MotoGP at Estoril

From BSN (Bike Sport News)

Fiat Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo cruised to victory in this afternoon's dry Estoril MotoGP race in Portugal, crossing the line nearly nine seconds ahead of team-mate Valentino Rossi while Andrea Dovizioso mugged Marco Simoncelli on the run to the line.

But is was disaster for Marlboro Ducati's Casey Stoner who crashed again mid-race, losing the rear through the fast last corner while Ben Spies didn't even make the start after lobbing his Monster Yamaha on the sighting lap and dislocating his left ankle.

Stoner's crash, combined with Dani Pedrosa's eighth-placed finish, gives Rossi the chance to take second place from the tiny Spaniard if he wins at Valenica and Pedrosa has problems. Dovizoso is also in with a shout of fourth if Stoner lobs it again.

Lorenzo and Rossi were in a class of their own as no dry setup time meant big guestimates had to be made but the 2010 team champions got it spot on. The Spaniard opened an intial gap but a mistake saw Marlboro Ducati's Nicky Hayden grab the lead but only for a lap as Loreno went back past and was followed by Rossi.

Stoner also passed his team-mate for third before tipping off as Rossi went under Lorenzo into the chicane and pulled a 1.6s gap in the space of two laps. However, Lorenzo held the gap and then began to reel it back in the scrap for third began to develop.

Hayden slipped back into the clutches of Simoncelli, Dovizioso and Pedrosa and it was almost game over the for Italian Repsol Honda man when he just saved a big slide but dropped behind the Spaniard. With 13 laps to go, Simoncelli was looking for a way past the Texan while at the front, Lorenzo was only half a second behind Rossi.

A lap later, Lorenzo outdrove Rossi down the start/finish straight and promptly cleared off into the distance as Hayden was demoted to fourth by the big-haired Italian on the Gresini Honda. With ten to go, Dovizioso also passed Hayden and set off after Simoncelli.

The battle for third was then between the two Italians and it looked like Simoncelli would get his debut MotoGP podium but Dovizioso had other ideas, tucking into the slipstream out of the final corner and taking third by less than a tenth of a second.

Hayden kept hold of fifth just ahead of Randy De Puniet and Pedrosa had to yield to Colin Edwards for seventh. Marco Melandri and Hector Barbera rounded out the top ten. Pramac Ducati's Carlos Checa retired with arm pump mid-race, presumably caused by using carbon brakes for the first time in three years.