Fiat Yamaha riders Jorge
Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi put in a superb team
performance yesterday at the Grand Prix of Portugal on
the Estoril circuit, taking first and second
respectively to deliver Yamaha it's third consecutive
triple crown with the team, rider and manufacturers'
titles. The achievement marks the first time since the
triple crown's inception that any manufacturer has won
it three times in a row. After a weekend of disruption
from the weather yesterday's race was run mainly in
bright sunshine, although rain earlier in the day meant
the track was still patchy to begin with.
2010 World Champion Lorenzo made a strong start from
pole, taking the lead into the first corner before
briefly relinquishing it to Nicky Hayden for a few
seconds before taking back control of the race.
Team-mate Rossi made a play for the lead on lap four,
relegating Lorenzo to second until lap 17 where a
decisive out braking manoeuvre saw the Spaniard retake
the lead, putting his head down to build an impressive
eight second lead over Rossi by the chequered flag. The
victory was another landmark for Lorenzo, being the
third consecutive time he has won from pole position at
this track. Rossi's second position finish continues his
impressive record in Portugal, giving him his tenth
podium here in all classes.
Rossi's second-place and a non-finish from Casey Stoner
means the Italian has moved back to third in the
championship standings, 19 points off Dani Pedrosa and
second place. The final round of the season comes in one
week's time at Valencia in Spain.
Jorge Lorenzo
"On the warm-up lap I
could see there were still a few wet parts and I knew
that I was going to have to be careful at the beginning.
I got a great start and was in the lead but eventually
Valentino overtook me and then off he went. He had a
better pace than me then and I couldn't go with him. As
the track got drier I found my pace improving and then
step-by-step I closed the gap and was able to get past
him. At that point I felt really good and I am so happy
to win for the third time here at Estoril. It was a long
time since I have won but my confidence has remained
high and I haven't been worried. I knew I could win here
at my favourite track. We also confirmed the Triple
Crown for Yamaha today so well done to the whole team
for this victory."
Valentino Rossi
"Like I said [on
Saturday], a wet warm up and a dry race is a difficult
one! I am happy about this weekend, we worked really
well on the bike on the wet and I was the fastest in the
warm up, if it had been a wet race I could have been
very competitive. For the dry we started blind so I had
to try to take some risks at the beginning because the
setting was ok, but it was not enough because when Jorge
got into his rhythm he was faster than me, I had no way
to fight with him. I tried to stay with him but he was
too fast. Anyway second place is positive for my
championship because I am back in third place and I'm
not so far from Dani Pedrosa in second. I'm happy to
have improved the setting of the bike but we are still
not strong enough so we will try to improve for Valencia
for a final win with Yamaha."
Wilco Zeelenberg -
Team Manager, Lorenzo
"They were strange
conditions for the race, being run in the dry after all
the wet practice sessions. We struggled at the start a
bit with a full fuel tank, Jorge over braked a little on
the end of the straight so P1 was not so good in the
beginning. After eight or nine laps however the feeling
was a lot better and he was able to catch up with
Valentino and pass for the win. This is victory number
eight and after a few races of not winning we are happy
to be first again! We need to keep our focus for
Valencia because it would be great to finish this
fantastic season with one more win."
Davide Brivio -
Team Manager, Rossi
"On one side
it was a very good race because we went into a dry race
with a blind setting and we got a very good result, but
unfortunately when you are so very close to the victory
it's hard to not get there. Anyway we took a positive
second position and we learned a lot today about out
setting for the final race. It was a very positive day
for Yamaha too because we took the Triple Crown again,
well done to everyone."
