Another fourth place for Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Racing) meant his lead in the 250cc class table, extended to 26 points, after Álvaro Bautista (Mapfre Aspar) crashed out early on. World Champion Marco Simoncelli (Metis Gilera) brought himself back into the championship fight with another win.
In the 125cc class, Pol Espargaró on the Derbi Racing motorcycle notched an excellent victory at Estoril on Sunday to make up for his Misano disppointment. World Championship candidate Julián Simón riding the Bancaja Aspar, crashed on the 16th lap when leading by more than five seconds as he let his consistently high standards drop. Simón will have to wait for another day to secure the title but at 50.5 points ahead with three rounds remaining looks certain favorite for the title.
Jorge Lorenzo's 2009 campaign improved this weekend with a pole position to chequered flag win at Estoril. The Spaniard was the star of the event at the bwin.com Grande Premio de Portugal finishing over six seconds ahead of Casey Stoner on his superb Fiat Yamaha motorcycle. Valentino Rossi did not seem on his game this weekend as he saw his championship lead whittled down to 18 points as he crossed the line meekley in fourth place. Lorenzo was also 10 seconds ahead of Dani Pedrosa and a huge 23 in front of Rossi.
On asked about what this meant to his 2009 MotoGP title, Lorenzo said, "It will still be very difficult but we can say that it is still possible. I think I can take a few risks because I don't have anything to lose. Valentino has to win the championship and we just have to keep trying" Next up is Casey Stoners Austrailia, a track he knows well. Italian Rossi needs to be on his game as he sees his team mate breathing down his neck.
