Round 3-Estoril Official Discussion Thread [SPOILERZ]

[ÜberDoober]

Sunday April 13, 2008
bwin.com GRANDE PREMIO DE PORTUGAL (Estoril)

SPEEDtv Broadcast times for Sunday
250cc 2:00pm EST / 11:00am PST
MotoGP 3:00pm EST / 12:00pm PST
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Circuit_Estoril.png

Situated on the Atlantic coast of Portugal, 28km from capital city Lisbon, the Estoril circuit was used as a MotoGP venue for the first time in 2000. Built in 1972 by Fernanda Pires da Silva the circuit was used mainly for European F2 races in the seventies and after major redevelopment in the early eighties it staged its first Formula 1 Grand Prix in 1984. One of the trickiest tracks on the GP calendar, Estoril combines long, constant radius corners with heavy braking zones, bumpy straights and a difficult chicane which was added to the back section in 1994. Its geographical position means that weather can be unpredictable, although its generally warm, dry nature makes it a regular choice for pre-season testing sessions.
(I'm not going to credit the source for this paragraph because it appears on the MotoGP website, in an article on the SPEEDtv website (copied verbatim) and on Wikipedia)

So, was Casey Stoner's poor showing in Jerez just a fluke or will Ducati get beat by Honda & Yamaha again? There's a mighty long straight at Estoril. Tech 3 squad is set to get the pneumo engine this week so look for a strong showing from Toseland & Edwards. Will Pedrobot run away again? Will Rossi beat Lorenzo? Will Nicky podium?

[ÜberDoober]

And so it begins!

Stoner leads the way in first practice

Pos Rider Team Time Laps
1. Casey Stoner Ducati Marlboro Team 1:47.900 13
2. Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 1:48.599 + 0.699 17
3. Shinya Nakano San Carlo Honda Gresini 1:48.754 + 0.854 23
4. Anthony West Kawasaki Racing Team 1:48.873 + 0.973 20
5. John Hopkins Kawasaki Racing Team 1:49.530 + 1.630 16
6. Nicky Hayden Repsol Honda Team 1:49.787 + 1.887 19
7. Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1:49.903 + 2.003 19
8. Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1:50.123 + 2.223 20
9. Sylvain Guintoli Alice Team 1:50.278 + 2.378 22
10. Randy De Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP 1:50.422 + 2.522 17
11. Andrea Dovizioso JiR Team Scot MotoGP 1:50.447 + 2.547 21
12. Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 1:50.588 + 2.688 20
13. Marco Melandri Ducati Marlboro Team 1:50.761 + 2.861 18
14. Alex De Angelis San Carlo Honda Gresini 1:51.195 + 3.295 5
15. Toni Elias Alice Team 1:51.392 + 3.492 20
16. Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 1:52.045 + 4.145 14
17. Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha 1:53.196 + 5.296 16
18. James Toseland Tech 3 Yamaha 1:53.907 + 6.007 21

And little Daniboy in the 2nd

Pos Rider Team Time Laps
1. Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 1:38.507 26
2. Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 1:38.547 + 0.040 26
3. Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha 1:38.632 + 0.125 28
4. Nicky Hayden Repsol Honda Team 1:38.688 + 0.181 28
5. Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 1:38.868 + 0.361 24
6. Andrea Dovizioso JiR Team Scot MotoGP 1:39.171 + 0.664 27
7. Casey Stoner Ducati Marlboro Team 1:39.202 + 0.695 19
8. Shinya Nakano San Carlo Honda Gresini 1:39.309 + 0.802 26
9. Randy De Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP 1:39.332 + 0.825 25
10. John Hopkins Kawasaki Racing Team 1:39.474 + 0.967 23
11. Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1:39.591 + 1.084 20
12. Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1:39.946 + 1.439 26
13. James Toseland Tech 3 Yamaha 1:40.055 + 1.548 21
14. Alex De Angelis San Carlo Honda Gresini 1:41.033 + 2.526 22
15. Marco Melandri Ducati Marlboro Team 1:41.112 + 2.605 21
16. Anthony West Kawasaki Racing Team 1:41.572 + 3.065 25
17. Sylvain Guintoli Alice Team 1:41.875 + 3.368 21
18. Toni Elias Alice Team 1:43.262 + 4.755 11

[ÜberDoober]

HOLY SMOKES, BATMAN!

Three in a row for Lorenzo! I'll say one thing - the kid knows how to lay down hot laps. Pedrosa starts right next to him and hopefully won't break away like he did in Jerez. I thought the Honda boys were getting the new pneumatic motors for this round but apparently, they were only supposed to get them for testing at the conclusion of the event and now that's not even happening.

I must say that Colin Edwards and new teammate JT have done surprisingly well on the Tech3 Yammies and now with their new pneumo's, look especially strong. I just read a headline over on the DooberVille (http://www.dooberville.com) moto page that Toseland's contract has been extended through 2009.

Pos Rider Bike Time
1. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha (M) 1:35.715
2. Dani Pedrosa Honda (M) 1:35.948 + 0.233
3. Valentino Rossi Yamaha (B) 1:36.199 + 0.484
4. Nicky Hayden Honda (M) 1:36.266 + 0.551
5. Colin Edwards Yamaha (M) 1:36.289 + 0.574
6. James Toseland Yamaha (M) 1:36.790 + 1.075
7. Andrea Dovizioso Honda (M) 1:36.998 + 1.283
8. Randy de Puniet Honda (M) 1:37.223 + 1.508
9. Casey Stoner Ducati (B) 1:37.253 + 1.538
10. John Hopkins Kawasaki (B) 1:37.346 + 1.631
11. Shinya Nakano Honda (B) 1:37.664 + 1.949
12. Loris Capirossi Suzuki (B) 1:37.786 + 2.071
13. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki (B) 1:37.843 + 2.128
14. Toni Elias Ducati (B) 1:38.561 + 2.846
15. Anthony West Kawasaki (B) 1:38.775 + 3.060
16. Alex de Angelis Honda (B) 1:38.823 + 3.108
17. Marco Melandri Ducati (B) 1:39.115 + 3.400
18. Sylvain Guintoli Ducati (B) 1:39.355 + 3.640

[ÜberDoober]

First few laps were pretty exciting but mostly a snoozer. Congrats to Lorenzo on his first win in only his 3rd GP. Video coverage wasn't the best. Missed both Dovizioso's and Nicky's crash and missed a few key passes.

Good 5th place showing for Hopner on the Kawi and lucky final position for Stoner. I read that the dangly thing he had to stuff back in his fairing was a TV camera, and he was none too happy about it.

Good run for Dovi before he crashed and another strong display from Colin Edwards. Little Dani PeePee and Jorge are tied at the top of the points but we have another 3 week break until things pick up again in China

Pos Rider Bike Time
1. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha (M) 45:53.089
2. Dani Pedrosa Honda (M) + 1.817
3. Valentino Rossi Yamaha (B) + 12.723
4. Colin Edwards Yamaha (M) + 17.223
5. John Hopkins Kawasaki (B) + 23.752
6. Casey Stoner Ducati (B) + 26.688
7. James Toseland Yamaha (M) + 32.631
8. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki (B) + 36.382
9. Loris Capirossi Suzuki (B) + 38.268
10. Shinya Nakano Honda (B) + 39.476
11. Alex de Angelis Honda (B) +1:01.306
12. Toni Elias Ducati (B) +1:03.867
13. Marco Melandri Ducati (B) +1:09.525
14. Sylvain Guintoli Ducati (B) +1:09.634
15. Randy de Puniet Honda (M) +1:11.542
16. Anthony West Kawasaki (B) +1:23.629
DNF's: Rider Bike Laps
Nicky Hayden Honda (M) 16
Andrea Dovizioso Honda (M) 15

[ÜberDoober]

A few crappy little grabs! :)

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/lap15.jpghttp://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/Colin.jpg

Best run of the year for Colin Edwards and Hopkins
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/hoppner.jpghttp://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/nickywalks.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/randy.jpg

I miss Valentino's curly hair! Who's ears stick out more? Stoner's or Vale's?
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/EKron/rossi_intervew.jpg