The Movistar Honda MotoGP saw both sides of the coin at the Portuguese Grand Prix today. Sete Gibernau rode courageously through his shoulder injury, aggravated by a crash yesterday, and made a perfect start to the race.

The World Championship runner-up underwent a painkilling injection before the race and blasted off from the line as he looked to avoid the kind of combative race his physical condition would not permit. Gibernau was in control of the race when it began to rain on the eighth lap and, eight laps later, he was unable to prevent his crash at the end of the straight. At that point his advantage over Barros was over a second and eleven seconds clear of Valentino Rossi.

Marco Melandri got a good start and held on to fourth position despite the pressure from veteran rivals Colin Edwards and Carlos Checa. The Italian set a good pace throughout the race and only a visor problem prevented him from pushing harder. The result moves Melandri up to third in the championship.

SETE GIBERNAU (crash): “The only mistake I made was to lead from the start. It was a very tough race and it was important to judge the marshals’ flags properly because that was the only reference I had of how much water was on the track. Wherever there was a flag I slowed down and where there wasn’t one I sped up. I didn’t go mad, I was in control of the race and I was even slower at the end of the straight than usual, but it wasn’t enough. The weekend was a lot tougher for me than people might expect, but once again we worked perfectly. I tried to get away and avoid contact with any other riders but the crash was unavoidable. In the end we’ve paid for it because the other riders saw the crash and dropped their pace by three seconds. On another day it will be somebody else but in these situations the person at the front is at a disadvantage. Now I just want to get home to Switzerland, continue my recuperation with my physical trainer and get a good rest before China”.

MARCO MELANDRI (4th): “I’m very satisfied with this result. We went out with a hard tyre and it was tough at the beginning. As the race went on I got a good rhythm together and it allowed me to stick it out with Edwards and Checa. I had a lot of confidence in the tyres and that gave me more stability. I was trying out a new helmet and it steamed up, so I had to do the last 8 laps with my visor open. It meant I couldn’t go any harder at the end but I am happy.” 

PORTUGUESE GP
1. A.Barros (Bra/Honda) 47’14”053
2.V.Rossi (Ita/Yam) + 2”771
3.M. Biaggi (Ita/Honda) + 6”071
4.M.Melandri(Ita/Honda)+ 29”546

MOTOGP STANDINGS
1.Valentino Rossi  45 points
2.Alex Barros  38 points
3.Marco Melandri  29 points
4. Max Biaggi  25 points
5. Sete Gibernau  20 points