Moto GP: Portuguese

Castrol-backed Team San Carlo Honda Gresini riders Shinya Nakano and Alex de Angelis made real progress after racing in difficult conditions in the Portuguese Grand Prix on the Estoril Circuit near Lisbon, while out front rising Yamaha star Jorge Lorenzo took first place - it was the 20-year-old Spaniard's first MotoGP win.

Nakano had a difficult race after a slow start in light rain prevented him from fighting for the lead. The rain was only in certain parts of the track, which meant traction varied wildly from corner to corner. By the time the Japanese rider got up to speed he wasn't able to make up any further places and finished tenth.

The conditions were as difficult as any the riders had encountered all season. The rain was heaviest on lap three before abating, but the track was still slick in spots even with the race half run. While many around seemed to succumb to the treacherous conditions, the San Carlo Honda Gresini riders both kept their wits about them and waited for an improvement before moving forward.

Alex de Angelis fought through illness on a weekend he could easily have been bed-ridden. The Italian arrived in Estoril suffering from tonsillitis and a high temperature and was racing at far from full fitness.

Nakano made up three positions to finish tenth after finishing the first lap in 13th place. De Angelis made up four spots to finish behind his team-mate. Neither was under pressure at the end, though Nakano made a valiant effort at stealing ninth place from Loris Capirossi.

"It was a tough race because I didn't have a good pace at the start and I lost a few positions on the opening lap," he said. "Towards the midway point I was able to improve my lap times and I tried to catch Capirossi, but I couldn't get past him.

De Angelis admitted the day hadn't gone well after battling the flu for two days.

"Today was difficult for me because I ended up lapping alone after just a few laps and it's not easy to maintain your concentration, but at the end we've improved on our grid position, so that's good," he said.

The next race is the Chinese Grand Prix on 4 May.

Portuguese GP top six finishers

* 1 J Lorenzo - Yamaha
* 2 D Pedrosa - Honda
* 3 V Rossi - Yamaha
* 4 C Edwards - Yamaha
* 5 J Hopkins - Kawasaki
* 6 C Stoner - Ducati

Team News: Collina spreads word on Index

The Castrol Performance Index, a data analysis system that will track players in every match during this summer's UEFA Euro 2008TM tournament, was introduced to the MotoGP paddock during a special presentation in the San Carlo Honda Gresini hospitality unit on Saturday. Pierluigi Collina, widely regarded as one of the world's best referees, helped develop the system. It can be accessed at www.castrolindex.com. Castrol's European Motorcycle Marketing Manager Andrea Soldo said: "MotoGP is a series that has heavily featured data analysis for many years, so it is interesting to compare the system that Collina has helped to develop with the telemetric system of a motorcycle racing team."

Back to Shanghai for the last time

After a brief two race sequence in the European homeland of the MotoGP World Championship, the teams pack up once again for their final visit to the Shanghai Circuit in China. The flyaway, which comes between races in Portugal and France, will be the last visit to the ultra-modern facility on the outskirts of China's most bustling city. The race, which will have had a four-year run, is likely to be replaced with a round in Hungary from next year.

For more information on the Castrol-sponsored Honda Gresini team please visit the Racing and Sponsorship section of our homepage:

http://www.castrol.com/castrol/subsection.do?categoryId=9016838&contentId=7030261

For more information on Castrol's sponsorship activities related to sports please visit:

http://www.castrol.com/castrol/genericsection.do?categoryId=3208&contentId=7034605

http://www.castrolindex.com

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This release was published on openPR.