Lorenzo returns to happy hunting ground

Jorge Lorenzo is the man to beat in the Portuguese MotoGP this weekend as Spain’s reigning world champion goes for his fourth consecutive win in Estoril.

The Yamaha rider arrives in Portugal after success in his home race, an incident-packed race on the wet in Jerez, and a season-opening second behind Casey Stoner in Qatar.

He leads the overall standings by nine points from Honda’s Dani Pedrosa with another Honda rider, Australian Stoner who failed to finish in Jerez, 22 points back in third.

Lorenzo’s three straight wins in Estoril have all come from pole and the circuit has happy memories as he claimed his first ever MotoGP in 2008.

“The track has turned into a talisman for me...” he said.

The MotoGP pack have had a longer than scheduled three-week break since Jerez after the postponement of the Japanese GP in the wake of the quake-tsunami disaster and subsequent nuclear scare.

Lorenzo commented: “We have been training for a month, and I hope that this makes us fit for a good race. We are in front of the standings, but it is very early and it is just the beginning.”

Another rider with fond memories of Estoril is Valentino Rossi, the Italian motorcycling legend gunning for his sixth win at a track which boasts one of the longest straights on the calendar.

Rossi, who had a fall at Jerez on his Ducati before remounting to take fifth, said: “We saw at Jerez that we’re already competitive in the wet, however we’re hoping for sun in Portugal, so that we can make the most of our time on the track.

“We still have to understand the bike better and to work on the set-up, with the goal of being faster in the dry in time for the most intense phase of the season, when we’ll have six races in eight weeks starting in June.”

Suzuki’s Alvaro Bautista is hoping to be given the green light to race by Estoril doctors after undergoing surgery on the leg he fractured in practice in Qatar a month ago.

If the Spaniard fails the check-up his place will be taken by Nobuatsu Aoki.

“I have been working very hard to be back in time for Estoril and I believe I will be able to take part in the race,” said Bautista.