With the echoes of Sete Gibernau’s stunning victory at the Czech Grand Prix still reverberating around the world, attention turns to Portugal this weekend for what is virtually the fourth home race of the season. The Spanish fans traditionally move ‘en masse’ to Estoril and have more reason than ever before to swap their sofa for a grandstand seat at the Portuguese circuit this weekend.

Sete Gibernau opened the invitation with victory at Brno after a head-to-head battle with Valentino Rossi. For the Telefónica MoviStar rider it was his fourth win of the season, his eighth podium and confirmation that his fight for the title with the five-time World Champion is going to go all the way to the wire.

It wasn’t just any old weekend for the Telefónica MoviStar Honda team. Sete and his technical staff decided not to use the new material which had been brought by HRC to Brno in order to reinforce the potential of their top rider in the fight against Valentino Rossi and Yamaha. However, in adverse weather conditions the team gave a clear demonstration of their confidence, opting to race with the material they already knew and saving the updates for two days of tests, when they would discover the real potential of the new exhaust system for the RC211V. With the satisfaction of having chosen well, and after receiving congratulations by telephone on Sunday from Mr. Kanazawa, Sete returned to work on Monday morning to evaluate the new material. His conclusions were positive and now the team’s hopes rest on the right weather in Estoril to end the European leg of the season with another great result. With ten rounds of sixteen gone, Gibernau finds himself just 17 points behind the leader, Valentino Rossi.

The Portuguese Grand Prix waves goodbye to Europe until the end of October, when the curtain will fall on another season at Valencia. After Portugal, the series embarks on a frenetic journey which will see the teams tackle four races in five weeks, heading from Japan into the unknown of Qatar before going to Malaysia and then Australia.

The main characteristic of the Portuguese circuit is often the wind, not only because of the way it can blow the riders around but also because of the dirt which is dragged onto an already bumpy track. Set-up is fundamental on a circuit which is made up of 70% slow corners, where the agility of the machine is vital, and a long straight of almost a kilometre in length which demands good acceleration.

The 250cc team hope the weather will be on their side as they look to make the most of the qualifying sessions since both Dani Pedrosa and Hiroshi Aoyama have never ridden the quarter-litre machine here before. Both riders arrive at the Portuguese GP ready to give their best once again. Pedrosa demonstrated at Brno that the race was his for the taking until rainfall just three laps from the end switched the balance. Dani was a clear leader but, after almost crashing, preferred to make sure of the podium – his ninth of the season in just ten races. His advantage at the top of the championship now stands at 30 points.

THE RIDERS’ OPINION

SETE GIBERNAU (15)

“I’ve got mixed feelings about Estoril because it is a circuit which I like, but where I have never really achieved the results I deserved. In 2000 I crashed out of the lead and in 2001 I retired after running straight. In 2002 I crashed out of the lead again just two laps from the end in the wet and last year I had a decent race but I was overtaken by Capirossi at the end and finished fourth. Hopefully things are different this season. The truth is that I’m feeling very motivated. The Brno tests were positive, we were able to spend two whole days testing the new stuff from Honda and there were things that improved the bike and things that didn’t. We will have to see how the bike performs at Estoril but the most significant thing is that with the new exhaust system the bike is a bit more gentle on the power and rear wheel traction in the corner is better.”

COLIN EDWARDS (45)

“We’re going to another circuit with a reputation for bumps and that makes me think about the chattering, a problem which has been bothering me all season. The set-up of the bike is complicated at Estoril because there are slow sections and fast sections and you have to combine agility with stability. Hopefully at least we will have some good weather to make the most of practice and find a good compromise as we did at Donington.”

DANI PEDROSA (26)

“I’ve never liked Estoril too much – it has a long straight, it’s narrow and bumpy. As if that wasn’t enough, it’s always really windy and that makes it difficult to ride. It was a problem with the 125 and it will be with the 250 as well. We already had an example of that at Donington, where we had to punch holes in the fairing. Hopefully the weather is good and we can prepare well for the race in qualifying. The good thing about Estoril is the fans – it is close for us and there are always a lot of Spanish fans there. That’s always an extra motivation.”

HIROSHI AOYAMA (73)

“Everybody I ask about Estoril tells me about the wind. They don’t tell me if it’s difficult or easy – just that it’s windy. I don’t know much about the place, but it seems that is one thing I can be sure of. Hopefully at least we can get some normal practice sessions in. I was disappointed when we left Brno because of the mistake I made in the race. I got a good start and I was able to chase the lead group, but the confusion caused by the rain caused me to lose my concentration and I found it impossible to recover. It was a shame because I felt comfortable on the bike and I think I was capable of a good result. I feel better every time and everybody is reminding me that we are almost in Japan, but I would like to think that I can also do well at Estoril.”

THE 2004 SEASON SO FAR FOR THE TELEFÓNICA MOVISTAR RIDERS

PORTUGUESE GP IN DETAIL. CIRCUIT DATA

11th of 16 World Championship rounds.

Circuit: Estoril Circuit

Grand Prix: Grande Premio Marlboro de Portugal

Inauguration: 1972

Latest modification: 1999

Length: 4,182 m.

Width: 14 m.

Right corners: 9

Left corners: 4

Main straight: 986 m.

LOCAL TIMETABLE

Friday

09.00h.-09.45h. free practice  125 cc

10.00h.-11.00h. free practice  MotoGP

11.15h.-12.15h. free practice  250 cc.

13.15h.-13.45h. qualifying practice  125 cc.

14.00h.-15.00h. qualifying practice  MotoGP

15.15h.-16.00h. qualifying practice  250 cc.

Saturday

09.00h.-09.45h. free practice  125 cc

10.00h.-11.00h. free practice  MotoGP

11.15h.-12.15h. free practice  250 cc.

13.15h.-13.45h. qualifying practice  125 cc.

14.00h.-15.00h. qualifying practice  MotoGP

15.15h.-16.00h. qualifying practice  250 cc.

Sunday

09.00h.-09.20h. warm up 125 cc.

09.30h.-09.50h. warm up 250 cc.

10.00h.-10.20h. warm up MotoGP

11.15 h. race 125 cc.