Pramac Racing’s Loris Capirossi led the final practice for this weekend’s bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal. The most experienced rider in the class finished ahead of Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) and Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team).
The Italian produced the best time of the final session before qualifying. His lap time of 1’44:515 was just over half a second quicker than current championship leader, Lorenzo. Capirossi has had two rostrum finishes here at Estoril back in 2001 and 2003.
After rain overnight, the MotoGP class were greeted to damp conditions at the circuit and even though there was no rain falling, times were around six seconds off the best set on Friday. In a quiet third practice, the riders initially came out on the wet tyres, but towards the latter stages, most riders attempted the slicks.
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MotoGP: Portuguese Grand Prix - First Practice Results
MotoGP: Marco Simoncelli Fastest in Second Practice at Estoril
MotoGP: Portuguese Grand Prix - Second Practice Results
MotoGP: Portuguese Grand Prix - Final Practice Results
Reigning World Champion Lorenzo (+0.564s) who has been in the top four in all three practice sessions, was second, one place ahead of Hayden (+1.440). The American has had mixed results here at Estoril after nearly losing the world title in 2006 after being knocked off by his then team mate, Dani Pedrosa. motogp.com
The works Ducatis of Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi were next up, followed by Honda trio Casey Stoner, Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa.
Friday’s pacesetter Marco Simoncelli was down in ninth for Gresini Honda, behind LCR Honda’s Toni Elias - the Moto2 champion faring much better in the damp than he has in the dry this season.
The only rider who chose not to run at all in the session was Suzuki’s Alvaro Bautista, the Spaniard preferring not to take any risks as he continues to recover from the broken leg he sustained in Qatar. Yahoo! Eurosport UK
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