THE TEAM PRAMAC D’ANTIN MOTOGP FACES THE ESTORIL GP
WITH MUCH MOTIVATION
The sixteenth and last but one race of the 2006 MotoGP World
Championship will take place at the Estoril Circuit in Portugal,
near Lisbon.
More emotions and motivations for the Team PRAMAC D’ANTIN
MOTOGP, ready to face the Portuguese round with much motivation.
The Spanish JOSE LUIS CARDOSO, living at only a few hundredth
kilometres from Lisbon, feels like at home and is dreaming
about a good race in front of many sponsors and friends. The
German ALEX HOFMANN would like to reach the Top Ten to confirm
the last improvements. The first session of free practice
will be on Friday 13th October at 10:00 a.m., local time (GMT
+ 1).
LUIS D’ANTIN (Team Manager): “There
are only two races left before the end of the season. The
first this weekend in Portugal and the second at Valencia
at the end of the month. We want to end this Championship
in a positive way and this increase even more our motivations.
It will be very important to obtain good results during these
last two rounds, we will make our best to conquest more points
for the general classification. Many sponsors and fans will
be present and we must make the maximum to satisfy them”.
ALEX HOFMANN #66: “Last year, unfortunately,
I watched the race on television because, during the practice,
I broke my left wrist.. The ground is new this year and we
will be the first ones to ride on it, the grip won’t
surely be exceptional. Let’s hope that, as at Laguna
Seca, we will manage to make a good job in these conditions.
About the track, I like it, even if it has the slowest chicane
of the season. We will see how things will go, this circuit
has many changes of direction and needs a lot of grip”.
JOSE LUIS CARDOSO #30: “This race
is really important for me. It can be considered as one of
my Home Grand Prix, which always is a very nice sensation.
Seville, the city where I actually live, is only 400 km from
Lisbon, so I expect to see many of my sponsors and friends.
With the whole Team, we will make our best during the whole
weekend to obtain the best result possible. The last time
I raced here was in 2001, this track is quite mixed and I
like it. Let’s hope that everybody will go in the right
way, It is important for me to get a good result in front
of my public”.
CIRCUIT DETAILS
The Estoril circuit is situated on the Atlantic coast of Portugal,
28km from capital city Lisbon, and was used as a MotoGP venue
for the first time in 2000. Built in 1972 by Ferrnanda Pires
da Silva, the circuit was mainly used for European F2 races
and, only after major redevelopment, it staged its first Formula
1 Grand Prix in 1984.
4182 metres long with 13 corners (4 to the left and 9 to the
right), it is one of the trickiest tracks on the MotoGP calendar.
There are long, constant radius corners with heavy braking
zones, bumpy straights and a difficult chicane which was added
to the back section in 1994. The geographical position of
the circuit means that weather can be unpredictable, although
its nature is generally warm and dry.
Longest straight: 986m
Wide: 14m
Pole Position: left
Direction: clockwise
MotoGP - Circuit Record: 1’38.423 (Valentino Rossi -
2004)
MotoGP - Fastest Lap: 1’37’’202 (Alex Barros
- 2005)
2005 MotoGP Race: 1. Alex Barros (Honda) 2. Valentino Rossi
(Yamaha) 3. Max Biaggi (Honda)
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