“Estoril is another circuit that I know really well," the Japanese rider commented, "To go there after such a positive test on the Monday after the race at Jerez gives me a lot of confidence for the race. We'll go into first free practice with a few small modifications from the base set-up we found at Jerez, which allowed me to ride much more aggressively. The clear objective is to improve and get a better finish than at
Jerez. I know we can do it.”
“I'm sure that in Shinya can continue with the positive trend he has set lately as, in the test at Jerez, he found a good solution for the setting which gives him a little more over race distance, not just for a single lap," team manager Fausto Gresini echoed.
"Alex, though, is on a steep learning curve, which has been held up a little by a few crashes that haven't helped, especially in terms of his confidence. But I'm convinced that he'll soon be able to get the maximum out of his potential, which I think is at the same level as [Jorge] Lorenzo and [Andrea] Dovizioso, who Alex fought with regularly in 250cc.
"For the whole team, Estoril is a place that holds great memories as, in 2006, we took victory with
Toni Elias, showing once again our strength amongst the Honda satellite teams. For that reason, Estoril is the perfect occasion for us to improve on the first two races.”
