The circuit of Estoril is hosting round fourteen of the MotoGP World Championship. The Portuguese circuit is located just a few kilometers from the coast, and is reknowned for being a tricky and technical track, as well as having shifting weather patterns. Due to the circuit’s emphasis on high speed cornering and low-speed flickability, the right balance of the motorcycle and tires is fundamental. The Pramac-d´Antin team finished the first day of Free Practices with Alex Barros in ninth and Alex Hofmann in eighteenth.
Alex Barros ( 27 laps. 1´38´61). “I was really upset with this morning’s free practice, so I charged ahead this afternoon to improve my results. I changed quite a few aspects of the motorcycle, and immediately I felt much more comfortable on my Ducati Desmosedici. On one of my last laps, I was headed towards a low 1:38, but a small mistake in a curve cost me some time. For tomorrow, we’re going to change a couple more things and I expect to lower my rhythm about a half second. We’re looking to be as competitive as possible on Sunday”.
Alex Hofmann (24 laps. 1´39´11). “Of course, that this is not the result I expected. We worked well on the “set-up”, but this is a circuit in which there is a lot of pressure coming onto the brakes and in some zones I find I’m still suffering from my hand injury. I’m not at 100%, but I’m shooting to drop my times a lot tomorrow and I want to be able to fight among the top ten in the race”.
Classification:
1º Casey Stoner 1´37¨95
2º Makoto Tamada 1´37´98
3º Valentino Rossi 1´38´12
4º Dani Pedrosa 1´38´20
5º Randy de Puniet 1´38´28
9º Alex Barros 1´38´61
18º Alex Hofmann 1´39´11
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