Jorge Lorenzo won the Portuguese Grand Prix for his first career MotoGP victory, pulling into a tie for the series lead with bitter rival Dani Pedrosa.

Portuguese GP Race Report

By Paul Kelly
redbullindianapolisgp.com

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Jorge Lorenzo fulfilled his immense promise April 13 by winning the Portuguese Grand Prix from pole for his first career MotoGP victory.

Lorenzo, from Spain, has started on pole for each of the three races this season on his Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Michelin. But he finally converted that qualifying speed into the top step of the podium in shifting weather conditions at Estoril.

Dani Pedrosa, from Spain, finished second on his Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin, 1.817 seconds behind Lorenzo. Five-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi was third on the Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Bridgestone, 12.723 seconds behind his winning teammate.

With the victory, Lorenzo pulled into a tie with bitter rival Pedrosa atop the series standings with 61 points. Rossi is third with 47.

"I feel like I'm in heaven," Lorenzo said. "I can't believe it, and it's really impossible for me to describe my feelings. To be here after just three races and at the top of the championship, as well, is something that I could never have even dreamed of."

Two-time 250cc World Champion Lorenzo pulled off his first MotoGP victory in powerful style, completing a weekend clean sweep of pole position, fastest race lap and race win.

But the victory was far from a romp. Rossi passed Lorenzo for the lead on Lap 3 of the 28-lap race. Pedrosa then seized second from Lorenzo on Lap 11. Lorenzo unleashed his considerable speed and talent on Lap 13, passing Pedrosa for second in Turn 1 and then making a bold pass of Rossi for the lead at the chicane later that lap. Lorenzo never trailed thereafter.

Colin Edwards finished fourth on his Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha/Michelin, while fellow American John Hopkins rounded out the top five on his Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki/Bridgestone.

It was Edwards' best finish since he also placed fourth in the Grand Prix of Germany last July 15. Hopkins also recorded his best finish of the season, his first with Kawasaki.

2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden finished 17^th after crashing on Lap 17 while running fourth on his Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin. American Hayden started fourth but dropped to seventh. But he started to pick off riders and chipped away time at the lead trio of Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Rossi before falling.

"You know, when you push hard, you make mistakes," Hayden said. "It's not a parade; you can't just cruise around."

In the 125cc race, American Stevie Bonsey continued his climb toward a first career podium. Second-year 125cc rider Bonsey, from Salinas, Calif., finished a career-best fourth after starting a career-best second on the DeGraaf Grand Prix Aprilia.

The next race is the Grand Prix of China on May 4 at Shanghai. The inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP is Sunday, Sept. 14 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

***

RESULTS

ESTORIL, Portugal - Results of the 28-lap Grand Prix of Portugal MotoGP race, with position, rider, country, motorcycle/tire, time behind winner:

Fastest lap: Lorenzo, 1:37.404, Lap 18

Pole lap: Lorenzo, 1:35.715

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POINTS

Riders: Lorenzo 61, Pedrosa 61, Rossi 47, Stoner 40, Toseland 29, Capirossi 26, Hopkins 24, Edwards 22, Dovizioso 21, Hayden 19, Nakano 16, Vermeulen 14, Melandri 12, De Puniet 8, De Angelis 7, Elias 7, West 3, Guintoli 3.

Manufacturers: Yamaha 65, Honda 61, Ducati 40, Suzuki 27, Kawasaki 24.

***

PODIUM QUOTES

JORGE LORENZO (Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Michelin, winner): "I feel like I'm in heaven! I can't believe it, and it's really impossible for me to describe my feelings. The start of the race was quite crazy because there were some drops of rain, and it looked like it might get worse. Anyway, I just carried on. I remember making my pass on Valentino; I know it was quite a risk, so I'm sorry to him. But at that point, I felt that I could make it and get away from him, so I took the chance, and it worked. I'm so proud of everyone. To be here after just three races and at the top of the championship, as well, is something that I could never have even dreamed of. I had some pain again in my arms today, so tonight we will make a decision about whether or not I will have the operation before China, but for now I'm just going to enjoy this moment!"

DANI PEDROSA (Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin, second): "After our difficult preseason, it's good to be in this position now, so we are very happy. Today was a good race. The beginning was quite fun but also a little dangerous because it was raining a bit and there were a few passing maneuvers. When the rain stopped, the pace got faster and faster, so we had to concentrate very hard to maintain tire grip all the time. Eventually we finished second, and we're happy. We always expected a tough race, so this result is very important for us. When Lorenzo started pulling away, I still had to pass Rossi, then when I did pass Rossi, Lorenzo already had a gap. I tried to close the gap, or at least maintain it, and the gap stayed the same, more or less, for the remainder of the race. Finally, we got second, and it's a good result."

VALENTINO ROSSI (Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Bridgestone, third): "At the end of the day, this isn't a bad result for us because we expected this to be quite a difficult track for us. My M1 worked well today. I got a good start and was able to stay at the front to begin with and have some fun. My Bridgestone tires were working well, but I was thinking about trying to conserve them as much as possible because I knew 28 laps was going to be hard. Unfortunately, I couldn't stay with Lorenzo and Pedrosa in the later stages, and I started to slide a little bit. But to have two podiums in a row with Bridgestone is very important because we're still in the learning stages of our relationship. I think we've made another step forward this weekend, and we have an important test tomorrow - I hope in China we will be able to fight for the win!"

***

AMERICAN RIDER QUOTES

COLIN EDWARDS (Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha/Michelin, fourth): "When you are sitting on the grid with big rain spots on the visor, it is the worst feeling because you just don't know what to expect. I actually got a good start, but then somebody was out of the seat in Turn 1 in front of me and then somebody else did the same at the second corner. I thought, 'It must be real slick because of the rain.' And it was a bit like being on ice. I just got my head down, but it seemed they were just driving away from me. I was on it, and the electronics were kicking in and working, but I wasn't really going anywhere. Basically, I couldn't build any heat in the tire early on. Running that different tire from Michelin for acceleration grip instead of maximum corner speed, for those conditions it didn't really work. Had it been dry from the start, we'd have been good to fight for the podium. But with a bit of moisture, I couldn't get any heat in the side of the tire and no edge grip in the middle of the corner. Once I got heat into it, I was motoring, which proved had it been dry, I'd gone for a good direction with Michelin. I wanted to be on the podium, but I'll settle for fourth."

JOHN HOPKINS (Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki/Bridgestone, fifth): "I'm really pleased, as my aim was for a top-five finish today. I got a really good start, and the first lap was quite frantic as I went around the outside of a few riders before settling into a rhythm with the leading pack. There was a bit of rain to contend with in the opening laps, and I made some small mistakes, which caused me to drop back a little. Our main area to improve on is qualifying, as we keep giving ourselves a lot of work to do in the race by having a poor grid position."

NICKY HAYDEN (Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin, 17^th): "The first few laps were certainly not easy. Some parts of the track were a little wetter than others, and I had on a pretty hard tire. I had been choosing between that tire and another a little bit softer, but with the way the weather's been this weekend, we really hadn't got to do a lot of endurance on the harder one. I got settled in, and the warmer I was getting the tires, the better they were working, and I was able to start moving up. So things were feeling pretty good. I made a few passes, I'd just got into fourth, felt like I wanted to close the gap on the guys in front of me. You know, I got fourth place at Jerez, and I certainly didn't want to settle in there and ride around. So I had to push hard, and, you know, when you push hard, you make mistakes. It's not a parade; you can't just cruise around. The bike was working good, the tires were working good, I felt pretty comfortable, so I was pushing. Turn 7's downhill, certainly a trick corner, the front let go pretty early, and down I went. It's unfortunate because the bike was working good, and we were hungry for a good result, so my own mistake. We just have to step it up a bit."

***

MotoGP SUPPORT CLASS WINNERS

250cc: Alvaro Bautista, Spain, Mapfre Aspar Team Aprilia.

125cc: Simone Corsi, Italy, Jack & Jones WRB Aprilia. American Stevie Bonsey finished fourth and is seventh in series points.

***

NEXT RACE

Grand Prix of China, Shanghai, May 4. Round 4 of 18.

***

Red Bull Indianapolis GP tickets: Tickets are on sale for the inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Sept. 14, 2008.

Tickets can be purchased either online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com at any time; on the phone by calling (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area or (317) 492-6700 locally between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday; or visiting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Ticket Office on the first floor of the IMS Administration Building at 4790 W. 16^th St. in Indianapolis from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

All tickets for this event are three-day tickets, with both reserved and general admission seating available.

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