MOTOGP ROUND 3, ESTORIL, SUNDAY MAY 1

Arai riders work hard in Portugal but good results – and victory – is the reward.

DANI PEDROSA, REPSOL HONDA

Race Position: 1^st                        Championship Position: 2^nd

“IT’S BEEN HARD WORK, BUT FINALLY WE GOT A WIN!”

Dani Pedrosa took not only his first win at the Circuit Estoril in Portugal, but also put firmly behind him the shoulder injury that has blighted the start of his season. After qualifying in third place Pedrosa blasted off the line and glued himself to Jorge Lorenzo from the 1st to 24th laps; then with a perfect overtaking move he seized the lead of the race and took the flag with a three second advantage. He is now just four points behind Lorenzo in the overall championship standings.

“I’m very happy for the win, but more than the win I’m happy for my condition and it seems that my surgery was finally successful. I was trying to rest my arm at times as it was cramping with 15 laps to go, I was riding behind Jorge and waiting for the numbness to come together with the loss of power, but it didn’t come! I’m just so happy to see that the surgery has worked, it’s been around six months with this and it’s a big relief. For the race, I was riding at my best, Jorge is amazing here always riding so smooth and fast, I was trying to stay with him and in the end I felt comfortable and tried to make a move. I’m very happy to win here, it’s my first win in this track and thanks to all the doctors, my physio and trainer because it’s been hard work.”

COLIN EDWARDS, MONSTER YAMAHA TECH 3

Race Position: 6^th                        Championship Position: 9^th

“IT WAS JUST SURVIVAL FOR THE FIRST FEW CORNERS!”

Colin Edwards claimed a season best sixth place finish after he’d produced a magnificent early challenge to fight with Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso as the Italian pair battled for fourth spot. The experienced American looked poised to join the Rossi and Dovizioso battle on lap ten when he closed to within 1.5s of Dovizioso with a determined performance. But he almost immediately started to encounter a side grip issue and despite a rousing effort to remain in touch, he settled for a safe sixth position to finish leading non-factory rider once again.

“I don’t know what happened at the start but there was stuff going on everywhere. I saw Casey have a big moment and then Simoncelli needed a parachute, so it was just survival for the first few corners and see what happened. I saw Valentino and Andrea right in front of me and I was ready to reel them in. I was getting closer but I was pushing so hard just to stay in touch I lost a bit of side grip in the middle of the race and the lap times dropped a bit. I couldn’t have tried any harder to catch them and felt I had the pace in some areas, but when I opened the throttle the traction control would kick in because I was having quite a bit of wheelspin. I can’t really ask for anything more because I know the package I’m on and I know how fast the factory bikes are and the guys sat on top of them. A top six to take into the next race in France gives us all a lot of confidence and I’m already looking forward to going there.”

CAL CRUTCHLOW, MONSTER YAMAHA TECH 3

Race Position: 8^th                        Championship Position:  8^th

“I KEPT SOME FAST AND EXPERIENCED GUYS BEHIND ME…”

Cal Crutchlow looked on course to secure his best MotoGP finish of a rookie season; he showed outstanding form in the early stages of the race to pull away from an exciting battle involving Hiroshi Aoyama, Nicky Hayden and Ben Spies. Only Aoyama had the speed to match Crutchlow and the pair engaged in a captivating battle; Aoyama took seventh on lap 20, but determined not to let the former 250cc World Champion streak away, Crutchlow retaliated on lap 25 with a clinically executed overtake. He kept the hard charging Japanese rider at bay until the start of the final lap, and despite a brilliant attempt to re-pass at the final chicane, was only just unable to claim the position.

“I’m happy enough with that because before the start of the weekend I’d have never thought it possible to finish in the top eight on a circuit I’d never even seen before. And considering I had problems with both my arms all weekend, it is a great feeling. My right arm, which I had the operation on, is fine, but my left arm is really sore because I’ve been compensating with it. But the team have been awesome all weekend. They have experience of helping rookie riders and they are doing a great job for me. And they’ve adjusted the bike to help me feel more comfortable with the arm problems. It is a shame I couldn’t quite beat Aoyama at the end. Earlier in the race I felt really comfortable and kept some really fast and experienced guys behind me. If I keep doing what I’m doing at the moment then there is no reason why on tracks that I know that I can’t be even further up.”

NICKY HAYDEN, MARLBORO DUCATI

Race Position: 9^th                        Championship Position: 5^th

“SPIES HIT ME PRETTY GOOD AND STOOD ME UP...”

Starting from the fifth row Nicky Hayden had a very strong launch off the line, and the American was seventh after the first lap. A small shifting problem affected him a little, but it was mainly the contact with Spies that caused him to lose time to the Aoyama and Crutchlow battle.

“Starting from thirteenth, it was always going to be difficult for us, but the bike was good off the line and I got a good start. I made some early mistakes, but I was also recovering a few positions. I got into seventh, but was having difficulty back-shifting. Already on the sighting lap, I knew it was an issue. On the grid, we talked about getting on the other bike, but we decided together that it was better to stick with our bike and not start from pit road. It caused some difficulty, especially on corner entry, and some guys came past. Then Spies hit me pretty good and stood me up going into Turn 3, so I lost the bridge to Aoyama and Crutchlow.”

Hiroshi Aoyama put his Team San Carlo Honda Gresini machine over the line in seventh place; he lies seventh overall in the title chase. Czech rider and MotoGP rookie Karel Abraham had an unfortunate DNF on his Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati ­– he is 11^th in the championship standings

Round 4 of MotoGP is at Le Mans, Sunday May 15.

For more information on Arai helmets please visit www.whyarai.co.uk

For more information on the photographer supplying the photos please visit www.petercallisterttphotos.co.uk