Portuguese GP
The FORTUNA HONDA riders arrived in Portugal with the satisfaction
of an excellent debut in the 250cc class in the opening round
of the season last week at Jerez de la Frontera, where they
finished fifth and sixth respectively. The twisty characteristics
of the Autodromo Fernanda Pires da Silva and the cold, damp
and windy weather conditions have made set-up work difficult,
but the FORTUNA HONDA riders continued their impressive adaptation
to the 250cc class today.
Jorge Lorenzo (48):
(Free practice 1: 1.44.032, 12º)
(Qualifying practice 1: 1.42.585, 6º - 19 laps)
The Mallorcan youngster grew in confidence as the day wore
on in Portugal. Lorenzo took things steadily in the morning
but with better track conditions in the afternoon he was able
to demonstrate clear progress.
“I’m happy, but not completely. In the morning
we went better than in Jerez and in the afternoon we improved
still further because I am slowly growing in confidence. Sixth
position is good but I know that I can still do much more
here because I am still over a second off first place. It’s
down to me because I am still making some mistakes. Maybe
I’ve still got some 125 habits and it could be that
I’m slowing the bike down too much in the fast corners,
making the engine lose too many revs. With a bit of effort
I’m sure I can get over that and improve my times relatively
easily”.
Héctor Barberá (80):
(Free practice 1: 1.43.723, 8º)
(Qualifying practice 1: 1.42.910, 9º -20 laps)
Barberá took his third victory of last season in the
125cc class at this circuit after a tough battle with his
current team-mate Jorge Lorenzo. Today his best time was 1.625
seconds off the fastest lap of the day (1.41.285), putting
him on the provisional second row of the grid
“The track wasn’t good this morning but we did
ok. In the afternoon the times generally came down but I found
it a bit harder than my rivals. I’m not too worried
about that because I didn’t want to put on a soft tyre
– the important thing is the race pace I was able to
set. I’m a bit worried that it might rain tomorrow because
that would mean me starting from a little further back on
the grid, but I know what to do in that circumstance. It’s
fine because, as I say, I’ve got a good race pace”.
Dani Amatriaín, FORTUNA HONDA Team Director
“We’re slowly meeting the objectives
we set ourselves for the first four races of the season. For
the time being we just want to be at the head of the second
group on the grid, which is formed b y the new riders in the
category, who are only bettered by the experience of the riders
in front of them.”
Circuit: 4.182 m.
Record: Toni Elías, 04’ (1.41.956)
Pole 2.004: Dani Pedrosa (1.41.417)
Today’s best time: Dani Pedrosa (1.41.285)
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