Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa had a hard-fought ride to second place in tricky conditions at Estoril today while team-mate Nicky Hayden tumbled out of fourth place while sneaking up on the leading trio. The opening laps of the race were especially tricky because light rain showers had dampened several sections of the circuit.
Pedrosa’s third successive podium finish from the first three races – third in Qatar, winner in Spain and second here in Portugal – makes him the equal points leader with today’s race winner Jorge Lorenzo. Pedrosa was in the thick of the three-way battle for victory throughout this afternoon’s race, moving into third place on lap three, then duking it out with Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi. He got the better of Rossi on lap 15 and worked hard to close the gap on leader Lorenzo, eventually finishing the 28 laps just 1.8 seconds down.
Gallant Hayden was also charging hard, moving through the pack from seventh place on the first place, picking off rivals here and there until he found himself in fourth place just after half way. The American had been chipping away at the leading group, closing a few tenths every lap, until he lost the front and fell going into turn seven on lap 17. His pace had been impressive, good enough for the third fastest lap of the race.
Dani Pedrosa
Finished Second, equal World Championship leader
Front tyre: 16" Michelin slick medium
Rear tyre: 16.5" Michelin slick hard
“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 mor e or less for the remainder of the race. Finally we got second and it’s a good result."
Nicky Hayden
DNF, Tenth in World Championship
Front tyre: 16" Michelin slick medium
Rear tyre: 16.5" Michelin slick hard
“The first few laps were certainly not easy, some parts of the track were a little wetter than others and I had on a pretty hard tyre. I had been choosing between that tyre and another a little bit softer, but with the way the weather’s been this weekend we really hadn’t got to do a lot of endurance on the harder one. I got settled in, and the warmer I was getting the tyres the better they were working and I was able to start moving up, so things were feeling pretty good. I made a few passes, I’d just got into fourth, felt like I wanted to close the gap on the guys in front of me. You know, I got fourth place at Jerez and I certainly didn’t want to settle in there and ride around, so I had to push hard and you know when you push hard you make mistakes. It’s not a parade you can’t just cruise around. The bike was working good, the tyres were working good, I felt pretty comfortable, so I was p ushing. Turn seven’s downhill, certainly a trick corner, the front let go pretty early and down I went. It’s unfortunate because the bike was working good and we were hungry for a good result, so my own mistake. We just have to step it up a bit."
Kazuhiko Yamano - Team Manager“Dani did a very good job for the championship. The conditions were very difficult, with some rain falling at the start of the race, so Dani did a very good job controlling that situation and racing with the front pack. Nicky was also very fast, he was running a great pace and looking very strong, but it seems he was unlucky. We stay here to test tomorrow, when we will be testing tyres and chassis settings.”
Total Weekend Attendance: 72.383,
Race Day Attendance: 41.840
Race conditions: Temp: 18°C
Weather: dry
Track: 21°c
Humidity: 53%
Race Results:1. Jorge LORENZO - SPA - Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 45'53.089
2. Dani PEDROSA - SPA - Repsol Honda Team HONDA 45'54.906 3. Valentino ROSSI - ITA - Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 46'05.812
4. Colin EDWARDS - USA - Tech 3 Yamaha YAMAHA 46'10.312
5. John HOPKINS - USA - Kawasaki Racing Team KAWASAKI 46'16.841
6. Casey STONER - AUS - Ducati Marlboro Team DUCATI 46'19.777
7. James TOSELAND - GBR - Tech 3 Yamaha YAMAHA 46'25.720
8. Chris VERMEULEN - AUS - Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 46'29.471 2
9. Loris CAPIROSSI - ITA - Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 46'31.357
10. Shinya NAKANO - JPN - San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 46'32.565
11. Alex DE ANGELIS - RSM - San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 46'54.395
12. Toni ELIAS - SPA - Alice Team DUCATI 46'56.956
13. Marco MELANDRI - ITA - Ducati Marlboro Team DUCATI 47'02.614
14. Sylvain GUINTOLI - FRA - Alice Team DUCATI 47'02.723
15. Randy DE PUNIET - FRA - LCR Honda MotoGP HONDA 47'04.631
16. Anthony WEST - AUS - Kawasaki Racing Team KAWASAKI 47'16.718
Not Classified:
69 Nicky HAYDEN - USA - Repsol Honda Team HONDA 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO - ITA - JiR Team Scot MotoGP HONDA
World Champioship Classification:
Riders:
1. LORENZO Jorge - SPA 61
2. PEDROSA Dani - SPA 613. ROSSI Valentino - ITA 47
4. STONER Casey - AUS 40
5. TOSELAND James - GBR 29
6. CAPIROSSI Loris - ITA 26
7. HOPKINS John - USA 24
8. EDWARDS Colin - USA 22
9. DOVIZIOSO Andrea - ITA 21
10. HAYDEN Nicky - USA 19 11. NAKANO Shinya - JPN 16
12. VERMEULEN Chris - AUS 14
13. MELANDRI Marco - ITA 12
14. DE PUNIET Randy - FRA 8
15. DE ANGELIS Alex - RSM 7
16. ELIAS Toni - SPA 7
17. WEST Anthony - AUS 3
18. GUINTOLI Sylvain - FRA 3
Constructor Points:
1. YAMAHA 65
2. HONDA 61 3. DUCATI 40
4. SUZUKI 27
Team Points:1. FIAT YAMAHA TEAM 108
2. REPSOL HONDA TEAM 80 3. DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM 52
4. TECH 3 YAMAHA 51
5. RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP 40
6. KAWASAKI RACING TEAM 27
7. SAN CARLO HONDA GRESI 23
8. JIR TEAM SCOT MOTOGP 21
9. ALICE TEAM 10
Circuit Lenght: 4182 m
Fastest Lap (new record) 2008: Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1'37"715
Circuit best lap 2008: 1.35.715 J.Lorenzo (Yamaha)
