Lisbon is not a town associated to the idea of motor engine. Cars or bikes. It can be easily linked to the "fado", a melancholy singing in which the voice dialogs with the guitar. It can recall the "25th of April" bridge - it has the longest main span in Europe, crosses high the Tagus River and remembers, with its name, the day when the Carnation Revolution started. It can bring to mind the "bacalao", the cod, cheap fish but a king in the Portuguese cuisine. Or the Belem tower, from where Vasco da Gama set sail to circumnavigate Africa and reach India. But not cars. Neither bikes.
On the contrary, it doesn't take much. Drive 30 kilometres from the center of it and you will reach Estoril, with its circuit and the narrow country roads, up and down the hills, that in the 80s were the heart of the Rally of Portugal. And, just north, the town of Sintra, where Ayrton Senna used to stay during the European season of the F.1 Championship.
The proximity between the locations of the Autodromo do Estoril and the Rally prompted a never solved mystery. It seems that in 1986 Herri Toivonen, the Finnish ace, in a swift, brief and covered switch from the dirt to the tarmac did a few laps of the circuit taking his Lancia Delta S4 to the limit. They say that his best time was good enough to put him on the grid of the F.1 GP. Difficult to believe, as the Delta, though an excellent rally car, was powered by a 600 bhp engine, while a F.1 car reached 1,000. Nevertheless, that was the rumor. And that is, even today, in spite of denial from an influential person of the team. A desire for a dream.
The last F.1 GP at the Autodromo do Estoril dates back to 1996. From the year 2000 onwards, it hosts the World bike Championship.
Italians rarely did well in the small classes. They achieved two victories in nine years - just one in 250, where the success went to Team Scot's Andrea Dovizioso, riding an Honda. It was the year 2006, and Hiroshi Aoyama classified second. The same Aoyama that today, taken Andrea's place in the team, is leading the middle class.
One year later -2007 - it was Talmacsi to step on the podium. The Team Scot's rider - then a 125 contender - was second, on his way to win the world title.
Gabor Talmacsi (MotoGP): "Estoril is a hard-braking track, with a few tight corners that will be the acid test for us. The work done in Misano, that has a few similarities as a track, will be useful".
Hiroshi Aoyama (250cc): "In Portugal something will play against us, something in favor. The long straight will not be a help, but with the hard braking needed the stability of our bike will be a plus. Moreover, the temperature should not rise up as in recent GPs. Anyway, it will be a hard fight, as usual".
Raffaele De Rosa (250cc): "Estoril is not my favorite track, and the long straight can be a handicap. However, when we tested, this winter, it was not so bad. We can try".
Emanuele Ventura (Technical Director): "It will be hard work in both classes. In 250 the long straight is not going to help, but in the past Honda has been able to win".
