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Thrill of Rossi-Gibernau finale packs in the crowds to Estoril Grand Prix
Estoril, Sept 05: MotoGP riders prepare for Sunday`s Estoril Grand Prix. MotoGP fans will be hoping for another thrilling duel between Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau in Estoril, Portugal this Sunday (September 7).
Estoril, Sept 05: MotoGP riders prepare for Sunday's Estoril Grand Prix. MotoGP fans will be hoping for another thrilling duel between Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau in Estoril, Portugal this Sunday (September 7).
The MotoGP World Championship docked on the westernmost point of Europe as the teams and riders arrived at the coastal town of Estoril for eleventh round of the 16-race season.
Late summer sunshine warmed the Portuguese circuit on Thursday (September 4) with temperatures around 28 degrees Celsius and positive forecasts providing hope of dry conditions throughout the weekend. However, it is the circuit's close proximity to the harsh Atlantic ocean that can make such forecasts unpredictable and track conditions changeable.
Title contender Sete Gibernau of Spain was in relaxed mood as he took a cruise around the nearby port harbour of Alcantara with fellow MotoGP riders Marco Melandri, Alex Barros and Makoto Tamada, planning his latest assault on series leader Valentino Rossi of Italy.
The pair have been almost inseparable over the past two months, even meeting up on holiday in Ibiza between two stunning races which have seen them split by less than one tenth of a second.
Round nine of sixteen at the Sachsenring in July went the way of the Spaniard, but the Italian re-established his authority and a 34-point lead in the championship with victory at Brno in round ten.
Rossi recognised the importance of this weekend, the final round in Europe before four 'flyaway' races in Brazil, Japan, Malaysia and Australia.
"Estoril is not particularly one of my favourite tracks but I have had some good races here - especially in 2001 when I won on the 500 and again last year in the bad weather. Above all I am hoping for good weather this weekend. The wind is always a problem here, but if it stays dry then that will be okay."
After a season of dispute and disappointment, the WCM team will give the long awaited debut to their new four-stroke machines at Estoril on Sunday. The team's original four-stroke machines were ruled out by technical regulations, forcing the team to race 500cc two-stroke Yamaha machines. The team has been building new four-stroke engines to comply with regulations and riders Chris Burns and David De Gea will finally give the new machines their racing debuts.
Burns has fully recovered from the broken collarbone he sustained when he crashed in the British Grand Prix and last week rode in the British Superbike Championship to test his fitness.
In the 125cc class reigning world champion Arnaud Vincent returns to action this weekend after being signed up by Sterilgarda Racing to replace Youichi Ui. Vincent, who was sacked last month by KTM, will be back on an Aprilia for the first time since winning his title at Valencia last November.
Twice former world championship runner-up Youichi Ui of Japan has signed to race the rest of the season with Gilera. The Japanese veteran was left without a ride when he was replaced by Vincent last week, but wasted no time in agreeing to rejoin the Piaggio Group, with whom he enjoyed his best seasons between 1999 and 2002 riding a Derbi.
Ui will line-up alongside Gilera's other current rider, Italian youngster Stefano Bianco. Meanwhile Swiss youngster Thomas Luthi is hopeful of racing after recovering from leg injuries sustained in a spectacular crash after leading at Brno three weeks ago. Luthi, who celebrates his 17th birthday on Saturday, will be joined in Friday's morning's first free practice session by fellow teenager Casey Stoner, of Australia, who will test out his freshly stapled scaphoid before deciding whether to race.
Bureau Report
Round nine of sixteen at the Sachsenring in July went the way of the Spaniard, but the Italian re-established his authority and a 34-point lead in the championship with victory at Brno in round ten.
Rossi recognised the importance of this weekend, the final round in Europe before four 'flyaway' races in Brazil, Japan, Malaysia and Australia.
"Estoril is not particularly one of my favourite tracks but I have had some good races here - especially in 2001 when I won on the 500 and again last year in the bad weather. Above all I am hoping for good weather this weekend. The wind is always a problem here, but if it stays dry then that will be okay."
After a season of dispute and disappointment, the WCM team will give the long awaited debut to their new four-stroke machines at Estoril on Sunday. The team's original four-stroke machines were ruled out by technical regulations, forcing the team to race 500cc two-stroke Yamaha machines. The team has been building new four-stroke engines to comply with regulations and riders Chris Burns and David De Gea will finally give the new machines their racing debuts.
Burns has fully recovered from the broken collarbone he sustained when he crashed in the British Grand Prix and last week rode in the British Superbike Championship to test his fitness.
In the 125cc class reigning world champion Arnaud Vincent returns to action this weekend after being signed up by Sterilgarda Racing to replace Youichi Ui. Vincent, who was sacked last month by KTM, will be back on an Aprilia for the first time since winning his title at Valencia last November.
Twice former world championship runner-up Youichi Ui of Japan has signed to race the rest of the season with Gilera. The Japanese veteran was left without a ride when he was replaced by Vincent last week, but wasted no time in agreeing to rejoin the Piaggio Group, with whom he enjoyed his best seasons between 1999 and 2002 riding a Derbi.
Ui will line-up alongside Gilera's other current rider, Italian youngster Stefano Bianco. Meanwhile Swiss youngster Thomas Luthi is hopeful of racing after recovering from leg injuries sustained in a spectacular crash after leading at Brno three weeks ago. Luthi, who celebrates his 17th birthday on Saturday, will be joined in Friday's morning's first free practice session by fellow teenager Casey Stoner, of Australia, who will test out his freshly stapled scaphoid before deciding whether to race.
Bureau Report