MotoGP: An Unfitting Goodbye to the Portuguese GP

With fair weather conditions over Estoril, MotoGP dodged the rain bullet and had a dry race for Sunday’s Portuguese GP. Noting that the Ducati rain dance had failed, our attention shifted to the inter-Yamaha rivalry that is brewing between Ben Spies, Cal Crutchlow, and Andrea Dovizioso. With the American ailing in the factory Yamaha Racing team, both Crutchlow and Dovi are keen to take his spot for next season, as virtually all of the rider contracts are up this season. Cal has so far shined brighter than the Italian, starting today again on the front row.

With that battle set to go throughout the 2012 MotoGP Championship, more pressing issues included the absence of Colin Edwards, who broke his collarbone after getting struck by Randy de Puniet’s crashing Aprilia ART. Having won at every track except Estoril, the last bit of business for the Portuguese had to do with Casey Stoner, who was looking to complete his mantle of circuit wins with Estoril.

With MotoGP reducing its races on the Iberian Peninsula for the foreseeable future, this weekend marked the last time the premier class would race in Portugal. Click past the jump for race spoilers and results.

Heading into the first turn, it was Dani Pedrosa who lead teammate Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo, Ben Spies, Cal Crutchlow, and Andrea Dovizioso. Having a bobble a few turns later, the Spaniard lost his position, watching both Stoner and Lorenzo get by him. Despite a mid-race push, Stoner maintained a comfortable lead over the two other riders, with there being no adjustment to the order from that point further.

Several cat naps later, the only real battle on the track was between the two Monster Yamaha Tech 3 riders, though Crutchlow’s mistake in the endgame of the race saw the Brit run wide, and kiss goodbye to any chance of him putting pressure on Dovi to the line. Other points of interest included the embarrassment that rookie Stefan Bradl handed Ben Spies, as the rookie lead the factory Yamaha rider for the majority of the race. Meanwhile Valentino Rossi seemed satisfied with what would normally be a disappointing seventh place finish.

Perhaps the biggest parade-lap race we have seen this season, it is perhaps best that Estoril does not remain on the calendar. MotoGP action comes next from Le Mans, in two weeks’ time.

Race Results from the Portuguese GP at Estoril, Portugal:

Pos.	Rider	Nation	Team	Bike	Time
1	Casey STONER	AUS	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	–
2	Jorge LORENZO	SPA	Yamaha Factory Racing	Yamaha	+1.421
3	Dani PEDROSA	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	+3.621
4	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	+13.846
5	Cal CRUTCHLOW	GBR	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	+16.690
6	Alvaro BAUTISTA	SPA	San Carlo Honda Gresini	Honda	+21.884
7	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Ducati Team	Ducati	+26.797
8	Ben SPIES	USA	Yamaha Factory Racing	Yamaha	+33.262
9	Stefan BRADL	GER	LCR Honda MotoGP	Honda	+35.867
10	Hector BARBERA	SPA	Pramac Racing Team	Ducati	+53.363
11	Nicky HAYDEN	USA	Ducati Team	Ducati	+1’02.630
12	Aleix ESPARGARO	SPA	Power Electronics Aspar	ART	+1’20.736
13	Randy DE PUNIET	FRA	Power Electronics Aspar	ART	+1’23.483
14	Michele PIRRO	ITA	San Carlo Honda Gresini	FTR	+1’37.905
15	Danilo PETRUCCI	ITA	Came IodaRacing Project	Ioda	1 Lap
Not Classified
	Karel ABRAHAM	CZE	Cardion AB Motoracing	Ducati	5 Laps
	James ELLISON	GBR	Paul Bird Motorsport	ART	10 Laps
	Yonny HERNANDEZ	COL	Avintia Blusens	BQR	12 Laps
	Mattia PASINI	ITA	Speed Master	ART	17 Laps
	Ivan SILVA	SPA	Avintia Blusens	BQR	17 Laps