The Silverstone Circuit

There is to be 18 races in the MotoGP championship series for 2010 which has released by the FIM, with the return of Silverstone for the British Grand Prix for the first time since the 1980’s.

It has also been stated that if any of the races fail to go ahead the new circuit in Aragon in Spain will host the event.

April 11 *        Qatar              Doha/Losail
April 25          Japan              Motegi
May 2             Spain              Jerez de la Frontera
May 23            France             Le Mans
June 6            Italy              Mugello
June 20           Great Britain      Silverstone
June 26 **        Netherlands        Assen
July 4            Catalunya          Catalunya
July 18           Germany            Sachsenring
July 25 ***       United States      Laguna Seca
August 15         Czech Rep.         Brno
August 29         Indianapolis       Indianapolis
September 5       San Marino         Misano
September 19      Hungary            Balatonring
October 10        Malaysia           Sepang
October 17        Australia          Phillip Island
October 31        Portugal           Estoril
November 7        Valencia           Ricardo Tormo - Valencia

*   Evening Race
**  Saturday
*** Only MotoGP class

Jorge Lorenzo - Assen TT 2009

Jorge Lorenzo took the victory in the Portuguese Grand Prix of Estoril yesterday for the Fiat Yamaha team followed in second place by the returning Marlboro Ducati rider Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa on the Repsol Honda in third.

The Spanish rider has now slashed his team-mates lead from 30 to just 18 points after claiming his fourth win of the season.

It was Pedrosa that took to the front of the pack as the race got underway but by the end of lap 1, Lorenzo took the number one slot and stayed there until the end of the race to take the chequered flag.

Stoner had moved back to fifth spot as the riders went into turn one but was soon past the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards, before chasing down Rossi and finally slotting into third place.  On the following lap, the Marlboro Ducati rider made his move on his fellow Spaniard Pedrosa, and was into second place behind Lorenzo.

By mid-race point, Lorenzo had managed to build-up a lead of 2.3 seconds over the Australian, followed by Pedrosa and Rossi an unbelievable 7.7 seconds behind his team-mate.

Rossi finally took his Fiat Yamaha across the line in fourth place, 23.428 seconds after Lorenzo having suffered with  no grip on his rear wheel.  Rossi had been off the pace all weekend with his Yamaha and thinks the problem may also have been to do with the set-up of his machine.

Colin Edwards finished in fifth with Toni Elias on the San Carlo Honda Gresini followed in sixth as he battled the challenging Andrea Dovizioso on the second Repsol Honda.  Nicky Hayden took eighth on the second Ducati Marlboro bike followed by James Toseland on the second Monster Yamaha Tech 3 and Chris Vermeulen on the Rizla Suzuki in tenth.

The Pramac Ducati rider Mika Kallio, who was on his return to the series, crashed out early in the race at the long final turn.  Loris Capirossi suffered engine problems on his Rizla Suzuki and was forced to retire from the race along with Alex de Angelis on the second San Carlo Honda Gresini who also suffered a mechanical problem.

Lorenzo celebrated his race with a mock moonwalk as he placed his flag in the Estoril gravel pit.  The Fiat Yamaha team were sporting a special silver/white livery on their machines to promote the Fiat Punto this weekend and Lorenzo had a specially designed crash helmet in the style of an astronaut.

Here are the results;

250CC

The  reigning 250cc World Champion Marco Simoncelli took the win in the 250cc category yesterday for the fifth time this season for the Metis Gilera team.

It was Hiroshi Aoyama on the Scot Racing bike that took to the front as the race got underway but before the end of the lap he was going backward and had moved down to eighth place by lap 3, while Alvaro Bautista led the pack on the Mapfre Aspar bike.

On lap 4, Bautista was dramatically thrown from his bike after an apparent engine seizure as he was under braking heading into turn 6.

Simoncelli was followed by Hector Barbera on the Pepe World Team bike and Mike di Meglio on the Mapfre Aspar machine, with only 1 second between them until mid-race when Simoncelli began to widen the gap.

The Italian rider finished the race 5.317 seconds ahead of the photo-finish battle for second place, given to di Meglio with Barbera in third.  Barbera was initially given the place but after a review of the finish it was given to the Frenchman instead.

Aoyama finished the race in fourth place ahead of the Matteoni Racing rider Jules Cluzel in fifth and Ratthapark Wilairot on the Thai Honda PTT SAG machine in sixth.  In seventh place was Thomas Luthi on the Emmi-Caffe Latte bike followed by Mattia Pasini for Team Toth Aprilia, Alex Debon on the Aeroopuerto-Castello-Blusens in ninth and Karel Abraham on the Cardion AB Motoracing machine in tenth.

Here are the results;

125CC

The Derbi Racing Team rider Pol Espargaro, took the victory at the Estoril circuit yesterday after championship leader Julian Simon crashed out.

Bradley Smith on the Bancaja Aspar bike was leading the race when he ran wide heading into turn six, forcing him to the outside of the track as other riders went through.  Nicholas Terol on the Jack & Jones machine clipped the back of the British riders machine and was sent flying across the circuit but rejoined at the back of the pack before retiring.

Simon had increased the gap to almost 5 seconds at the front of the pack when he made his error under braking on lap 16, leaving Smith, Sandro Cortese and Espargaro to fight for the lead.

On the final lap of the race, it was Espargaro who led followed by Smith and Cortese.  Cortese snatched second place from Smith into turn one leaving the British rider to take the third and final step on the podium.

Stefan Bradl finished in fourth place for Viesmann Kiefer Racing ahead of Joan Olive for the Derbi Racing team, Sergio Gadea on the Fontana Racing machine and Esteve Rabat on the Blusens Aprilia in seventh.  Dominique Aegerter finished in eighth for the Ajo Interwetten team followed by Johann Zarco on the WTR San Marino Team bike in ninth and Randy Krummenacher on the Degraaf Grand Prix Aprilia in tenth.

The Red Bull KTM Motorsport rider Marc Marquez crashed out early on in the race along with previous championship leader, Ongetta Team I.S.P.A. rider Andrea Iannone.

Here are the results:

Casey Stoner - Ducati Marlboro 2009

The Ducati Marlboro rider Casey Stoner is set to make his return to the MotoGP championship at Estoril in Portugal this weekend.

While recuperating over the past two-months, Casey has undergone a series of examinations and special tests with the results confirming that there was no abnormalities of cardiovascular, respiratory or neurological origins.  The tests also failed to find any kind of virus or infection.

The medical report of Stoner did reveal low blood pressure and a lack of sodium, which the doctors believe were the main causes of his physical problems.  It was also agreed that the after-effects of injuries and surgery over the past few years were the cause of his physical weakness and exhaustion.

The doctors confirmed that it was essential for the Australian to take time out of the championship in order to avoid aggravating his condition.

Last week, Stoner underwent his final medical examination before leaving Australia, with the doctors confirming that the rider is still not completely recovered despite him being in a better physical condition and with his weight back up to 60kg.

Although not in the peak of condition, Stoner will be back on track at Estoril under a new sodium-rich diet, to ride alongside his team-mate Nicky Hayden again.

Stoner said;

“I’m definitely looking forward to the race weekend. Having three races off is the biggest period away from racing in my life. It was very difficult to accept the advice of the doctors to stop racing. In the past I have raced even when injured, like in the last few races of the 2008 season when my wrist was broken, but this time it was really not possible and of course I felt very sorry for the team. Now I’m looking forward to getting back together with the team and everyone and I hope I’ll be able to be more competitive than I was in the past, but we will have to wait and see. The doctors have put me on some salt tablets to increase my sodium levels but we will have to see if it helps. We will understand more during the weekend. Of course it’s going to be difficult: at first we won’t know if it will work because I’ve been off the bike so long that in any case my muscles will take some time to get race fit again. But, as I said, I’m looking forward to getting back and to starting work on the bike, looking towards the future.”

The MotoGP cost cutting goes a bit further than expected!

The provisional MotoGP Calendar has now been released by the FIM for the MotoGP World Championship of 2010, and hopefully all teams and riders will be on the grid as the economic crisis continues.

Date – Grand Prix – Circuit:
11 April – Qatar* – Losail
25 April – Japan – Motegi
2 May – Spain – Jerez
16 May – France – Le Mans
30 May – Italy – Mugello
6 June - Great Britain – Silverstone
26 June – Netherlands** – Assen
4 July – Catalunya – Catalunya
18 July - Germany – Sachsenring
25 July - United States*** – Laguna Seca
15 August – Czech Republic – Brno
29 August – Indianapolis – Indianapolis
12 September - San Marino & Riviera di Rimini – Misano
19 September - Hungary – Balatonring
10 October – Malaysia – Sepang
17 October – Australia - Phillip Island
31 October – Portugal – Estoril
7 November Valencia Ricardo Tormo-Valencia

* Evening Race
** Saturday Race
*** Only MotoGP class

In the event that one of the circuits is not able to comply with the requirements to hold the scheduled Grand Prix, the Motorland Aragon Circuit would host a reserve “event” on the same day.

The provisional calendar for the 2009 MotoGP has been revealed with China being dropped and replaced by a new race in Hungary.

The Chinese Grand Prix which holds the MotoGP event at the Shanghai International Circuit, has been removed after only running the race for four years.

The calendar remains with eighteen races, starting again at the Losail circuit in Qatar, which featured the first night race.

Next year’s calendar will not start until April, unlike this year when it began in March.  The Japanese round will now be featured in April as the second round instead of September, and the Portugal race will be in October instead of April.

Donington Park will continue with it’s round for the British MotoGP, although it is thought there maybe some problems as the track will be under construction in readiness for the Formula One British Grand Prix, which is to be held at the circuit in 2010.

Here is the provisional calendar;

April 12th – Qatar, Losail (Evening Race)

April 16th – Japan, Motegi

May 3rd – Spain, Jerez

May 17th – France, Le Mans

May 31st – Italy, Mugello

June 14th – Catalunya, Catalunya

June 27th – Netherlands, Assen (Saturday Race)

July 5th – United States, Laguna Seca (MotoGP Class only)

July 19th – Germany, Sachsenring

July 26th – Great Britain, Donington Park

August 16th – Czech Republic, Brno

August 30th – Indianapolis, Indianapolis

September 13th – San Marino, Misano

September 20th – Hungary, Balaton

October 4th – Portugal, Estoril

October 18th – Australia, Phillip Island

October 25th, Malaysia, Sepang

November 8th – Valencia, Ricardo Tormo Valencia

The ginger-ninja seemed to have had an extreme make-over and said that his mechanic had convinced him that he was a hairdresser so he let him shave it.  The problem was that the number seven and the number four settings on his razor weren’t working only the number one and this is the result.

Bradley is now at home nursing some bruises after his dramatic highside but was lucky to get away with just that.  He is more disappointed with only having scored 16 Championship points so far this season.

Smith said “I couldn’t believe it when the pit board told me I’d completed just 12 laps.  The race seemed to be going on for ever and ever and I was riding so hard corner to corner rather than letting it flow. – I never felt that comfortable but I was determined to try and stop the two leaders break away.  The problem is I’m still learning about the Aprilia and it gives you no warning when it wants to throw you off and I was on the limit.  The whole weekend we were struggling to get the setting exactly right and although we made some big steps on Saturday morning, I was still having problems with the rear end of the bike in the second qualifying session in the afternoon.”

At the start of the race, Pedrosa and Rossi shot ahead of Lorenzo by the first corner. Rossi soon took the lead from Pedrosa with Lorenzo also taking advantage. Lorenzo went onto take the Fiat Yamaha rider Rossi before the end of lap one. Rossi then took the lead position back on lap two. Pedrosa finally passed Rossi on lap fifteen and made it stick.

Rossi slowly slipped further back after a mere three laps of sticking with the front two riders and by the end of the race he was eleven seconds behind Pedrosa. Rossi had hoped to fight for his first Bridgestone victory this weekend but was seen struggling to match the Michelin riders.

Pedrosa was struggling to keep up with Lorenzo who managed to stay just out of reach and maintained a one second lead right to the end.

Lorenzo and Pedrosa are now both on equal points at the top of the Championship standings.

The JiR Scot Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso looked as if he would take the fourth place after sticking with the top three until lap sixteen when he crashed out passing the position to Nicky Hayden on the Repsol Honda, until he crashed out on the following lap.

Colin Edwards finally took fourth place on the Tech-3 Yamaha followed by John Hopkins on the Kawasaki and Ducati Marlboro man, Casey Stoner.

By lap nine, Stoner had dropped out of the top ten but improved by retaking some of the lost places on the next twelve laps despite having a problem with loose technical equipment knocking against his fairing, finishing only two seconds behind Hopkins.

James Toseland was in the thick of the action as he battled with Stoner, de Puniet and Vermeulen.

Here are the results;

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

Retirements:

     Rider             Bike           Laps
     Nicky Hayden      Honda     (M)  16
     Andrea Dovizioso  Honda     (M)  15

250cc

Alvaro Bautista on the Aprilia took victory at the Portuguese Grand Prix after taking the lead on lap one which has now moved him from eleventh to fifth in the Championship running,

Marco Simoncelli on the Gilera took second place as his soft-compound tyres started to wear. He was passed on the finish line by Mika Kallio on the KTM but there was contact between then allowing Simoncelli to take the position.

When Pasini and Debon crashed out it left the fourth place to be filled by Thomas Luthi had got faster as the race went on and overtook Hiroshi Aoyama and Yuki Takahashi.

Here are the results;

1 Alvaro Bautista (Spa) Aprilia 44mins 34.257secs

2 Marco Simoncelli (Ita) Gilera 44:41.307

3 Mika Kallio (Fin) KTM 44:41.320

4 Thomas Luthi (Swi) Aprilia 44:47.255

5 Hiroshi Aoyama (Jpn) KTM 44:48.923

6 Yuki Takahashi (Jpn) Honda 44:52.755

7 Julian Simon (Spa) KTM 45:01.069

8 Hector Barbera (Spa) Aprilia 45:02.269

9 Hector Faubel (Spa) Aprilia 45:02.545

10 Lukas Pesek (Cze) Aprilia 45:11.223

11 Aleix Espargaro (Spa) Aprilia 45:12.55

12 Alex Baldolini (Ita) Aprilia 45:26.327

13 Ratthapark Wilairot (Tha) Honda 45:47.560

14 Federico Sandi (Ita) Yamaha 45:51.849

15 Eugene Laverty (Gbr) Aprilia 45:55.620

125cc

The winner of the 125cc Grand Prix at Estoril was Simone Corsi on his Jack & Jones Aprilia after being in pole position in qualifying,

Joan Olive on the Belson Derbi was in second position with Corsi’s teammate Nicolas Terol in third. Fourth place man was Steve Bonsey followed by the British rider Danny Webb who took the fifth spot.

Bradley Smith on the Polaris World Aprilia, overtook Terol on lap thirteen to take third place but crashed out seconds later with a high side into the gravel but looked unhurt as stewards walked him away.

Here are the results;

Pos  Rider              Bike           Time
 1.  Simone Corsi       Aprilia   40:56.168
 2.  Joan Olive         Derbi    +    0.299
 3.  Nicolas Terol      Aprilia  +    6.355
 4.  Steve Bonsey       Aprilia  +   14.973
 5.  Daniel Webb        Aprilia  +   15.532
 6.  Gabor Talmacsi     Aprilia  +   15.868
 7.  Mike Di Meglio     Derbi    +   15.875
 8.  Stefan Bradl       Aprilia  +   17.887
 9.  Sergio Gadea       Aprilia  +   18.123
10.  Sandro Cortese     Aprilia  +   22.613
11.  Andrea Iannone     Aprilia  +   27.490
12.  D.Agerter          Derbi    +   27.544
13.  Pol Espargaro      Derbi    +   28.370
14.  Michael Ranseder   Aprilia  +   28.417
15.  Efren Vazquez      Aprilia  +   32.713
16.  Tomoyoshi Koyama   KTM      +   34.002
17.  Stefano Bianco     Aprilia  +   47.698
18.  Marc Marquez       KTM      +   51.637
19.  Takaaki Nakagami   Aprilia  +   51.679
20.  Alexis Masbou      Loncin   +   51.717
21.  Scott Redding      Aprilia  + 1:07.908
22.  Pere Tutusaus      Aprilia  + 1:15.894
23.  Dino Lombardi      Aprilia  + 1:19.975
24.  Robert Muresan     Aprilia  + 1:39.194
25.  Cyril Carrillo     Honda    + 1:39.218
26.  Axel Pons          Aprilia  + 1:43.956
27.  Ivan Maestro       Aprilia  +    1 lap
28.  Karel Pesek        Aprilia  +    1 lap

NOT CLASSIFIED/RETIREMENTS:

     Rider              Bike      On lap
     Bradley Smith      Aprilia     13
     Lorenzo Zanetti    KTM         13
     Pablo Nieto        KTM         12
     Jules Cluzel       Loncin       9
     Esteve Rabat       KTM          8
     Raffaele De Rosa   KTM          7
     H.van den Berg     Aprilia      1

FASTEST LAP: Corsi, 1:45.557 on lap 10

In third place was Pasini, who had a crash at the beginning of the session but obviously there was not too much damage done.

Mika Kallio finished in fourth, followed by Yuki Takahashi, Hiroshi Aoyama and Alex Debon in seventh position, who also crashed just after the chequered flag badly damaging his bike.

Eighth fastest man was Thomas Luthi with Hector Barbera in ninth and Hector Faubel in tenth.

Eighteenth place man, Fabrizio Lai, also had a big crash with only four minutes of the qualifying session left to run.

Here are the Results; 

Pos  Rider             Bike     Time
 1.  Marco Simoncelli  Gilera   1:40.257
 2.  Alvaro Bautista   Aprilia  1:40.554 +  0.297
 3.  Mattia Pasini     Aprilia  1:40.653 +  0.396
 4.  Mika Kallio       KTM      1:40.772 +  0.515
 5.  Yuki Takahashi    Honda    1:41.063 +  0.806
 6.  Hiroshi Aoyama    KTM      1:41.228 +  0.971
 7.  Alex Debon        Aprilia  1:41.280 +  1.023
 8.  Thomas Luthi      Aprilia  1:41.356 +  1.099
 9.  Hector Barbera    Aprilia  1:41.370 +  1.113
10.  Hector Faubel     Aprilia  1:41.470 +  1.213
11.  Julian Simon      KTM      1:41.820 +  1.563
12.  Lukas Pesek       Aprilia  1:41.841 +  1.584
13.  Aleix Espargaro   Aprilia  1:42.080 +  1.823
14.  Alex Baldolini    Aprilia  1:42.179 +  1.922
15.  Manuel Poggiali   Gilera   1:42.265 +  2.008
16.  Karel Abraham     Aprilia  1:42.360 +  2.103
17.  R.Wilairot        Honda    1:42.472 +  2.215
18.  Fabrizio Lai      Gilera   1:42.574 +  2.317
19.  R.Locatelli       Gilera   1:42.813 +  2.556
20.  Federico Sandi    Aprilia  1:43.288 +  3.031
21.  Eugene Laverty    Aprilia  1:43.297 +  3.040
22.  Imre Toth         Aprilia  1:44.932 +  4.675
23.  D.T.Pradita       Yamaha   1:45.402 +  5.145
24.  Russell Gomez     Aprilia  1:46.051 +  5.794
25.  Chow Ho Wan       Aprilia  1:46.594 +  6.337
26.  Sergio Batista    Honda    1:57.196 + 16.939

125cc 

The Championship leader Simone Corsi, took his first pole position today for tomorrows 125cc Portuguese Grand Prix.  The Jack & Jones rider took the slot midway through the session and continued to  improve on his time, lap after lap.

In second place, was the American Degraaf GP rider, Steve Bonsey, a quarter of a second slower than Corsi.  He was followed by Spain’s Nicolas Terol, another Jack & Jones rider, with British Danny Webb on the second Degraff bike to complete the front row.

Sergio Gadea for the Bancaja Aspar team will start from fifth spot ahead of Joan Olive of Belson Derbi, Stefan Bradl for Grizzly Gas Keifer Racing and the Ajo Motorsport rider Mike di Meglio.

Mike di Meglio was carried from the gravel on a stretcher after crashing at the chicane while attempting to overtake Ivan Maestro the Spanish rider who was riding extremely slowly near the racing line.

On the third row of the grid is the reigning World Champion, Gabor Talmacsi with Scott Redding, Tomoyoshi Koyama and Andrea Iannone.

British rider Bradley Smith is back in thirteenth spot after starting the last two races in pole position.

Here are the Results;

Pos  Rider             Bike     Time
 1.  Simone Corsi      Aprilia  1:45.367
 2.  Steve Bonsey      Aprilia  1:45.621  + 0.254
 3.  Nicolas Terol     Aprilia  1:45.622  + 0.255
 4.  Daniel Webb       Aprilia  1:45.782  + 0.415
 5.  Sergio Gadea      Aprilia  1:45.808  + 0.441
 6.  Joan Olive        Derbi    1:45.854  + 0.487
 7.  Stefan Bradl      Aprilia  1:46.026  + 0.659
 8.  Mike Di Meglio    Derbi    1:46.144  + 0.777
 9.  Gabor Talmacsi    Aprilia  1:46.158  + 0.791
10.  Scott Redding     Aprilia  1:46.329  + 0.962
11.  Tomoyoshi Koyama  KTM      1:46.448  + 1.081
12.  Andrea Iannone    Aprilia  1:46.491  + 1.124
13.  Bradley Smith     Aprilia  1:46.523  + 1.156
14.  Pablo Nieto       KTM      1:46.622  + 1.255
15.  Efren Vazquez     Aprilia  1:46.679  + 1.312
16.  Raffaele De Rosa  KTM      1:46.736  + 1.369
17.  Stefano Bianco    Aprilia  1:46.860  + 1.493
18.  Esteve Rabat      KTM      1:47.016  + 1.649
19.  Daniel Agerter    Derbi    1:47.133  + 1.766
20.  Sandro Cortese    Aprilia  1:47.293  + 1.926
21.  Pol Espargaro     Derbi    1:47.300  + 1.933
22.  Michael Ranseder  Aprilia  1:47.628  + 2.261
23.  Pere Tutusaus     Aprilia  1:47.717  + 2.350
24.  Takaaki Nakagami  Aprilia  1:47.724  + 2.357
25.  Alexis Masbou     Loncin   1:47.734  + 2.367
26.  Marc Marquez      KTM      1:47.817  + 2.450
27.  Jules Cluzel      Loncin   1:47.953  + 2.586
28.  Lorenzo Zanetti   KTM      1:47.971  + 2.604
29.  H.van den Berg    Aprilia  1:48.495  + 3.128
30.  Robert Muresan    Aprilia  1:48.840  + 3.473
31.  Ivan Maestro      Aprilia  1:49.355  + 3.988
32.  Axel Pons         Aprilia  1:49.669  + 4.302
33.  Dino Lombardi     Aprilia  1:49.690  + 4.323
34.  Cyril Carrillo    Honda    1:49.809  + 4.442
35.  R.Lacalendola     Aprilia  1:51.657  + 6.290
36.  Karel Pesek       Aprilia  1:50.687  + 5.320
37.  Louis Rossi       Honda

Friday practice session was the first time that the MotoGP rookie had ridden his Fiat Yamaha on the Portuguese circuit, but his speed and riding style were out of this world. He had a narrow escape early in the qualifying session, when he squeezed past a slower rider, Chris Vermeulen. Lorenzo claims he is not feeling under any pressure to win the race on Sunday, but it is looking more and more likely and now only a question of time for his first victory after already claiming a third and second place on the podium.

The winner of the last race at Jerez, Dani Pedrosa, has taken the second position on the grid only 0.233 seconds, slower than Lorenzo. Pedrosa is currently leading the 2008 World Championship

Valentino Rossi, is back on the front row of the grid by securing third place and was absolutely beaming at his success after having been in the top four all weekend.

In fourth place is the teammate of Pedrosa, Nicky Hayden on the second Repsol Honda, who claimed he was blocked on his fast lap. He was followed by the two Tech-3 Yamaha riders, Colin Edwards and James Toseland on their first outing with the new pneumatic-valve engines.

In a superb seventh place was another rookie, Andrea Dovizioso with Randy de Puniet right behind him.

The reigning World Champion, Casey Stoner was the second best Bridgestone runner but still could only manage ninth place on the grid.

John Hopkins was in tenth place after hoping for a top five place this weekend on the Kawasaki.

Loris Capirossi was in a surprising twelfth spot after he had a fast low-side fall, which saw his bike cartwheeling across the gravel.

Here are the results:

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

Here’s a pic for the girlies! 

This weekend the Moto GP teams and riders head to Estoril for the Portugal Moto GP.

Britain’s, James Toseland along with teammate Colin Edwards, will be using Yamaha’s latest pneumatic-valve engine for the first time for the Tech-3 team.

Toseland said “Let’s hope the weather is a bit warmer than England this weekend.  I’m feeling considerably better than I did in Jerez but I’m still on antibiotics and still have a cough.”  James was suffering from a severe chest infection at the Jerez race.

He added “I’m really looking forward to my first visit to Estoril and I will definitely have the new 2008 Yamaha engine.  It should be a great feeling racing down the straight alongside everybody else instead of playing catch-up.”

The lack of speed along the straights has seen Toseland launching some daring overtaking moves through corners, which has been exciting stuff to watch.

Valentino Rossi, however, has reportedly said that he thinks Toseland was wrong to join the Yamaha Tech-3 team and feels he should have joined a Honda team for his rookie year.  Rossi said “Maybe Toseland has made a small mistake.  I imagine that for him it would be better to race with Honda.” Rossi, a five-time Moto GP World Champion, won his first three titles on a Honda before he himself switched to Yamaha.

Rossi apparently said that he believes Toseland does not have the talent of his other rookies but he still backs him to run well on the Tech-3 machine.  He added “I think Lorenzo and Dovizioso are the most talented riders of the four (the other rookie is Alex de Angelis).  Maybe Dovizioso has a small advantage because the Honda is easier to ride than the Yamaha, but we have to see what the 2008 Honda is like.”