Yamaha Factory duo Lorenzo and Spies ready for the Estoril action - MotoGP
Yamaha Factory team riders, Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies are in full swing to hit the Estoril circuit, for the bwin Grande Premio de Portugal, to be held on May 1. The Portuguese race brings an end to the long inter-event break that caused MotoGP 2011 to
slow down a bit.
The track is situated just seven kilometres off the coast of Atlantic Ocean and is well-known for its’ unpredictable weather conditions. Last season, the Estoril race was held late in the event calendar, but due to heavy rains experienced, the race was shifted
early this season.
2010 World Champion, Lorenzo is in perfect shape to race this weekend after winning the second round in Spain. The Spaniard also secured second place on the podium at the season opening race in Qatar. He now leads the World Championship points table.
Lorenzo has an impressive record on the Portuguese track with a number of achievements at the venue. The Spaniard has won thrice consecutively in the three appearances he has made for the podium finish, at the Portuguese track.
Lorenzo, while speaking to the press said, “The track has turned into a talisman for me and it is the place where the astronaut always comes back. We have been training for a month, and I hope that this makes us fit for a good race. This week will also be
important since we are testing on Monday and we will certainly be able to check a lot of things for the future set-up.”
Ducati team-mate, Ben Spies is back from his homeland and ready to hit the track. This is the first time the American rider will race at the track in Portugal. In last season’s event at Estoril, Spies faced a fall during the sighting lap of the track and
was not able to compete on the race day.
Now, he is in pursuit of a podium finish at Portugal after he had a fall during the Gran Premio bwin de Espana, which was hosted in wet-greasy conditions.
Spies for the upcoming race-day said, “Although I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to head home and get some chill out time in Texas this break has been way to long for me. The team worked really hard over the weekend in Jerez and by race day had delivered a competitive
set-up that meant we could fight for the podium.”
Yamaha’s duo will be also present at the official testing session on Monday, just after the race day. They will be testing set-ups for the long run in the season and try to avail the best from the different settings tried through previous testing.
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