The Repsol Honda team is ready to get back to racing this weekend in Estoril. The Repsol riders hold 2nd, 3rd, and 7th place positions in the 2011 MotoGP standings, and will be looking to add to their points total this weekend.
Dani Pedrosa leads the way for the Honda team, having scored two podium finishes so far this season. Pedrosa underwent surgery immediately after the Spanish GP, and although he won’t be at 100% this weekend, he’ll still be fighting to his first win of the season.
“I did what I had to do in these three weeks off and I look forward to get back on the bike after this period which has been good for me to undergo surgery and start rehabilitation,” said Pedrosa. “Last week I had the stitches removed, so everything is still very fresh and I don’t know how I will feel in Estoril, but I’m excited to see if everything went well and if I can put the issues aside once on the bike.
“It would be very good because we had a good start to the season and I wish to compete in the best conditions. I want to make the most of the four practice sessions to prepare for the race. It would help if we have good weather, as this year we race in April, but you can never trust the weather there having the Atlantic Ocean so close. With regards to the circuit, Estoril has heavy braking zones and it will be important to find traction to take advantage of the good acceleration we have.”
Casey Stoner is third in the series, and the only Respol Honda rider to claim a race win so far this season. Stoner was on his way to victory number two, but a crash involving Valentino Rossi left Stoner on the side of the road. His DNF in Jerez dropped him down to third in the overall standings, 20 points behind season leader Jorge Lorenzo.
“I had a good rest in Switzerland and I feel very good at the moment,” Stoner said. “I'm looking forward to Portugal after a difficult last race in Jerez, we were looking for a good result in Spain after positive practice sessions and qualifying so we are happy to get back on track.
“Estoril is not one of my favourite tracks but we have had good success there in the past. We will be looking to get back some points against Lorenzo as he has been the strongest there in the past 3 years. I think our bike should work quite well at this circuit as it has some tight turns with exits onto big straights so I hope to find some good traction in these points and be competitive from the first day.”
Andrea Dovizioso will also be looking for success at Estoril. Dovizioso found his way to the podium last year, and will be looking to get similar results this weekend.
“I am looking forward to the race in Estoril, it’s a track where I have had very good results in my career,” Dovizioso said. “I arrive motivated, and want to get back to form after the Jerez weekend with a good race and to show the results of all the positive work done with the team.
“I think that we will be competitive at Estoril. The circuit is very slow and it’s not the best to ride with a MotoGP machine, in fact, one of the more difficult tasks is to manage the power of the RC212V on this slow track. We will have 4 practice sessions to work on the set up and it's important to start well from the first day. After this long break, I’m happy to return on track. I have enjoyed this period at home with my family, having time to relax but also time to dedicate to training and to do the preparation of the coming races. Now it’s time to jump on the bike.”
