Portuguese GP
The World Motorcycling Championship moved to the Portuguese
circuit of Estoril on Friday after last weekend’s opening
round at Jerez. After a difficult start, both FORTUNA YAMAHA
riders enjoyed productive days, although they were not helped
by the weather. Rain and wind hampered all the riders at what
is acknowledged as one of the championship’s slowest
circuits, and it was ultimately Alex Barros who posted the
quickest lap of the day.
Toni Elías (24):
(Free qualifying 1: 1.43.941, 16th)
(Free qualifying 2: 1.39.732, 9th)
Toni Elias has a good record at Estoril having won at the
track for the last two years in the 250cc class, and recovered
well on Friday after a big crash in the morning.
“I am very happy with how the day went. We are getting
closer to the top riders all the time. This morning I had
a stupid, but quite hard fall that affected me. I was trying
to let Rossi through and went on to a dirty part of the circuit
and lost the front end – that is how the crash happened.
We also had a slight problem with the suspension, but the
team managed to fix that quickly in the afternoon and we did
well after that. I like Estoril because you are on the brakes
a lot and I like the more technical circuits.”
Ruben Xaus (11):
(Free qualifying 1: 1.43.157, 10º)
(Free qualifying 2: 1.40.163, 15º)
Although Xaus did not finish in a brilliant position, he
looked more comfortable and at ease on his Yamaha than ever.
His performance gave real hope for the rest of the weekend.
“We are continuing to work hard. It’s clear given
the standard of MotoGP that if you change from the bike that
you have ridden for five years it will be very demanding and
there are some aspects that I am not finding easy. I would
have liked to have done more during pre-season as well but
what’s done is done now and you can’t look back.
We are getting better bit by bit, and whoever puts in the
most time will have the best rhythm in the race and will get
their rewards.”
Hervé Poncharal, FORTUNA YAMAHA team manager
“Both riders worked very well all day. We were
a bit worried after Toni’s fall at the start of the
day, but after those initial concerns things got much better.
The day of testing we did at Jerez after the Grand Prix really
has paid off. You could see how productive it was today and
both riders learnt from the first race of the year. I just
hope the weather holds tomorrow and allows the riders to work
in comfortable conditions.”
Circuit: 4.182 m.
Record: Valentino Rossi, 04’ (1.38.423)
Pole 2004: Makoto Tamada (1.37.933)
Best lap of day: A. Barros (1.38.516)
|
