Alvaro Bautista picked up another positive result whilst Michele Pirro achieved his objective of bringing the CRT home on a positive day for Team San Carlo Honda Gresini at Estoril. A top six finish for the Spaniard and the Italian’s first points of his MotoGP career give the team a timely morale boost ahead of the next race at Le Mans in two weeks’ time.

Alvaro Bautista (6th) “It was a tough race. After practice I thought I had the pace to be fighting for fourth place, but I didn’t have a good feeling for the front and was struggling to turn the bike. It cost me a few valuable tenths that made me lose touch with Dovizioso and Crutchlow. Now we will have a close look at the data and try to understand why this happened, as well as working on our weak point which is braking. Sixth place isn’t a bad result but we should have been much closer to the two Yamaha Tech3 bikes. We have a test tomorrow and that will be very useful to us. ”

Fausto Gresini “It has been a good day and to get our best result with Alvaro so far is encouraging. We made progress over the weekend and I think the data we collected today will help us make further progress in future. Our objective is to be fighting with the Yamaha Tech3 bikes and I think we will be doing that soon.”

Source: Gresini Racing

Consistent sunshine and warm temperatures finally washed away all the weather worries the MotoGP riders might have had for today’s race at Estoril and the final Portuguese Grand Prix got underway in fully dry, but slightly colder conditions than yesterday’s qualifying.

Álvaro got off to an okay start, losing one position in the first corner to finish the first lap in 7th. He was passed by Rossi as well and pushed down to 8th and even 9th for a few moments, but quickly recovered to stick with Ben Spies and Valentino Rossi right ahead of him. Unfortunately it took him a few too many laps to get past both factory riders by which time the Tech3 satellite bikes of Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow were already over 1.5 seconds away into the distance. Just like at Jerez one week earlier, Álvaro posted very similar laptimes to the man in front of him, in this case Cal Crutchlow who’s been beaten by his teammate Dovizioso for the first time, and kept the gap very consistent, showing that he would have been able to fight with the satellite Yamahas had he not been held up in the first few laps.

He started to lose out several seconds in the middle of the race however, the gap growing to over five seconds as Crutchlow closed in on his teammate again. In the end Álvaro made up over a second in the final lap as everyone was going a bit slower to make it over the line. It’s been another lonely race for him, the positions almost all being settled throughout the field after less than ten laps and with Valentino Rossi always over two seconds behind him.

While not being a bad result, Álvaro and the team certainly would have hoped for slightly more than 6th position at Estoril today. The gap to fourth and fifth position was a bit too big in the end, but with some stronger early laps and sticking to that second group he should well be able to fight it out for fourth or fifth position in the coming races.

Pos. Rider Team Time/Gap
1 Casey STONER Repsol Honda Team 45’37.513
2 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing +1.421
3 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team +3.621
4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Monster Yamaha Tech 3 +13.846
5 Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 +16.690
6 Alvaro BAUTISTA San Carlo Honda Gresini +21.884
7 Valentino ROSSI Ducati Team +26.797
8 Ben SPIES Yamaha Factory Racing +33.262
9 Stefan BRADL LCR Honda MotoGP +35.867
10 Hector BARBERA Pramac Racing Team +53.363
11 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team +1’02.630
12 Aleix ESPARGARO Power Electronics Aspar +1’20.736
13 Randy DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar +1’23.483
14 Michele PIRRO San Carlo Honda Gresini +1’37.905
15 Danilo PETRUCCI Came IodaRacing Project 1 Lap

Not Classified
Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 5 Laps
James ELLISON Paul Bird Motorsport 10 Laps
Yonny HERNANDEZ Avintia Blusens 12 Laps
Mattia PASINI Speed Master 17 Laps
Ivan SILVA Avintia Blusens 17 Laps

Under bright sunny skies the MotoGP riders got out on track second this morning for warmup as a slightly different schedule than usual will also see MotoGP as the second race today after Moto2.

It’s been a good session for Álvaro who posted a laptime very close to his qualifying time from yesterday, done in better conditions, briefly moving up into third position before being bumped down to seventh in the end.

But Casey Stoner had an even better session, going quicker than his qualifying time, smashing the lap record in the process and opening a gap of almost 0.8 seconds to the rest of the field.

The session was briefly red-flagged after Ivan Silva had a bad highside and was stuck on the inside of the corner, forcing the medical personnel to run across the track to reach him, so the session was stopped for him to be safely transported to the Clinica Mobile. The warmup resumed with 7.30 minutes still to go, so far there’s been no official statement on Silva’s condition.

Missing from the action was also Colin Edwards, the American breaking his collarbone in a freak accident with Randy De Puniet during qualifying yesterday and not able to race.

The weather is still a bit of uncertainty for the race later today as conditions can change very quickly in Portugal, so rain will still be a threat, but for now it certainly looks like it could become a dry race under sunny skies.

Pos. Rider Team Time Gap 1st/Prev.
1 Casey STONER Repsol Honda Team 1’36.795
2 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’37.593 0.798 / 0.798
3 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’37.658 0.863 / 0.065
4 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing 1’37.686 0.891 / 0.028
5 Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’37.725 0.930 / 0.039
6 Ben SPIES Yamaha Factory Racing 1’37.895 1.100 / 0.170
7 Alvaro BAUTISTA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’38.070 1.275 / 0.175
8 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 1’38.312 1.517 / 0.242
9 Valentino ROSSI Ducati Team 1’38.329 1.534 / 0.017
10 Stefan BRADL LCR Honda MotoGP 1’38.598 1.803 / 0.269
11 Hector BARBERA Pramac Racing Team 1’38.625 1.830 / 0.027
12 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’39.535 2.740 / 0.910
13 Randy DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar 1’40.088 3.293 / 0.553
14 Aleix ESPARGARO Power Electronics Aspar 1’40.276 3.481 / 0.188
15 Yonny HERNANDEZ Avintia Blusens 1’40.618 3.823 / 0.342
16 Mattia PASINI Speed Master 1’40.676 3.881 / 0.058
17 Michele PIRRO San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’41.319 4.524 / 0.643
18 Danilo PETRUCCI Came IodaRacing Project 1’41.612 4.817 / 0.293
19 James ELLISON Paul Bird Motorsport 1’41.670 4.875 / 0.058
20 Ivan SILVA Avintia Blusens 1’42.362 5.567 / 0.692
Colin EDWARDS NGM Mobile Forward Racing

After qualifying on the fourth row in Qatar and the third row in Spain last weekend, Team San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Alvaro Bautista took another step forward to place himself on the second row for tomorrow’s Grand Prix of Portugal at Estoril. The Spaniard qualified sixth fastest despite being held up by a number of slower riders on the racing line over the closing laps.

It’s Bautista’s best grid position so far this season, 0.729 seconds behind poleman Casey Stoner. The Spaniard’s impressive pace proved once again that he is feeling more and more at home on his RC213V. His previous best qualifying performance on the bike was eighth at last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.

Alvaro Bautista (6th 1’ 37.917) “We did a good job today. This morning we completed race distance on the hard tyre and it was a positive session. Everything went according to plan in the afternoon too, but on the last soft tyre we ran into a lot of traffic on track and when I tried to push on the very last lap I came up behind Spies in the first turn. It is a dangerous thing to do and I think it is up to all us riders to make sure that when we slow down we move aside and make way for the guys coming behind us. Anyway, a second row start is good for us having qualified on the fourth row in Qatar and the third row at Jerez. Tomorrow we need to make a good start and if we can stay with the guys at the front over the opening laps we can look forward to a good race.”

Fausto Gresini “That was a good effort from Alvaro despite the traffic on track. It’s his best grid position of the year so far at a circuit he doesn’t particularly like, even though he always seems to do well here. A second row position is a good sign, because he is a better racer than qualifier and if he gets a good start and reproduces the pace he showed today he can have a good race.”

Source: Gresini Racing

Álvaro continued his good form at Estoril in the qualifying, again finishing the session in sixth position and with a good consistent pace, starting tomorrow’s race from the second row on the grid. This is one of his best qualifying results in his MotoGP career so far. He’s only started once from second row at Valencia last year while he was promoted to first row at Phillip Island in 2011.

But until the chequered flag came out it was a more than hectic session. Álvaro started it well, sticking with the top four for the first quarter of the session and sitting in 5th when some rain drops appeared again about halfway through. Many riders opted to wait out the rain scare and luckily no more water was coming, so all riders were able to go back out to try and improve their laptime.

With just over eleven minutes left on the clock, Randy De Puniet crashed out, collecting an unsuspecting Colin Edwards who looked to have fractured his collarbone from the hard impact and was lying near the track, causing a red flag.

After the pitlane opened again about five minutes later it became a frantic finale of the session, all riders trying to set one fast lap and creating a lot of traffic which held the faster riders up.

Also Álvaro had a hard time finding a free bit of tarmac to ride on, but finally managed to move back up the order to sixth and had enough time left for another try, but then was held up by Ben Spies who sat up right in front of him on the finish line.

Overall a good weekend for Álvaro so far, consistently staying with the second group and showing a good race pace. The final sector and corner remains the toughest part of the track where most riders lose out substantially as there’s still a damp patch on the racing line. Álvaro is losing out in the fourth sector like most other riders, but is looking very fast in the first two sectors.

Pos. Rider Team Time Gap 1st/Prev.
1 Casey STONER Repsol Honda Team 1’37.188
2 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’37.201 0.013 / 0.013
3 Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’37.289 0.101 / 0.088
4 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing 1’37.466 0.278 / 0.177
5 Ben SPIES Yamaha Factory Racing 1’37.723 0.535 / 0.257
6 Alvaro BAUTISTA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’37.917 0.729 / 0.194
7 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’37.943 0.755 / 0.026
8 Hector BARBERA Pramac Racing Team 1’38.006 0.818 / 0.063
9 Valentino ROSSI Ducati Team 1’38.059 0.871 / 0.053
10 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 1’38.253 1.065 / 0.194
11 Stefan BRADL LCR Honda MotoGP 1’38.265 1.077 / 0.012
12 Aleix ESPARGARO Power Electronics Aspar 1’39.353 2.165 / 1.088
13 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’39.398 2.210 / 0.045
14 Randy DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar 1’39.586 2.398 / 0.188
15 Yonny HERNANDEZ Avintia Blusens 1’40.029 2.841 / 0.443
16 Michele PIRRO San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’40.225 3.037 / 0.196
17 Mattia PASINI Speed Master 1’40.387 3.199 / 0.162
18 Colin EDWARDS NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’40.964 3.776 / 0.577
19 James ELLISON Paul Bird Motorsport 1’41.394 4.206 / 0.430
20 Danilo PETRUCCI Came IodaRacing Project 1’41.486 4.298 / 0.092
21 Ivan SILVA Avintia Blusens 1’41.490 4.302 / 0.004

The third and final free practice of the MotoGP class at Estoril took place under sunshine and some clouds this morning, but with the wet patch in the final corner still not being dried out and hampering most riders a little bit in the last sector of the track.

It’s been another good session for Álvaro who finished again in sixth position, just over a second behind fastest man Dani Pedrosa who shook off a mechanical issue halfway through the session to narrowly push his teammate Stoner from the first position in the end. Álvaro’s been within the top ten throughout the session and managed to consistently improve his pace to post the sixth-fastest laptime, close to Dovizioso in fifth.

The weather forecast for the rest of the day would also see a dry qualifying this afternoon with riders hoping for the remaining damp patches on the track to finally resolve until then.

Pos. Rider Team Time Gap 1st/Prev.
1 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’37.326
2 Casey STONER Repsol Honda Team 1’37.338 0.012 / 0.012
3 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing 1’37.680 0.354 / 0.342
4 Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’38.086 0.760 / 0.406
5 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’38.273 0.947 / 0.187
6 Alvaro BAUTISTA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’38.332 1.006 / 0.059
7 Valentino ROSSI Ducati Team 1’38.443 1.117 / 0.111
8 Ben SPIES Yamaha Factory Racing 1’38.558 1.232 / 0.115
9 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 1’38.602 1.276 / 0.044
10 Stefan BRADL LCR Honda MotoGP 1’38.714 1.388 / 0.112
11 Hector BARBERA Pramac Racing Team 1’38.856 1.530 / 0.142
12 Randy DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar 1’39.361 2.035 / 0.505
13 Aleix ESPARGARO Power Electronics Aspar 1’40.225 2.899 / 0.864
14 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’40.374 3.048 / 0.149
15 Yonny HERNANDEZ Avintia Blusens 1’40.561 3.235 / 0.187
16 Mattia PASINI Speed Master 1’40.875 3.549 / 0.314
17 Michele PIRRO San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’41.379 4.053 / 0.504
18 Ivan SILVA Avintia Blusens 1’41.772 4.446 / 0.393
19 Danilo PETRUCCI Came IodaRacing Project 1’42.002 4.676 / 0.230
20 James ELLISON Paul Bird Motorsport 1’42.103 4.777 / 0.101
21 Colin EDWARDS NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’42.145 4.819 / 0.042

Alvaro Bautista today made a positive start to the Grand Prix of Portugal, an event he considers his fifth ‘home’ race with the Estoril circuit located just 500 kilometres from his home town of Talavera de la Reina. The Spaniard made the most of limited lap time on a damp track this morning to get comfortable with his machine before closing the gap to the top riders in the afternoon and finishing sixth fastest overall.

Alvaro Bautista ( 6th 1’ 38” 959) “The track this morning was like Jerez and I was worried that we might be in for the same kind of weekend, but thankfully this afternoon we managed to get some dry track time in, even though there were some wet patches out there, like in the final turn. We tried two different settings to give ourselves a good base to work from tomorrow and it was positive. Now we have some reference points to start work from in terms of trying to improve my control over the rear of the bike in corner entry. We have some things to try with the suspension and I think we’ll be able to improve rear grip tomorrow.”

Fausto Gresini “Alvaro’s pace was up there with the best today. His confidence with the bike is good although he could do with a little more in corner entry, especially on the rear. We will check the data and I am sure we will be ready for tomorrow but the important thing right now is that he feels more and more comfortable with the Honda RC213V every time he goes out on track.”

Source: Gresini Racing

It’s been a good second free practice for Álvaro at Estoril this afternoon, sitting comfortably in fourth position towards the end of the practice and only being narrowly pushed down to 6th in the final seconds. But with a gap of just over half a second to fastest man Stoner and being able to set very similar times not only for one lap, he looks to have a good base setup already for the rest of the weekend, should it stay dry for qualifying and the race.

Pos. Rider Team Time Gap 1st/Prev.
1 Casey STONER Repsol Honda Team 1’38.396
2 Ben SPIES Yamaha Factory Racing 1’38.717 0.321 / 0.321
3 Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’38.742 0.346 / 0.025
4 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’38.797 0.401 / 0.055
5 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing 1’38.930 0.534 / 0.133
6 Alvaro BAUTISTA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’38.959 0.563 / 0.029
7 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 1’39.029 0.633 / 0.070
8 Hector BARBERA Pramac Racing Team 1’39.193 0.797 / 0.164
9 Valentino ROSSI Ducati Team 1’39.357 0.961 / 0.164
10 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’39.615 1.219 / 0.258
11 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 1’40.207 1.811 / 0.592
12 Stefan BRADL LCR Honda MotoGP 1’40.898 2.502 / 0.691
13 Randy DE PUNIET Power Electronics Aspar 1’41.088 2.692 / 0.190
14 Aleix ESPARGARO Power Electronics Aspar 1’41.634 3.238 / 0.546
15 Yonny HERNANDEZ Avintia Blusens 1’41.638 3.242 / 0.004
16 Mattia PASINI Speed Master 1’41.973 3.577 / 0.335
17 Michele PIRRO San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’42.252 3.856 / 0.279
18 Colin EDWARDS NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1’42.587 4.191 / 0.335
19 Ivan SILVA Avintia Blusens 1’42.804 4.408 / 0.217
20 Danilo PETRUCCI Came IodaRacing Project 1’42.984 4.588 / 0.180
21 James ELLISON Paul Bird Motorsport 1’43.665 5.269 / 0.681