Three2Tango » Moto GP

Gran Premio D’Italia Tim 2010

Dileep — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 21:47:04 +0000

Dani Pedrosa dominated proceedings at the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM 2010, as he romped to victory, from pole position, by a margin of over 4 seconds. However, Valentino Rossi was badly missed by his home crowd, as the 2009 champion had gone down in a crash during pratice, and fractured his right tibia. World Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha) took second place to extend his lead at the top of the standings, ahead of third-placed Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) who gave the home crowd a podium to cheer about. It was a total domination by Pedrosa, as he had taken pole position on Saturday by 0.177s, and at one stage in the race, led by about 7 seconds. Casey Stoner took fourth as he beat Marco Melandri and Randy de Puniet in a last-lap dash. Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro) suffered disappointment when the front of his Ducati Desmosedici GP10 folded as he went through the downhill Turn 12 on lap 5. The final lap delivered a great display in the fight for fourth as Stoner went through on both Melandri (fifth) and De Puniet (sixth) to finish ahead of the pair.

In the 125cc discipline, Marc Márquez (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) took his first World Championship win in a race that went all the way to the wire, leading an all-Spanish podium which was completed by Nico Terol (Bancaja Aspar) and Pol Espargaró (Tuenti Racing). The opening laps saw Espargaró, Bradley Smith (Bancaja Aspar) and Terol, along with Márquez who started from sixth, engage in a four-way battle at the front. On lap six Espargaró decided to make a pass on Terol, but neither Márquez or Smith were dropping off the pace . Going into the final stages there was still very little separating the top four, and it went down to a final-lap thriller. Márquez led the pack into the 20th and final lap of the circuit and managed to hold his slender advantage to cross the line ahead of Terol, Espargaró and Smith, with just 0.161s between the quartet.

Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up) won the Moto2 race by a margin of 2.764s on Sunday, delighting the home crowd as the battle for positions two to six provided a riveting contest. A characteristically edge-of-the-seat start to the race saw the entire field pile into Turn 1, and as they emerged from the first point of close contact it was pole holder Iannone who led. By the time the race moved to it’s half way point, Iannone had built up an advantage of almost three seconds at the head of the race as his adversaries clashed further back. The last lap provided drama, numerous position changes and a fine exchange between Gadea and Corsi as they both strived for second, with the Spaniard eventually crossing the line ahead of Corsi to follow victor Iannone.

Thus, Lorenzo extends his lead in the 2010 World Championship while Rossi watches helplessly from his hospital bed. This could be the season for the young Lorenzo to step-up and be crowned the World Champion, but we get the feeling even he would have preferred to achieve it by beating Valentino Rossi on track. Lorenzo, like millions of others, has offered his best wishes to Rossi. Meanwhile, Rossi had undergone a successful surgery and is prescribed for rest at the moment. How would the season progress, now that we have Rossi sidelined. Would Lorenzo step-up to lead Yamah’s charge or will Pedrosa and the rest grab the opportunity and make this season theirs. We’ll find out soon.

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Italian Grand Prix 2009

Valentino Rossi Crashes in Mugello Practice

Dileep — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 14:22:50 +0000

Valentino Rossi suffered a high-side crash in the second practice session on Saturday morning at the Gran Premio d’Italia. ‘The doctor’ will thus, miss his home GP at Mugello for the first time. The defending World Champion fell at Turn 13, the top of the fast chicane, as his M1 highsided and threw him from the bike. Rossi was in immense pain, as was stretchered off the track and taken directly to the medical centre, where he underwent X-rays which confirmed a displaced and exposed fracture of his right tibia.

It is not yet certain how long would be his time away from the sport. However, doctors have confirmed that the injury is quite serious. “It’s an injury more serious than we thought, because it’s an exposed fracture with the bone protruding from the skin. It is serious, it could be a couple of months, but it is too early to say just yet. He remained calm, but having seen the images he could already see it was a nasty fall.” But, very characteristic to the man – he managed a thumps-up just before he was stretchered-off, although he must have been in immense pain. Rossi was then flown by helicopter to the Careggi Hospital in Florence. He will have an operation this afternoon (Saturday). Here’s three2tango wishing him a speedy recovery.

UPDATE : Valentino Rossi underwent a successful operation at the Centro Traumatologico Ortopedico (Centre for Orthopaedic Trauma) in Florence, Italy on Saturday afternoon to repair the fractured right tibia he sustained in a crash in the Saturday-morning practice session at the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM. After the operation, Doctor Buzzi said, “The surgery had good results; the alignment was good and the bone is now stable. The wound remains open, as is usual in these cases, and it will be stitched in the next few days with another short surgery.”

Monster Energy Grand Prix De France 2010

Dileep — Wed, 26 May 2010 15:16:25 +0000

Jorge Lorenzo’s lead at the top of the MotoGP World Championship extended to nine points after the Spaniard won the third round at Le Mans, his second victory of the season. Team-mate Valentino Rossi and Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso were the other podium-clinchers. A superb start from Rossi from his pole position saw the Italian lead into the first turn ahead of Dani Pedrosa and Lorenzo, but the latter quickly moved into second and set his sights on his Fiat Yamaha team-mate. The early race order saw Ducati Marlboro pair Nicky Hayden and Casey Stoner and Dovizioso inside the top five, whilst San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Melandri shot up from 11th on the grid to sixth. In the 2nd lap, Stoner slid out at Turn 6, and suffered the second non-finish of the season. The fight for the win started on lap seven when Lorenzo took the lead from Rossi, only to see the Italian immediately reclaim it. Undeterred, Lorenzo pushed again on lap ten, this time making his move stick as he moved into first and began to open up an advantage. Repsol Honda’s Pedrosa and Dovizioso were tight in third and fourth, with Hayden refusing to lose touch in fifth as well. A nail-biting final lap saw Pedrosa lose-out massively, as he got passed first by his team-mate and then by Hayden.

The Gresini Racing Moto2 rider, Toni Elías moved to the top of the World Championship standings with his second straight win of the season at Le Mans. Julián Simón and Simone Corsi completed the podium. Elías made a rapid start from seventh on the grid and took the early lead, but Alex Debón was soon in front. However, the Aeroport de Castelló-Ajo rider was penalised for a jump-start and had to take a ride through penalty as he lost first position. Elías soon started to stretch his lead as the race made its way towards the end, and by the penultimate lap his advantage over Simón was almost two seconds.

It was a similar story in the 125cc discipline – Pol Espargaró(Tuenti Racing) took his second straight victory. He edged out Nico Terol (Bancaja Aspar) for the victory and narrowing his rival’s lead at the top of the World Championship standings to two points. Terol led into the first turn after a storming start from his pole position, and Espargaró stuck on the Bancaja Aspar rider’s back wheel as the duo started to pull away after the early stages of the race. A marvellous battle for third then began to unfold as Bradley Smith (Bancaja Aspar), Márquez, Efrén Vázquez (Tuenti Racing), and Sandro Cortese (Avant Mitsubishi Ajo) all engaged in a thrilling encounter. Espargaró made his decisive move to secure the win on the last lap as he crossed the line ahead of Terol.

Lorenzo’s success made it three Yamaha wins in the opening three races of the season for the first time since 1980. Next race in the calendar is the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello. How would the Honda and Ducati fair in the coming races. Will the Yamaha domination continue for the rest of the season. Let’s wait and watch.

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Grand Prix Of France 2009

Gran Premio bwin De España 2010

Dileep — Sat, 15 May 2010 09:19:51 +0000

After the Japanese Grand Prix got postponed, it was a long break in the MotoGP calendar. The Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland spat smoke and ash for days, disrupted air traffic, and with it played havoc with the circus’ movement between Qatar and Japan. Thus, after a much longer wait came the Spanish Grand Prix 2010, and it proved to be worth the wait. It was a dominating performance by the young turk, Jorge Lorenzo as he edged his compatriot Dani Pedrosa out moved to the top of the World Championship standings, with Valentino Rossi completing the podium in third. With this win, Lorenzo moved to lead the World Championship, with Valentino Rossi close behind. A rapid start to the race saw pole holder Pedrosa lead into Turn1, with Rossi rising from fourth on the grid to follow the Spaniard and Hayden also shooting up from the second row as the riders all battled for early positions. Lorenzo fought his way up the order, and on lap 21, passed his team-mate and then began hunting down Pedrosa’s leading Honda. With two laps to go Lorenzo caught up with the factory Honda rider and made his move to pass, but Pedrosa held his line and the two almost touched as the excitement continued to increase. And so it came down to the last lap and as Pedrosa pushed it wide at the Dry Sack corner Lorenzo swept through to assume the lead and the win. Completing the top five were Ducati Marlboro riders Nicky Hayden, who repeated his fourth spot from Qatar, and Casey Stoner, with Andrea Dovizioso taking sixth place.

After the original Moto2 race at Jerez was red flagged due to a big crash on the opening lap, Toni Elías won a condensed, action-packed 17-lap contest ahead of Shoya Tomizawa and Thomas Lüthi. The race had seen a pile-up at the first corner of the opening lap of the original race, leading it to be red-flagged and then cut short into a 17 lap event. It proved to be some very exciting 17 laps, as there were a number of overtakes on display. With six laps to go there were still up to nine riders in with a chance of taking victory. Elías pulled off a double overtake to take the chequered flag, 0.190s ahead of Tomizawa who maintains his Championship lead with his podium finish.

Pol Espargaró won the 125 cc event. Nico Terol and Esteve Rabat completing the top three, and ensured an all-Spanish rostrum. Terol got off to a good start from the second row and there was to be immediate drama before the opening lap had been completed, as pole position holder and one of the strong favourites for victory on home soil Marc Márquez (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) crashed out, sustaining a dislocation in his right arm in the process. he early stages of the race saw a group of five riders establish themselves as the main competitors for the podium, and by the midway point it was still Terol (Bancaja Aspar), Espargaró (Tuenti Racing), Efrén Vázquez (Tuenti Racing), Sandro Cortese (Avant Mitsubishi Ajo) and Rabat (Blusens-STX) who were challenging one another at the front of the race. Coming into the final lap Espargaró stretched his leading advantage to win by a margin of 1.886s ahead of Championship leader Terol, who maintains his lead in the overall standings, with Rabat a further 13 seconds back. Bradley Smith (Bancaja Aspar) took fourth place at the track at which he won last season, with Tomoyoshi Koyama (Racing Team Germany) completing the top five.

The next event is at Le Mans, France – track which suits the Yamahas. Valentino Rossi would be licking his wounds and looking for pay back – his biggest rival being his team-mate. Not too many people would have tipped Lorenzo to take the Championship lead at this early stage, after he had started off the 2010 season not being a 100% fit. However, the postponement of the Japanese event seems to have given him much-needed time for rest, and things might have played into his hands. Let’s find out which the fight shapes out at France, in two week’s time.

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Spanish Grand Prix 2009

Commercialbank Grand Prix Of Qatar 2010

Dileep — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 02:44:49 +0000

Valentino Rossi underlined his supremacy in the MotoGP World Championship, as the season opener saw the defending world champion cruise to a comfortable victory. This win came at the Losail circuit in Qatar, where championship rival Casey Stoner had dominated for the past four years. Stoner was fastest on Friday and Saturday, and started the race from pole. But, on Sunday, Stoner lost the front of his bike going into Turn Four on the fifth lap when in the lead. Before this, Dani Pedrosa lived upto his reputation of being the ‘rocket starter’, as he shot into the lead from seventh on the grid to lead the field going into turn one. However, his pace wasn’t good enough to keep the rest behind him, and he could only finish seventh. Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Nicky Hayden(Ducati Marlboro) had an interesting battle for second and third positions. It was then that Jorge Lorenzo pounced and went past first Hayden and then Dovizioso. Before this, Dovizioso had challenged Rossi and at one point took the lead from the World Champion, only to see it reclaimed. Dovizioso claimed third in a sprint for the line as he held off Hayden by 0.011s.

Shoya Tomizawa, the Japanese rider of the Technomag-CIP team scored a superb win on board his Suter prototype in the first race new intermediate category, christened as Moto2. Debón and Cluzel completed the podium. The spectacle that had been promised did not disappoint at all, as we had some really close racing. Tomizawa had started from 9th position, and eventually won by about 3 seconds. Tomizawa’s best GP finish before this race was 10th in the 250cc race at Valencia in 2009. After a great battle, it went down to the final lap, as Debón went through on Cluzel wonderfully to ensure second place with the Frenchman taking third.

Nico Terol opened his bid for the 2010 125cc World Championship title with victory in Qatar at the weekend, taking first place in the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar in his first race with his new Bancaja Aspar team. Efrén Vázquez (Tuenti Racing) and Márquez (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) were the other podium finishers. The race started to see a group of seven riders break away from the rest, and then battle amongst themselves for the lead. As the racing grew more intense, few riders touched each other, and a few ran wide, and a few took advantage – all making for spectacular racing.for the fans.

Thus, MotoGP 2010 got off to the best start possible. Next on the calendar is the Grand Prix of Japan, at Motegi. Last year, it was a Yamaha 1-2 lead by Lorenzo. Unless Stoner and Co can come up with a special effort, it would again repeat going by what we saw here in Qatar. A win at Japan could be important for Stoner, as he has collected 0 points from this weekend at Qatar, while Rossi has collected maximum possible.

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Grand Prix of Qatar 2009

MotoGP – 2010 Season

Dileep — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 13:29:20 +0000

The floodlit desert circuit at Qatar will host the opening round of the 2010 MotoGP World Championship. As it had been for the last year, the Losail International Circuit will host a night race. This time, 17 riders will battle it out for the 2010 World Championship. For the pre-season tests, all the front-runners had shown impressive pace – Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Casey Stoner and even his team-mate Nicky Hayden. Dani Pedrosa seemed to have gotten left behind, as he has struggled to come to terms with his factory RC212V. However, his team-mate Andrea Dovizioso has done well so far. There are a number of rookies making their way into MotoGP for thius season, which will make the spectacle all the more fun. Fiat Yamaha rider Rossi starts the campaign with the aim of securing a tenth World title – an eighth in the premier class – and his form in the Tests indicates that he remains the man to beat. Jorge Lorenzo could again push him to the limits, but unfortunately, is still recovering from a hand injury at the moment.

For the 2010 season, a big change we all look forward to is the new new intermediate class of the World Championship, Moto2. With an official engine supplied by Honda and tyres from Dunlop, the level of competition will be high and rider skill and talent will shine through, making Moto2 a truly challenging contest for its participants and a fantastic spectacle for observers. Dureing the pre-season tests, the times were very close to each other, and with 40 talented drivers pitted against each other on similar machines, sparks are set to fly and we’ll get to watch some really close racing. The 125 cc segment remains unchanged for the 2010 season, as the lower discipline in MotoGP. The pre-season states that Marc Márquez will be the rider to watch in the 125 cc segment. After a superb 2009 season, British rider Bradley Smith of the Bancaja Aspar team enters his fifth season in the 125cc World Championship. Although he hasn’t impressed in the tests, one cannot write him off given his credentials. Others who have put their names forward for fighting out the 125 cc championship are the Spanish trio – Pol Espargaró, Efrén Vázquez (both Tuenti Racing) and Nico Terol (Bancaja Aspar).

Pretty soon, the 2010 season will get underway at Qatar, Valentino Rossi will look to defend his title. However, a number of riders would feel they deserve the 2010 title more – Jorge Lorenzo who ran his team-mate really close, Ducati flag-bearer Casey Stoner who was not at a 100% physical fitness for a good part of the 2009 season, former champion Dani Pedrossa who would feel it’s his time in the sun again. All this would make for a great season of racing on two wheels. Unlike it’s elder sibling, Formula1, there are no tweaking the rules and regulations here trying to improve the show. MotoGP always was a great spectacle.

CommercialBank Grand Prix Of Qatar 2010

GP Generali De La Comunitat Valenciana

Dileep — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:15:24 +0000

Dani Pedrosa took his second win of the season in the final race of the year with a win at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit, as Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo completed the podium. It was a victory on home soil for Dani Pedrosa at the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana, as the Repsol Honda man enjoyed a start-to-finish win. The drama started before the race had even commenced, as pole sitter Casey Stoner’s high-side crash on the warm-up lap meant he was unable to take his place on the grid. This made things even more easier for Pedrosa who lead going into the first corner, and never had to give away the race lead. World Champion Valentino Rossi followed the Spaniard home in second place, finishing 2.630s behind Pedrosa as he ended his title-winning season with his 13th podium of the campaign. The Italian’s Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who did well to hold onto his bike when a moment on the opening lap almost threw him off, was a further 0.283s behind as he took third, having already sealed second spot in the Championship by virtue of Stoner’s non-start.

A dramatic last-ever 250cc race ended with Hiroshi Aoyama claiming the World title at Valencia after defending champion Marco Simoncelli crashed out when in the lead, as Héctor Barberá took the race victory. Aoyama took seventh position, and that was enough to seal his championship victory as Simoncelli lost the front of his bike when going into turn two with seven laps to go, thus ending his race. Álvaro Bautista (Mapfre Aspar Team) and Raffaele de Rosa (Scot Racing) completed the podium, as Barberá won by a margin of 3.663s and sealed second spot in the World Championship standings ahead of Marco Simoncelli. Aoyama survived a run-off in lap nine, which dropped him down to eleventh position – the lowest finish he could afford in order to claim the title. He then clawed his way back to seventh place and championship triumph.

In the 125cc segment, Julián Simón and Bradley Smith were again involved in a final-lap battle for victory, with the 125cc 2009 World Champion coming out on top for the third successive race. Thus, the Bancaja Aspar team-mates again finished 1-2, as Simón finished 0.220s ahead. Pol Espargaró (Derbi Racing Team) completed the podium after riding a lonely race in third, confirming his fourth place in the World Championship.

Thus, the Valencia race weekend concludes the 2009 MotoGP World Championship. It was a real roller-coaster of a season, with thrill and spills all along the way. We saw some rally close-fought battles all through the year, and can only hope the circus returns with bigger and better action-packed races in 2010. Until then, everybody ride safe!!!

Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix

Dileep — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:32:15 +0000

Things were settled at the Sepang International circuit as Valentino Rossi finished third behind Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa to take the 2009 MotoGP World Championship title. Casey Stoner was the race winner at the rain-soaked Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix on Sunday, but it was Valentino Rossi whose achievement of third place laid the foundation for the story of the weekend. This was Stoner’s second successive win, after an impressive performance by the Australian as he won by an astounding 14.666s margin. This was Rossi’s ninth world title – a seventh in the premier class – as he defended his 2008 crown. Dani Pedrosa finished second with his 78th career podium across all classes.

The race started on a wet track after a 35-minute delay due to rain, and there was drama from the off. A problem during the sighting lap with his machine for Jorge Lorenzo meant that failure to join the starting grid in time resulted in relegation from second to the back. It looked like this had blown his title hopes but the Spaniard soon flew up to overtake Rossi, who dropped to tenth after a sluggish start from pole position. But, Lorenzo eventually finished only in fourth position, as Rossi passed him and moved into fourth spot after eight laps. Andrea Dovizioso was running in third place when disaster struck for the Italian, as the tricky conditions caught him napping. Rossi thus got into the podium, and ensured his championship victory.

In the 125cc, World Champion Julián Simón won his sixth race of the season. A close battle between him and Bradley Smith was won by the freshly-crowned World Champion, as he beat his Bancaja Aspar team-mate in a final-lap fight. The duo, who battled closely at Phillip Island last weekend, again crossed swords as Simón held Smith’s challenge off on the last corner of the Sepang circuit. Pol Espargaró (Derbi Racing Team) completed the podium, coming in at just over five seconds behind Smith, with Sergio Gadea (Bancaja Aspar) and Nico Terol (Jack & Jones Team) also inside the top five.

The 250cc race in Malaysia saw Hiroshi Aoyama prevail after an absorbing battle with Marco Simoncelli, who placed third. Simoncelli lost a position at the very end, after a photo finish was required following Héctor Barberá’s surge. Simoncelli blasted through the field from his grid position of eighth to ignite his contest with Aoyama, with Jules Cluzel leading the early stages of the race while the title rivals sparred. The result leaves Aoyama needing a tenth-placed finish or better in Valencia to secure the 2009 title ahead of Simoncelli, while Barberá rose to third in the standings after Álvaro Bautista (Mapfre Aspar Team) crashed out on lap nine.

Thus, the 2009 MotoGP World Championship is done and dusted. Valentino Rossi was again the deserved winner of the title race. Jorge Lorenzo rode his heart-out right through the season. He fell short on this occasion, but his time at the top will come for sure. After Lorenzo took fourth spot here at Malaysia, he duly handed hearty congratulations to Rossi. Lorenzo was beaten by one of the best to have graced the sport, who is at the peak of his powers. The fact that he ran him this close is itself an achievement. The pair gave us quite a few spectacular battles, and we can hope for more as we head into Valencia for the final round of the 2009 season.

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Iveco Australian Grand Prix

Dileep — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:11:31 +0000

Casey Stoner won for the third successive year at Phillip Island, with championship leader Valentino Rossi finishing second as Jorge Lorenzo crashed out on turn one at the Iveco Australian Grand Prix. At the finish line, Stoner led Rossi by a slender margin of 1.935s. Stoner in his second Grand Prix back after a three-race absence, celebrated his 24th birthday weekend with an impressive win from pole position, his third race victory of the season, which took him to third in the championship standings. A frustrating weekend for Jorge Lorenzo was compounded when the Spaniard crashed out at turn one of the first lap after touching bikes with Stoner’s Ducati Marlboro team-mate Nicky Hayden. Having struggled through the practice sessions and qualifying with both rear-grip issues and illness, Lorenzo was unable to continue after sliding off, although Hayden climbed back aboard his Desmosedici GP9 to finish 15th. Dani Pedrosa secured his first podium at the circuit in the MotoGP class but came in 22.618s adrift of Rossi, while Alex de Angelis’ fine weekend was completed with a fourth-placed classification.

In the 250cc segment, a red flag ended the action with six laps remaining, as Marco Simoncelli’s sixth win of the season increased his chances of retaining the 250cc World Championship title. He narrowed the gap on Hiroshi Aoyama to 12 points, as the Japanese rider was classified in seventh position when the race was red flagged. Roberto Locatelli’s high-side crash which resulted in him lying stricken on the track brought the action to a premature end, with Simoncelli leading. Héctor Barberá finished in second and Raffaele de Rosa in third.

Julián Simón was crowned the 2009 World Champion in the 125cc class on raceday afternoon as the Spaniard clinched victory on the final lap of the Iveco Australian Grand Prix, which brought with it the world title. A fantastic duel between Simón and his Bancaja Aspar team-mate Bradley Smith was played out, with the new title holder sealing the win and vindicating his decision to take the step down from 250cc for this season. The pair constantly exchanged positions, and in the final lap Simón pounced when Smith was forced wide in a turn.

Rossi’s second place opened his lead at the top of the championship to 38 points over Fiat Yamaha team-mate Lorenzo with two races remaining, after it had been cut down to 18 following the latter’s win last time out at Estoril. The next stop is at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit. Winning that race is all the more important for the pair.

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bwin.com Grande Premio De Portugal

Dileep — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:54:31 +0000

A great win for Jorge Lorenzo at the bwin.com Grande Premio de Portugal saw him reduce the gap to Valentino Rossi in the standings to 18 points. He repeated his 2008 Estoril victory from pole on race day to significantly boost his title chances as Valentino Rossi could only manage fourth place at the challenging Portuguese circuit. The Fiat Yamaha pair got away in first and second places on the grid but Rossi was unable to match the pace of Lorenzo as he pulled away quickly at the front. On his return to action, Ducati’s Casey Stoner rode brilliantly to follow Lorenzo across the line in second place, whilst Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa was third. Stoner performed admirably on his return to action after two months away due to illness, achieving his first podium since Assen in June – and he now has his home race at Phillip Island to look forward to in a fortnight’s time. Pedrosa rode smoothly from fourth on the grid, taking the holeshot with one of his traditionally rapid starts onboard the factory RC212V and briefly holding the lead before Lorenzo slipped through.

In the 250cc segment, Marco Simoncelli bounced back from his Misano heartbreak with his fourth win in six races, whilst Álvaro Bautista crashed out. Another solid fourth placed finish for Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Racing) saw him extend his title advantage to 26 points at the bwin.com Grande Prémio de Portugal after Álvaro Bautista (Mapfre Aspar) crashed out early on, whilst World Champion Marco Simoncelli (Metis Gilera) brought himself back into the championship fight with another win. Behind Simoncelli, Mike di Meglio (Mapfre Aspar) and Héctor Barberá (Pepe World Team) crossed the line neck and neck, and although they were given exactly the same race time second place was awarded to Di Meglio (who had performed the fastest lap of the two riders), whilst Aoyama rode steadily to fourth place.

Drama in 125cc racesaw Julián Simón’s title celebrations put on hold after he crashed and finished 12th, as Pol Espargaró took a superb win. Espargaró (Derbi Racing) scored an excellent victory to make up for his last lap Misano heartbreak, as he judged the final stages to perfection to outdo Sandro Cortese (Ajo Interwetten) and Bradley Smith (Bancaja Aspar).

With three races to go and an 18 point deficit to Rossi, the MotoGP World championship is far more achievable for Lorenzo than before the visit to Portugal. But champions like Rossi take some beating, and Lorenzo’s work is far from over. However, he sure looks like Rossis’s heir apparent!

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