Round number three of the MotoGP World Championship is the Portuguese Grand Prix at the Circuito Estoril in Estoril, Portugal.
The weather is going to be a factor just as it was in Spain last weekend. In qualifying, who could hook up the bike in the last corner? Casey Stoner is on pole. There was a wreck in qualifying betweeen Dani Pedrosa and Colin Edwards. He will not start due to a collarbone injury. He will have surgery on his collarbone tomorrow. The bikes head out on their formation lap before the race begins. The track is 2.6 miles with a 6/10 mile straightaway. Thirteen corners on this track. The track has new pavement, but, the riders do not like it. The race will be 28 laps.
At the start, Casey Stoner takes the lead into the first corner. But, Dani Pedrosa tries, and no. It's Stoner followed by Jorge Lorenzo. Cal Crutchlow has lost some spots. The bikes file into turn seven. Stoner has momentum after his Jerez victory last weekend. Valentino Rossi is ninth and moving up as the bikes go into the Parabolica and down the straight to complete lap one. Rossi passes Alvaro Bautista. Stefan Braml also is coming quickly. Running wide is Ben Spies. Stoner is gapping the field.
Spies under pressure from Rossi. 26 laps left to run. There's a ways to go. Casey Stoner is running the fastest laps while Nicky Hayden passes Hector Barbera. Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso battle. They are team mates for Tech 3 Yamaha. The bikes are running medium compound tires. In Spies' off course excursion, Dani Pedrosa was almost collected. Jorge Lorenzo sets a new lap record on lap three. He is second behind Stoner. Stefan Bradl is running well. He's ridden a Moto 2 bike at Estoril, but never a MotoGP bike, until today's race.
Andrea Dovizioso passes Cal Crutchlow. Pedrosa is third and coming quick. Stoner gets loose and fortunately holds onto the bike! Whoa! The top three are pulling away. Stoner and Lorenzo (as well as other riders) run in the 1:37 lap time range. Lorenzo is consistent between the esses and the Parabolica. Dovizioso and Crutchlow scrap for fourth spot. Lorenzo closes on Stoner. There's a bike in pit lane. Not sure who. One of the riders drops his bike. Not sure who. The right hand corners on this track wear out the tires. Stefan Braml and Ben Spies scrap for eighth.
The race is already half over. Fourteen laps down. Fourteen remain. The battle continues between the three top riders in the sport. Spies passes Braml again into turn six. That is the Parabolica Interior. Into the esses, Stoner seems quicker than Lorenzo going into the outer Parabolica. The Honda as a bike corners really well and maybe Lorenzo's Yamaha just doesn't quite have the gumption out of the corner. Pol Espargaro and Randy de Puniet battle in the CRT bike class. This race is going down at a tremendous clip.
In a replay of the start, Casey Stoner clearly gets away quick and Lorenzo falls into second place. Meanwhile, just eight laps left. Stoner has a 6/10 of a second gap over Lorenzo. This front battle will be the one to watch until the end of the race. Pedrosa, Crutchlow and Dovizioso are close together. Cal Crutchlow may be on his way to his fourth consecutive fourth place finish. Alvaro Bautista has been passed by Valentino Rossi. James Ellison retired his Paul Bird Motorsport ART bike.
Ben Spies still wants by Stefan Bradl, coming to the finish in four more laps. Karel Abraham is out of the race. He's had a bad weekend and hasn't felt well. Stoner continues to lead. Bradl and Spies continue their battle. There isn't much else going on on track as it seems Lorenzo is fading away from Stoner. Stoner runs in the 1:38 bracket, losing a second, but it doesn't matter if he slows down slightly. Spies on Bradl, and Spies passes cleanly. No one can catch Stoner, though. If Stoner should win, he'll take over the championship lead from Lorenzo.
Alvaro Bautista looks like he'll finish sixth. Casey Stoner will win his second consecutive race and his first at Estoril! Winning this race means Stoner takes over the championship lead! Pedrosa is third making it a 1-3 for Repsol Honda. Casey Stoner has now won on all the tracks that MotoGP races at. Dani Pedrosa scores his 100th podium finish.
The next race in MotoGP is the French Grand Prix at Le Mans (on the Bugatti circuit), in two weeks.
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