MotoGP news

Lorenzo wins at Estoril

Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo has lowered team-mate Valentino Rossi's championship-leading advantage from 30 to 18 points by winning the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril on Sunday afternoon. The Spaniard led home an impressive Casey Stoner on his return as Dani Pedrosa rounded out the podium for a third different team.           

The Fiat Yamaha pair got away in first and second places on the grid but Rossi was unable to match the pace of Lorenzo as he pulled away quickly at the front. On his return to action Ducati's Casey Stoner rode brilliantly to follow Lorenzo across the line in second place, whilst Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa was third.

Lorenzo will now feel that with three races to go and an 18 point deficit to Rossi the championship is far more achievable than before the visit to Portugal. The Spaniard was in unstoppable form in the Atlantic Coast sunshine and his fourth win of the year was eventually secured by a 6.3-second margin.

Stoner performed admirably on his return to action after two months away due to illness, achieving his first podium since Assen in June - and he now has his home race at Phillip Island to look forward to in a fortnight's time.

Pedrosa rode smoothly from fourth on the grid, taking the holeshot with one of his traditionally rapid starts onboard the factory RC212V and briefly holding the lead before Lorenzo slipped through. Pedrosa's third place was his eighth podium of 2009.

World Champion Rossi appeared to be off-colour throughout the race, finishing off the podium for the first time at Estoril in the premier class. The championship leader will undertake a comprehensive inquest into his lack of competitiveness with his Fiat Yamaha crew after finishing 23 seconds behind Lorenzo.

Behind the MotoGP big guns at the front, Colin Edwards was 10 seconds back on Rossi in fifth place, whilst Toni Elías held off Andrea Dovizioso for sixth on the line.

The top ten also featured Nicky Hayden, James Toseland and Chris Vermeulen, with Mika Kallio crashing out early on and Loris Capirossi and Alex de Angelis retiring due to technical problems.

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