- Round: 11 - Estoril Grand Prix
- Circuit: Estoril
- Circuit Length: 4182
- Lap Record: 1' 39.189 (Valentino Rossi, 2003)
- Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 38.412 (Loris Capirossi, 2003)
Reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi put on a show of supremacy today, storming clear to win the Portuguese Grand Prix by more than five seconds from Honda rider Makoto Tamada, who was himself four seconds ahead of Alex Barros (Honda) and championship rival Sete Gibernau (Honda). Fellow Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha rider Carlos Checa also rode a strong race to complete the top five.
Starting from second in perfect sunshine, Rossi was behind Loris Capirossi at turn two but shortly after passed the Ducati rider and took the lead. He was unchallenged for the rest of the 28-lap race and crossed the finish line 46 minutes later, taking his sixth victory in his debut season with Yamaha and the 65th of his Grand Prix career. Checa spent the early part of the race engaged in a battle for fifth with fellow Yamaha rider Marco Melandri (Fortuna Gauloises Tech3), before the Italian fell on lap eight, leaving Checa to hold onto fifth place ahead of John Hopkins (Suzuki).
Portugal proved frustrating for Melandri - who featured a special one-off Spiderman colour scheme for the 11th round - after losing the front-end of his YZR M-1 when he ran too wide on the entry to turn seven. He avoided injury but felt the hurt of what might have been a top five finish, or better. His team-mate Norick rode a lonely race after trying his utmost to make ground on Colin Edwards and Troy Bayliss. But his tenth place represents another dependable points-scoring performance from the reliable Japanese stalwart.
Rossi (209pts) now leads the Championship standings by 29 points ahead of Gibernau (180), and Max Biaggi (Honda, 158) - the latter crashing out on the opening lap. Checa has moved up the ranks one place into sixth. The MotoGP paddock now packs up to embark on the annual four-race 'flyaway' series before returning to Spain to round off the season. Rossi, Checa and the Factory team will stay on at the Estoril circuit tomorrow to continue their test programme before leaving for the next round in Japan.
Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha)
"This was a super important race for us. It didn't rain last night so the bike had more grip today and my team worked so hard this morning on the bike to improve the set up. My start was not great but I managed to stay first for the first few laps and the tyres held out really well, so I was able to push through right to the end in the lead. I really wanted to push a lot from the beginning because I knew that if someone else was close at the end it would be really hard, because everyone's tyres would be moving around a lot. The bike was great today so thanks to Yamaha and everyone in the team for all the hard work."
Carlos Checa (Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha)
"I am satisfied with the race result because I started from tenth on the grid and I've improved a place in the Championship. After a few laps I felt the tyre go down a bit so I am pleased that I could hold onto my position. However I can't accept the difference between Valentino and I; I know he's the best rider but I feel that I must improve and close the gap between us. We need to analyze my performance today and I am going to push myself and my team to improve for the last five races."
Davide Brivio, Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha team director
"Valentino made a great race, always alone, and that shows how strong he was today. It's of course a very important result for the championship, as we have created a bigger gap from our competitors. Hopefully we will be able to manage like this in the next race as well in Motegi if we face any difficulties there. Yamaha and the team worked very hard here, and this result gives us even more of a boost for the final races. Carlos, despite the trouble he had in warm up this morning, did a good race. We will work with him to improve, he can do better. We won't stop working now, we're staying here to test some new parts and we will try to be as prepared as possible for Motegi where we know it won't be easy."
Norick Abe (Fortuna Gauloises Tech3)
"I'm disappointed because this morning I had really good feeling from the bike with almost the same lap times in the warm-up as yesterday in qualifying. I thought I would be able to do 1'39 laps in the race but I got a bad start and then the feedback went away and I was never comfortable. I couldn't catch anyone."
Marco Melandri (Fortuna Gauloises Tech3)
"I went wider at that turn than I did on the previous lap and hit the dust. It's a real pity because I was lying fifth and the bike was okay. My only problem was the front-end on the final turn onto the straight. But I'm not hurt and that's important."
Hervé Poncharal, Fortuna Gauloises Tech3 team director
"A very disappointing weekend. Marco got a good start and was riding very aggressively in his usual style. Unfortunately he ran too wide and hit a white line. It's obvious to say it, but we've lost points in the World Championship. And again I'll state the obvious - you need to finish if we are to get those points. It's a real shame. Norick rode a good race with similar lap times to Colin Edwards and Loris Capirossi, and he continues to progress."
- 1, V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 46' 34.911
- 2, M. Tamada Honda JPN +5.111
- 3, A. Barros Honda BRA +8.157
- 4, S. Gibernau Honda ESP +8.312
- 5, C. Checa Yamaha ESP +17.966
- 6, J. Hopkins Suzuki USA +18.631
- 7, L. Capirossi Ducati ITA +23.670
- 8, T. Bayliss Ducati AUS +25.126
- 9, C. Edwards Honda USA +25.611
- 10, N. Abe Yamaha JPN +26.727
- 11, S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN +44.704
- 12, J. McWilliams Aprilia GBR +50.511
- 13, A. Hofman Kawasaki GER +54.372
- 14, K. Roberts Suzuki USA +59.518
- 15, N. Aoki Proton KR JPN +1' 32.853
Fastest Race Lap: 1, V. Rossi Yamaha (ITA) - 1' 39.189
Championship standings MotoGP
- 1, Valentino Rossi Yamaha (ITA) - 209
- 2, Sete Gibernau Honda (ESP) - 180
- 3, Max Biaggi Honda (ITA) - 158
- 4, Colin Edwards Honda (USA) - 111
- 5, Alex Barros Honda (BRA) - 102
- 6, Carlos Checa Yamaha (ESP) - 93
- 7, Makato Tamada Honda (JPN) - 89
- 8, Loris Capirossi Ducati (ITA) - 84
- 9, Nicky Hayden Honda (USA) - 83
- 10, Marco Melandri Yamaha (ITA) - 64
- 11, Norick Abe Yamaha (JPN) - 55
- 12, Shinya Nakano Kawasaki (JPN) - 46
- 13, Ruben Xaus Ducati (ESP) - 46
- 14, Troy Bayliss Ducati (AUS) - 42
- 15, Kenny Roberts Suzuki (USA) - 37
Manufacturers standings MotoGP
- 1, Honda - 245
- 2, Yamaha - 224
- 3, Ducati - 103
- 4, Suzuki - 58
- 5, Kawasaki - 51
- 6, Aprilia - 29
- 7, Proton - KR 9
- 8, Harris WCM - 8
- 9, Moriwaki - 2
This article and pictures were kindly provided by www.yamaha-racing.com
