Estoril MotoGP Results 2011

Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa claimed victory at Estoril, closing the gap on MotoGP championship rival Jorge Lorenzo. Pedrosa spoiled Lorenzo’s perfect record at the Portugal Grand Prix in the premier class, snatching victory in the closing laps. Lorenzo settled for second with Repsol’s second title contender, Casey Stoner, rebounding from his disappointing Jerez DNF with a third-place finish.

The Estoril race wasn’t without incident, including a major DNF on Lap 1. Off the initial start Lorenzo jumped out the front from pole position, with Pedrosa in tow. Also up front were Marco Simoncelli, Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso, with all three riders were forced to save wobbling machines in the congested opening corners. Simoncelli, who was one of the faster riders in qualifying and practice, then high-sided his Gresini Honda in Turn 4. The Italian also crashed during Estoril qualifying while on pace for a potential pole position time and crashed out of previous GP while en route to an uncontested victory. Mapfre Aspar’s Hector Barbera also ended up in the gravel next to Simoncelli on the opening Estoril lap.

Once the damage of the Lap 1 was sorted out, Lorenzo held the lead, the points leader entering the race with a record of three consecutive victories at the Portuguese circuit. Pedrosa had his rival well within reach, pacing in second, while Stoner trailed in third. Valentino Rossi turned a ninth-place grid position into fourth-place by the end of the first lap, The Doctor was followed by Dovizioso and Yamaha’s Ben Spies.

Dani Pedrosa kept Lorenzo in his sights, making a move in the final laps and then checking out for the win.

The racing was mostly processional from there out. Pedrosa was content to keep the lead Yamaha in his sights, making a move in the closing laps. Once past his fellow Spaniard, Pedrosa opened up a three-second gap motoring on to the win - including peeling off the fastest lap of the race on the penultimate circuit. Stoner couldn’t mark a challenge on the leading pair, finishing third and seven seconds adrift of the leader.

The closest battle of the day came over fourth, with Rossi getting stalked by Dovizioso. The third Repsol rider made a move on the final lap, nicking Rossi at the finish by two hundreths of a second. Dovizioso’s finish gave the Repsol juggernaut three out of the top four positions.

Spies worked backwards from the start, the Texan struggling and eventually crashing out of the race. The satellite Yamahas fared better, with Colin Edwards sixth and Cal Crutchlow earning another top-10 finish in eighth. Crutchlow was bested by the top-finishing satellite Honda, Gresini’s Hiroshi Aoyama.

American Nicky Hayden was ninth aboard the factory Ducati, with Pramac Racing’s Randy de Puniet rounding out the top 10. Toni Elias, the 2006 Estoril GP winner, was 11th on the LCR Honda followed by Pramac’s Loris Capirossi. Suzuki’s Alvaro Bautista finished in the points, a moral victory considering the Spaniard’s return from a broken femur.

Pedrosa’s victory, returning to race-winning form after surgery between rounds, narrows Lorenzo’s points lead to just four. The third-place Stoner lost more ground, sitting a full 24 points behind Lorenzo in the title hunt.

Round 4 of the MotoGP championship will commence May 13-15 at Le Mans.

2011 MotoGP Estoril Results: 1. Dani Pedrosa (Honda)
2. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) +3.051
3. Casey Stoner (Honda) +7.658
4. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) +16.53
5. Valentino Rossi (Ducati) +16.555
6. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) +32.575
7. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda) +38.749
8. Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha +40.912
9. Nicky Hayden (Ducati) +54.887
10. Randy de Puniet (Ducati) +59.697
11. Toni Elias (Honda) +1'00.374
12. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) +1'01.793
13. Alvaro Bautista (Suzuki) +1'24.370
DNF Ben Spies (Yamaha) +16 Laps
DNF Karel Abraham (Ducati) +27 Laps
DNF Marco Simoncelli (Honda) +28 Laps
DNF Hector Barbera (Ducati) +28 Laps

2011 MotoGP Points: 1. Jorge Lorenzo, 65
2. Dani Pedrosa, 61
3. Casey Stoner, 41
4. Valentino Rossi, 31
5. Nicky Hayden, 30
6. Andrea Dovizioso, 30
7. Hiroshi Aoyama, 28
8. Cal Crutchlow, 21
9. Colin Edwards, 18
10. Hector Barbera, 14