From a press releas issued by d’Antin Ducati:

Another weekend of discovery for Xaus and Hodgson

The d´Antin MotoGP riders this weekend are faced with yet another unknown track, with neither Rubén Xaus nor Neil Hodgson ever having ridden at the Estoril circuit. However the Briton and the Spaniard are prepared to discover the Portuguese track, which is well known as one of the slowest on the whole calendar.

The challenge begins with Friday morning’s free practice, when the riders will begin work on the set-up of their Ducati Desmosedici, trying to make the bike work efficiently around a circuit so full of contrasts, where the additional problem of high-winds can also play an important role.

NEIL HODGSON completed another good race in Brno, but he did so under the effects of painkillers due to an incident during practice which brought back the pain in his ribs from an earlier crash in France:

“It was a shame because it’s a delicate zone, and when I got another blow to the area it set back my recovery a little. I’m carrying on in pain, but it won’t stop me being excited about another race at a circuit I know nothing about. When I raced in the World Championships beforehand, this event wasn’t on the calendar and I’ll be beginning from zero basically, but it is always exciting to discover a new track and I think that this one is particularly different. The wind can be an issue, but I understand that it’s a circuit with lots of contrasts, and so I’m sure to like it.”

RUBÉN XAUS left the Czech Republic with a bad taste in his mouth, but the impetuous Spaniard hopes that he can enjoy the Portuguese circuit a bit more:

“The weather dealt us a bad hand in Brno and I couldn’t get comfortable in the race, but there was also a technical problem which led to a crash and stopped me from reaching my aim of finishing the race. Now it is all water under the bridge and I’m looking towards Estoril, but as on other occasions this year, I have no references at this track having never ridden there before. I have been told that the set-up can be quite complicated at the track, but I’m confident I can get comfortable and can work hard from the very first session. On top of that, because of its proximity to Spain I think lots of Spanish fans go there, so that will be an extra bit of motivation for me.”