relax now however because Pedrosa and Rossi are here as well and they are two very fast and clever riders. I had some pain again in my arms today so tonight we will make a decision about whether or not I will have the operation before China, but for now I’m just going to enjoy this moment!”

Dani Pedrosa, Honda, 2nd: “After our difficult preseason it’s good to be in this position now, so we are very happy. Today was a good race, the beginning was quite fun, but also a little dangerous because it was raining a bit and there were a few passing manoeuvres. When the rain stopped, the pace got faster and faster, so we had to concentrate very hard to maintain tyre grip all the time. Eventually we finished second and we’re happy. We always expected a tough race, so this result is very important for us. When Lorenzo started pulling away I still had to pass Rossi, then when I did pass Rossi, Lorenzo already had a gap. I tried to close the gap, or at least maintain it, and the gap stayed the same more or less for the remainder of the race. Finally we got second and it’s a good result.”

Valentino Rossi, Yamaha 3rd: “At the end of the day this isn’t a bad result for us because we expected this to be quite a difficult track for us. My M1 worked well today; I got a good start and was able to stay at the front to begin with and have some fun. My Bridgestone tyres were working well but I was thinking about trying to conserve them as much as possible because I knew 28 laps was going to be hard. Unfortunately I couldn’t stay with Lorenzo and Pedrosa in the later stages and I started to slide a little bit, but anyway to have two podiums in a row with Bridgestone is very important because we’re still in the learning stages of our relationship. I think we’ve made another step forward this weekend and we have an important test tomorrow – I hope in China we will be able to fight for the win!”

Casey Stoner, Ducati, 6th: “It was incredible what happened today, we had a problem which was no fault of the bike from the beginning of the race. I didn't understand what was going on and wasn't sure if an important part of the bike was involved. It was a major distraction. Sometimes the piece would lock the steering and sometimes it locked the clutch lever. It was a very difficult situation but eventually I worked out a way to ride around it. Every time I came down the straight I pushed it back into place but the turbulence from the wind would blow it back out again so it was very frustrating. I think a better result for sure was possible without this but we have to take this as a positive thing and not reflect on the negatives. It wasn't a good weekend for us but the problem in the race was not a general fault with the bike, just one of those things that happens from time to time. We need to continue working hard in China, a track that should be a little better for us, and hope for a bit more luck."

MOTOGP GOSSIP
Rumours were flying around the pits that Kawasaki has approached Valentino Rossi to join Team Green. If true, it suggests the company has decided to up the budget for its MotoGP effort.

Yamaha has re-signed with the Tech 3 satellite team for another couple of years, apparently seeing benefits in having a strong support crew – something borne out in the Estoril race, with a strong showing from Colin Edwards.

James Toseland has signed on with Tech 3 Yamaha for another couple of years, giving that team a lot of stability for coming years.
Estoril has signed on to keep the GP until 2011.

Honda is to introduce a new pneumatic-valve engine in the near future, in an effort to match pace with the slightly quicker Yamahas.

Kawasaki is also said to have a new powerplant in the wings.

RESULTS

Sources: yamaha-racing.com; world.honda.com; ducati.com