The first session of the first day in Portugal saw Andrea Dovizioso achieving a good position by setting the sixth fastest provisional time. The first part of the day was affected by rain and, while weather conditions improved by the afternoon’s second free practice session, they were still far from perfect. Because of this, lap times fell far short of record pace but the JiR Team Scot rider was able to take advantage of the weather to gain more experience of riding at Estoril in variable conditions - something which could be a factor in the race. In the afternoon, Dovizioso concentrated on final race set-up for his Honda RC212V, trying to find a good balance and to understand in which direction to work towards for final qualifying and the race itself.
After a forceful ride in Qatar earlier this month Spanish star Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) is set to make the first of three races in Spain his signal that he is more than ready for the challenge of the 2008 World Championship. But the way the World Championship is shaping up so far, he won’t be the only frontline Spanish rider to be gunning for the big prize on Sunday. Dani will relish the rivalry with Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) this weekend. And now he is nearing full fitness again, after injuring his throttle hand in a crash while testing in Malaysia, he is itching for action. Pedrosa won here on a 250cc machine here in 2005 and he has also finished on the podium here for the last three years. His team-mate Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) also scored a podium finish here in 2006 and the Repsol duo are sure to put up a determined display here for one of Honda’s long-term sponsors.