Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner ready for victory on Estoril – MotoGP news
Casey Stoner was not lucky enough to claim his second consecutive victory of the season at the Gran Premio bwin de Espana, when Ducati rider Valentino Rossi slipped at the inside line of Spaniard during a high-speed corner entry.
The accident between Stoner and Rossi was the talk of the event and it gained heat when Rossi went to Stoner’s garage to apologise in front of the cameras. The incident left the Spanish rider with a ‘did not finish’ status. After the accident, the Italian
rider was able to restart the race and finished at fifth place following Hiroshi Aoyama of San Carlo Honda Gresini in fourth.
This weekend is tough and crucial for Casey Stoner as he will start his efforts to hunt down the defending world champion and present championship leader, Jorge Lorenzo.
Lorenzo has won all three races in his three starts at the Estoril track and Casey Stoner has scored two podium finishes at the circuit.
Casey Stoner told the media that he now looks forward to run at Estoril this weekend after the tough wet race in Spain. He said the team was working to get good results from Spanish GP after positive Free Practice sessions and grabbing the pole position
and expected more from the race.
He said, “Estoril is not one of my favourite tracks but we have had good success there in the past. We will be looking to get back some points against Lorenzo as he has been the strongest there in the past three years.”
The Australian rider has claimed pole positions in both events in Qatar and Spain held in the 2011 season. He also won the first race of the season, the Grand Prix of Qatar, where Lorenzo was second on the podium.
“I think our bike should work quite well at this circuit as it has some tight turns with exits onto big straights so I hope to find some good traction in these points and be competitive from the first day,” he said.
Presently Stoner’s teammate at Honda Dani Pedrosa is standing in second place just nine points apart from Lorenzo in the championship points standing.
Pedrosa was able to finish second in the Jerez event. He had a surgery immediately after the second round, had his stitches removed last week and now will test his shoulder strength in the upcoming round.
Pedrosa is determined to fight for a podium place despite of his fresh surgery. Overall, the Repsol Honda team trio will be seen fighting to gain some points in the championship.
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