Sunday Guide - bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal

2010-11-01 20:22
• Jorge Lorenzo starts from pole for the seventh time this year. Lorenzo has started from pole at Estoril for the last two years and has gone on to win the race on both occasions.

• Second on the grid is Nicky Hayden, which equals his previous best qualifying result riding the Ducati, which he achieved just three weeks ago in Malaysia.

• Taking the last place on the front row is Valentino Rossi, who has finished on the podium nine times at the Estoril circuit, including five race wins.

• Heading the second row of the grid is Casey Stoner, who will be aiming to win at Estoril for the first time since moving up to the MotoGP class.

• Fifth on the grid is Ben Spies, who needs to score just 12 more points this year to set a new record for most points in a debut season in MotoGP by a non-factory rider, a record current held by Andrea Dovizioso.

• Marco Melandri is the top Honda rider, in sixth place on the grid — his best qualifying result since he was third fastest qualifier at the Malaysian GP in 2007.

• Taking seventh place on the grid is Andrea Dovizioso, who has finished on the podium twice already this year in races where he has failed to qualify in the top six. Dovizioso is making his 150th Grand Prix start.

• A tenth place finish in 2006 is the best result for Randy de Puniet in his four MotoGP starts at Estoril.

• Yamaha will clinch the MotoGP constructor's title in Portugal if any of their riders finish in the top five, irrespective of the result of other manufacturers.

• Estoril is one of just four circuits on this year's calendar where Ducati have not had a MotoGP win. The others are Indianapolis, Le Mans and Silverstone.

• Gabor Talmacsi's pole position is his first front row start of the year. This is the first pole for Talmacsi since the final 125cc race of 2008 in Valencia.

• Second on the grid is Julian Simon, who crashed in the 125cc race last year at Estoril whilst leading.

• In third place on the grid is Toni Elias, who has a fantastic record at the Estoril circuit, having won three times; the 250cc GP race in 2003 and 2004, and the MotoGP race in 2006

• Taking the last place on the front row is World Supersport champion Kenan Sofuoglu who is making his Grand Prix debut. Sofuoglu could become the first rider to win a World Supersport race and a Grand Prix race in the same season.

• Heading the second row of the grid is Raffaele de Rosa, who crashed out of the 250cc race last year at Estoril on the sixth lap when lying in second place.

• Spanish riders have won the last twenty-five 125cc races. The last non-Spanish winner in the 125cc class was Andrea Iannone at the Catalan Grand Prix last year.

• Bradley Smith starts from pole for the third time in 2010. Smith has not won from pole position since the Italian Grand Prix last year.

• Danny Webb will start from his best ever grid position. His previous best was third on the grid at the Malaysian GP in 2008.

• The last time that British riders took the top two slots on the grid for a Grand Prix was at the Italian GP last year, when Smith was on pole and Scott Redding qualified second.

• Third on the grid is Alberto Moncayo; a big improvement on his previous best qualifying result which was 9th on the grid, which he has achieved three times during 2010.

• Nico Terol is the only one of the championship contenders who will be starting in the top ten places on the grid.

• Danny Kent is in tenth place on the grid — the best ever grid position for the Lambretta.

• Championship leader Marc Marquez will start from 11th place on the grid. Marquez, who will be going for his tenth win of the year, has not scored points in his previous two GP starts at Estoril.

• Winner of the 125cc race at Estoril last year, Pol Espargaro will start from 12th place on the grid.

Source: Dorna

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