The first of a concluding quartet of rounds in the 2009 FIM MotoGP World Championship season takes place this coming weekend at Estoril.
As Valentino Rossi prepares to make his 100th appearance on a Yamaha factory machine, in the bwin.com Grande Premio de Portugal, at a venue where he has taken victory on five occasions in the premier class, the Italian rider is aware that another Portuguese win will edge him closer to retaining the MotoGP title.
With four rounds remaining the battle at the head of the 250cc World Championship standings appears to be a two-way fight between leader Hiroshi Aoyama and second placed Alvaro Bautista. Aoyama leads Bautista by 13 points, with World Champion Marco Simoncelli way back – 40 points off the top spot – in third place.
For Bancaja Aspar’s Julian Simon the decision to move back down to the 125cc class from 250cc competition this year has paid off in style and the Spanish rider could clinch the title at the next round in Portugal if results go his way.
The 2009 bwin.com Grande Premio de Portugal takes place from 2nd-4th October, with free practice in the MotoGP class commencing at 1.55pm local time. The first 250cc and 125cc practices take place at 3.10pm and 12.40pm respectively.
Friday 2 October
12.40 – 13.40 125cc Free Practice 1
13.55 – 14.55 MotoGP Free Practice 1
15.10 – 16.10 250cc Practice 1
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Saturday 3 October
09.00 – 09.40 125cc Free Practice 2
09.55 – 10.55 MotoGP Free Practice 2
11.10 – 12.10 250cc Free Practice 2
13.00 – 13.40 125cc Qualifying
13.55 – 14.55 MotoGP Qualifying
15.10 – 15.55 250cc Qualifying
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Sunday 4 October
09.00 – 09.20 250cc Warm Up
09.30 – 09.50 MotoGP Warm Up
10.00 – 10.20 125cc Warm Up
11.15 250cc RACE (26 laps)
13.00 MotoGP RACE (28 laps)
14.00 125cc RACE (23 laps)
