All of today’s qualifying sessions at the Estoril circuit were cancelled due to the atrocious weather conditions, so the Race Direction has decided to add an extra 10 minutes to Sunday morning warm-up practice sessions.
All three races are going to be a big question mark.
Forecasts call for further rain during the morning warm-up session, that should lighten up by race time, which could really shake up the fields and give us some interesting races.
Here’s what several riders had to say about the missed qualifying session.
Jorge Lorenzo – 1st“It was a pity about this today because we needed a bit more time in the very wet conditions to try to improve our setting more, but there was no way we could have ridden this afternoon.
This morning I felt quite good but at the end I was pushing too hard, I thought the other riders were closer to my time and I just went a step too far and crashed.
I was lucky, my airbag inflated and I didn’t hurt myself.
Now we have to wait and see how the weather is and we especially hope that warm-up is the same conditions as the race, it will be very, very difficult if not.
“Today I became the Spanish rider with the most poles of all time, joint with Aspar (Jorge Martinez), and this is a great honour for me, I feel very proud.
” Nicky Hayden – 2nd overall“This morning wasn’t so wet but my feeling wasn’t great and I had a crash quite early in the session so we have a few things we need to work on.
I know it’s not great for the fans here and the people watching at home but with that amount of water on track it wasn’t worth the risk this afternoon.
Of course we accept risks every day in our sport but in these conditions it’s just too much.
It was a shame it washed out but for me a front row’s a front row and now we have to try and take advantage of it.
The weather looks like it could be good tomorrow, in which case it could be a pretty wild race.
We’ll just crack them curtains open, see what we got and try to make a good race.
”Valentino Rossi – 3rd overall“It’s a real disappointment about today because we had some things we wanted to try, but in the end the rain was just too much and it was too dangerous.
It really was impossible to ride this afternoon! In the wet I have a good setting, even if we could have improved a bit this afternoon, but I am happy about the balance of my bike.
Now we just have to wait for the conditions tomorrow.
We are prepared for the wet; if it’s dry it could be interesting! If it’s dry from the morning and it’s possible to have the warm-up in the dry then it will be okay to have a dry race, but if warm-up is wet and then the race is dry….
honestly it’s better not like this! We will just have to wait and see and at least we’re on the front row.
” Casey Stoner – 4th overall“What can I say? This weekend has been a bit of a disaster.
We’ve had four sessions and only been able to ride in two, whilst the forecast for tomorrow is sketchy.
If anything it looks like it might rain in the morning and then be dry for the race, which would throw up all kind of confusion with set-up – from fuel consumption to tyre choice.
It’s disappointing we didn’t get the opportunity to try for a front row start because I think we had a good chance today but that’s the way it turned out.
All we can do is wait and see what happens tomorrow.
” Ben Spies – 5th overall“There was no way we could have ridden this afternoon.
There is nothing we could have done about it but it is frustrating for me having missed the first session too because of the weather when I need to be doing laps to get more accustomed to the track.
It’s a shame too this afternoon because we were looking to make big strides with the bike.
I don’t have a lot of time on this bike in the rain so we’ve basically been running a softer version of my dry setting.
But I’ve been told there’s quite a radical change that Yamaha think would really help me and I didn’t get chance to try it.
That’s a bit unfortunate because I was told the bike would feel better and I was already pretty confident in the rain.
That said I’ve still a good starting position in fifth, so learning the track quickly yesterday helped me out a lot.
We can’t do anything about the weather so we’ll wake up tomorrow, see what the skies have for us and go for it wet or dry.
I don’t feel like we’ll be miles off even if it is dry and I’ve never ridden in full dry conditions at this track.
”Andrea Dovizioso – 7th overallI’m sorry we couldn’t have the qualifying session because our target was to get a front row starting position and, since I was third in the wet this morning, that looked achievable for us.
This morning we improved a lot in terms of our set-up and electronics, and I was able to maintain a fast and consistent pace thanks to some important changes on the machine.
It was really impossible to have qualifying though – there was no way we could ride in those conditions.
Tomorrow the weather forecast seems to be for a wet warm-up and a dry race – and if this happens it really means the race will be a lottery because no one has had any practice time in the dry.
Also for me this is a track where it takes some time to find a good rhythm, so really I hope for a dry warm-up session and a dry race.
”Randy de Puniet – 8th overall“What can I say?… It was not safe for us to ride in these conditions so this is the best solution.
This morning we saved one set of tyres ahead the qualifying thinking that the conditions could be a bit better but at the end we could not take this advantage.
Anyway my yesterday’s lap time gave me the chance to start from the third row.
We could have done a lot better but we focused on race set up not on the lap time.
We are pleased with our race pace in the wet but if the race will be dry we will be all in the same difficult situation”.
Colin Edwards – 9th overall“It is a little bit annoying to be on the third row of the grid because I was looking good yesterday before the crash and this morning I was fifth quickest.
I missed out yesterday when the track conditions were better than at any other stage this weekend because of the crash and I’m sure I could have been much higher up the grid.
But there was no way we could have gone out in those conditions.
It was impossible so I’m not going to get too upset about it and just look forward to the race.
I feel if it is wet tomorrow that I’m going to be really strong because the rain setting is working really good.
If it is dry I’m confident and I’m sure I will be able to come through the field and get a good result.
I guess the worst case scenario is if it is a wet warm-up and then a dry race but I feel ready rain or shine.
”Aleix Espargaro – 11th overall“The bike was much better on the wet track this morning then yesterday and the seventh fastest time that I was able to conquer during this morning free practice is the proof of that.
I could try to gain a better starting grid position, instead of the eleventh in which I’ll take part to the race.
After this morning free practice I spoke a lot with my engineers to identify additional improvements that could afford the bike to be more efficient.
Too bad because I was not able to try them on track.
”Dani Pedrosa – 12th overall“We were improving step-by-step this morning in terms of my lap times and my position and I think we could have continued that this afternoon, so it’s a pity the qualifying session was canceled – although of course there was no alternative.
At the beginning of the morning session I didn’t feel particularly confident on the machine but I decided with the team to stay out and keep lapping to get more time on the bike.
It was a good decision because we made some good progress in the second half of the session.
We wanted to move further forward on the grid this afternoon and I think this should have been possible if the session had gone ahead.
Tomorrow we don’t know what the weather will do, but what I do know is that from 12th I have to make a great start – wet or dry.
I’m not thinking about what Casey and Valentino will do tomorrow – all I can do is give my maximum and hope to keep any loss as small as possible.
”Loris Capirossi – 13th overall“I am a little bit upset about the weather because it has made it really strange for the whole weekend.
Yesterday morning we didn’t do practice because of the rain, then we were able to go out in the afternoon, this morning we rode in the wet and then this afternoon we just couldn’t go out because it was so dangerous on the track.
Overall I feel quite happy with the bike, but I am not happy at being 13th on the grid.
I was 10th yesterday and 10th this morning, but on combined times I have dropped back! I think it looks like the weather tomorrow will be better and I believe we can have a competitive race if it is.
The bike worked well here last year, so we are feeling quite positive and hoping for a good result.
”Álvaro Bautista – 14th overall“I am disappointed, but at least this morning we were able to try a different setting in the bike and it felt much better than yesterday.
We had another improvement for this afternoon, but we could not try that.
Depending on the weather tomorrow we will continue with the wet weather settings and try to make some improvements for those conditions during the warm-up.
If it is dry it will be new for everybody so it will be interesting to see who is faster in the drier conditions and who can adapt the quickest.
I will be pushing really hard for a good result, I just hope I can make a good start and fight my way through.
”Hiroshi Aoyama – 16thUnfortunately the Qualifying was canceled.
We wanted to try some adjustments on the bike and try to improve the lap times.
But I think that the decision made was right, as it is quite risky to go out in these conditions.
Tomorrow we will have to see what we can improve in the short Warm up time.
Normally I prefer a dry race, but this time I think it would be better if we have a wet race as well.
”Carlos Checa – 17th overall“The last position on the starting grid for my return to MotoGP World is not very exciting.
I’m still very happy because I had improved my feeling with the bike during this morning and also because I have reduced my best lap time by almost half of a second.
For now it’s okay.
I hope to be able to make many laps during tomorrow warm up in order to further improve my feeling.
”MotoGP Estoril Starting Grid (combined times)01- Jorge Lorenzo – Fiat Yamaha Team – Yamaha YZR M102- Nicky Hayden – Ducati Marlboro Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP1003- Valentino Rossi – Fiat Yamaha Team – Yamaha YZR M104- Casey Stoner – Ducati Marlboro Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP1005- Ben Spies – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M106- Marco Melandri – San Carlo Honda Gresini – Honda RC212V07- Andrea Dovizioso – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC212V08- Randy De Puniet – LCR Honda MotoGP – Honda RC212V09- Colin Edwards – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M110- Marco Simoncelli – San Carlo Honda Gresini – Honda RC212V11- Aleix Espargaro – Pramac Racing Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP1012- Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC212V13- Loris Capirossi – Rizla Suzuki MotoGP – Suzuki GSV-R14- Alvaro Bautista – Rizla Suzuki MotoGP – Suzuki GSV-R15- Hector Barbera – Paginas Amarillas Aspar – Ducati Desmosedici GP1016- Hiroshi Aoyama – Interwetten Honda MotoGP – Honda RC212V17- Carlos Checa – Pramac Racing Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP10