MotoGP – Estoril – Bridgestone Report

Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha Team) took victory in the Portuguese Grand Prix after starting from pole position, ahead of teammate Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso (Honda Repsol). The fight for third position was particularly close and involved, in addition to Dovizioso, Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) and Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro). After two days of torrential rain and strong winds, the race was held in dry conditions following the storm that fell in the morning before the warm-up session. All the riders used the softer compound type tire for the rear which incorporates the extra soft compound in the left shoulder, while for the front the choice was more varied, because six riders opted for the softer compound (Hayden , Aoyama, Barbera, Bautista, Capirossi, Melandri), while the others preferred the tire with a harder compound, which guarantees greater stability. The race day was the only dry one of the entire weekend and the teams had to rely on set-up data from previous years, not having significant dry data collected in the free practice sessions. Seven of the first eight riders to finish used the harder compound option for the front and the softer compound for the rear.

Hiroshi Yasukawa – Bridgestone Motorsport MotoGP Manager: “Congratulations to Jorge and the Fiat Yamaha team for their eighth victory of the season and the constructors' title. It was a very difficult weekend due to the weather conditions but we witnessed some exciting battles in the race. We invited numerous guests including some executives from all over Europe. The MotoGP class represents an excellent promotional tool for our brand and has a strong impact in terms of image for the public. We are proud to be part of it and to use this sport to promote our technology and to communicate our passion for excellence to a global audience."

Tohru Ubukata – Bridgestone Motorsport Development Manager: “It was a very difficult race for everyone. The track was very slippery at the start because there were no test sessions held in dry conditions over the weekend. The teams didn't have time to prepare the bikes with a dry set-up and the conditions were also very difficult for the tyres. Our slick tires showed excellent performance from the start to the checkered flag, so I am very satisfied with their performance in the race. I'm satisfied with the choice of compounds because we didn't have any problems with the tires heating up."

Jorge Lorenzo – Fiat Yamaha Team – Winner: “It was a very difficult weekend for everyone. We had a very complicated race because no driver had tested in the dry. At the start we had no feeling with the tires and we used the same set-up as in the race held last year. I saw from the morning's warm-up that there were puddles of water in some corners, so I was very careful not to make any mistakes. Valentino had a good race pace but I was patient trying to improve my lap times. He was a little slower so I was able to catch up and pull him away. It's been a long time since I won the victory and I'm very happy to have achieved it on this track."

First ten classified in the race and type of compound chosen for the front and rear tyre:
1st Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha Team) 46m 17.962s average, average
2nd Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team) 46m 26.591s +8.629s average, average
3rd Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda Team) 46m 44.437s +26.475s average, average
4th Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) 46m 44.496s +26.534s average, average
5th Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) 46m 45.116s +27.154s soft, medium
6th Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda MotoGP) 46m 46.259s +28.297s average, average
7th Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech3) 46m 48.071s +30.109s avg, avg
8th Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) 47m 02.909s +44.947s average, average
9th Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini) 47m 31.611s +73.649s soft, medium
10th Hector Barbera (Paginas Amarillas Aspar) 47m 35.683s +77.721s soft, medium

Weather: dry
Temperatures: air: 20°C, track: 26°C

Available tire compounds:
Front: soft, medium
Posterior: medium, hard (asymmetric)

Bridgestone MotorSport