Title contenders up front on Friday.

If Stoner wins his ninth grand prix of the season on Sunday, Rossi must finish fifth or above to prevent the Australian capturing the title with four rounds still remaining. But, after his Misano disaster, Rossi was in determined mood on the Michelin-shod Fiat Yamaha and finished third fastest - indicating that Stoner and Ducati could well be made to wait.

Second place went to Japanese Tech 3 Yamaha rider Tamada who used a Dunlop qualifying tyre toward the finish of the second session, but set a best time on race tyres good enough for seventh. Former 125 and 250cc world champion Dani Pedrosa was fourth with Randy de Puniet fifth for Kawasaki. Two weeks ago at Misano in Italy de Puniet brought down Pedrosa on the second bend of the race and angry words were exchanged.

John Hopkins, riding the Rizla Suzuki, was sixth still just over half a second slower than Stoner while his team-mate Chris Vermeulen was 11th - but still only seventh tenths of a second behind his fellow Australian at the front.

Spaniard Carlos Checa crashed his LCR Honda both in the morning and afternoon sessions. He was unhurt in both incidents.

Qualifying should be equally close tomorrow while the 28-lap race on Sunday should provide Stoner with one of his toughest races of the season as he strives to become the second youngest rider to win the premier class of grand prix Motorcycle racing.

Free practice times (3) - Estoril.

1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 37.173 secs

2. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 1min 37.434 secs

3. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha (D) 1min 37.681 secs

4. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 37.785 secs

5. John Hopkins USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 38.013 secs

6. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 38.068 secs

7. Makoto Tamada JPN Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha (D) 1min 38.091 secs

8. Carlos Checa SPA Honda LCR (M) 1min 38.185 secs

9. Randy de Puniet FRA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 38.217 secs

10. Shinya Nakano JPN Konica Minolta Honda (M) 1min 38.260 secs

11. Marco Melandri ITA Honda Gresini (B) 1min 38.260 secs

12. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 38.355 secs

13. Colin Edwards USA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 1min 38.400 secs

14. Alex Barros BRA Pramac d'Antin MotoGP (B) 1min 38.537 secs

15. Toni Elias SPA Honda Gresini (B) 1min 38.599 secs

16. Alex Hofmann GER Pramac d'Antin MotoGP (B) 1min 38.724 secs

17. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 38.725 secs

18. Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 38.941 secs

19. Kurtis Roberts USA Team Roberts (M) 1min 40.177 secs

2007 Portuguese Grand Prix:

Fastest Friday time: Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro (B) 1min 37.950secs

2006 Portuguese Grand Prix:

Pole position: Valentino Rossi ITA Camel Yamaha (M) 1min 36.200secs

Fastest race lap: Kenny Roberts Jr USA Team Roberts (M) 1min 37.914secs

250: Lorenzo set to end Estoril drought.

The Spaniard has never been on the podium in a 250cc race in Portugal, but showed no signs of discomfort with the Estoril circuit as he put in a 1min 40.480secs lap nearly a full second quicker than Roberto Locatelli's pole record from 2006.

The provisional first two rows would all have taken pole any other year, but the closest to Lorenzo on this occasion was his title rival Andrea Dovizioso, over four tenths of a second slower than the factory Aprilia rider.

The KTM duo of Mika Kallio and Hiroshi Aoyama made up the front row featuring all three major factories, followed on the provisional second row by morning crasher Alvaro Bautista, title contender Alex de Angelis and the Spanish duo of Julian Simon and Hector Barbera.

First qualifying - Estoril:

1. Lorenzo (Aprilia)

2. Dovizioso (Honda) +0.344secs

3. Kallio (KTM) +0.413secs

4. H. Aoyama (KTM) +0.583secs

5. Bautista (Aprilia) +0.858secs

6. de Angelis (Aprilia) +0.943secs

7. Luthi (Aprilia) +0.975secs

8. Simon (Honda) +1.025secs

9. Barbera (Aprilia) +1.172secs

10. Takahashi (Honda) +1.191secs

23. Laverty (Honda) +4.127secs

24. Linfoot (Aprilia) +4.405secs

DNQ Lawrence (Aprilia) +8.985secs

Stoner 'reasonably happy'.

The Ducati Marlboro star, who needs to score 15 points more than Valentino Rossi to secure the crown on Sunday, worked with his usual precision to achieve an impressive pace, his best run averaging low 1min 38secs.

Stoner's closest rival was Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha's Makoto Tamada, who used a qualifying tyre to get within 0.039secs of the #27, while nearest title rival Rossi was just 0.17secs behind in third for Fiat Yamaha.

"We're reasonably happy with the way today went, we struggled a little bit this morning and also a little bit in the last part of this afternoon's session but apart from that we're very happy with the settings we've got for this track, which is one of the most difficult circuits of the year with a lot bumps and some very technical corners," said the Australian, who has topped practice and qualifying at the last four MotoGP events and won the last three races. "We've nearly done race distance on the tyres, so everything is going very well, we just need to try and improve the traction for tomorrow. If we can do that then we should be able to push to improve our lap times and also our pace for the race."

Team-mate Loris Capirossi, who must simply want a nightmare 2007 season to end, was seventh fastest.

"I'm struggling a lot here," admitted the Italian, who will ride for Suzuki next year. "During the final phase of the afternoon session I was able to find a better set-up and I did some not so bad laps, but we aren't okay yet. The engine delivery is too aggressive, so I'm having a lot of trouble, most of all in the slow parts of the track. We need to work on the engine management system and the electronics."

Rossi to make a race of it?

Stoner needs to score 15 points more than Rossi on Sunday, the difference between first and sixth place, to wrap up his first world crown four rounds early.

However, the Italian was a close third fastest on Friday at Estoril - just 0.17secs behind Stoner, with Makoto Tamada using a Dunlop qualifying tyre to split the pair. After three Stoner start-to-finish wins in a row, Rossi finally looks capable of racing with the Australian once again.

"Today I am quite happy because we've made some improvements to the new engine and it's going well for us, plus the new tyres that we found at the last test are also working quite well," declared Valentino. "We have a few small problems to fix, but I was able to ride a lot better today; I was quite fast from the start and we did some good work to find the right setting. Also this afternoon Tamada used a qualifying tyre so in reality we were second fastest on race tyres and quite close to Stoner; this is a good result. The bike is not so bad and it feels like we've made a good step forward. At the moment we need to think about the second part of the race, because this is where we expect more problems, but tomorrow the condition of the asphalt should be improved so hopefully this will also help our tyre performance."

"Today was positive for Valentino but more difficult for Colin," added team director Davide Brivio. "With Valentino we're continuing to use the new engine, we have found some positive things with it and it's working well. Plus the new tyres we have here are an improvement for us. We can see that Valentino is already able to ride quite well and his pace is close to the top so we will keep working in the same direction. With Colin we have some more work to do and we have to check very carefully tonight the information we gathered today in order to find a better set-up for him tomorrow. We know he can improve because this morning he was quite fast, so we need to go back in that direction tomorrow."

Rossi's Fiat Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards was the only rider to lap slower in the afternoon session, leaving him 13th overall as a result.

Portuguese GP - Hayden storms to Estoril pole

Nicky Hayden put the memories of a frustrating 2007 behind him by claiming an incredible last-gasp pole position for the Portuguese Grand Prix.

The world champion produced the lap of his life to scorch around Estoril in 1:36.301 to knock Casey Stoner off the top by four hundredths of a second.

Hayden had not looked like a factor in the early stages of the session as he pounded around on race tyres on his Repsol Honda. Instead Valentino Rossi and John Hopkins set the pace.

But, as the majority of the riders switched to qualifying tyres, the 26-year-old American moved his way towards the front, recovering from a trip through the gravel at turn six in the process.

While he was doing so Stoner, on a Ducati, rattled off a lap that had the rest sweating, to go a second clear of the field, but incredibly Rossi, and then Hayden were both able to better the time.

Hayden's pole was the fifth of his career, his first since last year's Australian Grand Prix and undoubtedly his finest.

Behind Stoner, whose run of poles was ended, Rossi completed the front row on his Yamaha.

Makoto Tamada was one of the stars of the session as he qualified a season's best fourth on his Dunlop-shod Tech-3 Yamaha, one place ahead of Dani Pedrosa's Repsol Honda.

Colin Edwards and Marco Melandri were next up for Yamaha and Gresini Honda after quiet runs, but not at all quiet was Sylvain Guintoli, who will start from a career-best eighth on the second Tech-3 machine.

Toni Elias and John Hopkins rounded out the top ten for Gresini Honda and Suzuki, but at least both kept their bikes on the Island.

The same could be said of Shinya Nakano, who dumped his Konica Minolta Honda at turn seven after ten minutes before recovering to qualify 13th.

Nor was it true of Randy de Puniet, who crashed at turn six and would have to be content with 18th for Kawasaki.

Portuguese GP - 125s: Pasini in seventh heaven

Mattia Pasini proved he is the king of qualifying by securing his seventh pole position of the season in qualifying for the 125cc Portuguese Grand Prix.

The 21-year-old Italian, who had been fastest on Friday, was trailing Lukas Pesek with a minute of the session remaining, but just edged his rival in the final minute of the session.

But the Polaris World Aprilia rider was not finished there either and went round even quicker on his final tour to end up with a best time of 1:44.675 and claim his eighth career pole.

Czech rider Pesek will start second on his Seedorf Derbi with the Aprilias of Simone Corsi and Gabor Talmacsi completing the front row.

Corsi, on a Skilled Racing bike, was impressive as demoted the championship leading Aspar man to fourth late in the session.

Fifth, and equalling the best grid spot of his career, was German rider Sandro Cortese on his Caffe Latte Aprilia while Sergio Gadea led a trio of Spaniards behind him on his Aspar bike.

The trio was completed by Pol Espargaro's Campetella Aprilia and title contender Hector Faubel's Aspar machine.

Stefan Bradl equalled his career-best grid spot in ninth for Blusens Aprilia while Joan Olive ensured that Polaris World book-ended the top ten.

Britain's Bradley Smith improved from 19th overnight to 15th on his Repsol Honda, but Danny Webb slipped back from 27th to 29th on his De Graaf Honda.

Portuguese GP - Stoner ahead but Rossi closing

Casey Stoner showed just why he is the red hot favourite to win the Portuguese Grand Prix by topping the final free practice session for the race.

Stoner lapped the Estoril circuit in 1:31.173 on his Ducati, but Valentino Rossi sent a warning to the 21-year-old Australian by circulating only 0.261 seconds slower on his Yamaha.

His time came on only the seventh of his 26 laps while Rossi, who was off the pace initially, gradually brought himself back towards the front as the session progressed.

An impressive third was Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli on his Tech-3 Yamaha, ensuring that tyre suppliers Bridgestone, Michelin and Dunlop each had a bike in the top three.

But the Frenchman's time is perhaps misleading as before he bolted on a set of Dunlop qualifiers he had languished outside the top ten.

Out-going world champion Nicky Hayden and his Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa were fourth and sixth, sandwiching John Hopkins Suzuki, while Friday star Makoto Tamada continued Tech-3's good weekend in seventh place.

Carlos Checa recovered from his Friday crash to set the eighth fastest time on his LCR Honda with Randy de Puniet's Kawasaki and Shinya Nakano's Konica Minolta Honda completing the top ten.

Anthony West, on the second Kawasaki, was lucky to walk away from a high-speed crash two minutes from the end of the session. He was 18th fastest, only quicker than Kurtis Roberts' KR.

Portuguese GP - 250s: Lorenzo looking invincible

Jorge Lorenzo once more proved why he is the world champion as he cruised to provisional pole position for the 250cc Portuguese Grand Prix.

The 20-year-old Spaniard lapped the Estoril circuit in 1:40.480 seconds on his Fortuna Aprilia, which smashed Roberto Locatelli's qualifying record of 2006 by almost a second.

Lorenzo spent the first 20 minutes involved in a great scrap for pole with Andrea Dovizoso, Mika Kallio and Hiroshi Aoyama.

It soon became clear though that he and Scot Honda rider Dovizioso had a little bit more than the rest as they brought the times down to the 41.6s and swapped places three more times before the half hour mark.

But in the final 15 minutes Lorenzo laid down his marker with a couple of blistering laps that Dovizioso could not match, no matter how hard he tried.

The Italian eventually ended up 0.424 seconds slower with the KTMs of Kallio and Aoyama completing the provisional front row.

Alvaro Bautista was fifth quickest, one place up on his Aspar Aprilia team-mate Alex de Angelis, who is currently Lorenzo's closest rival in the championship, albeit 54 points adrift with only five races remaining.

Tom Luthi and Julian Simon put their Caffe Latte Aprilia and Repsol Honda at the back of row two and Hector Barbera and Yuki Takahashi completed the top ten for Toth Aprilia and Scot Honda.

11th, after a crash at turn four, went to Gilera rider Marco Simoncelli, while Spaniard Efren Vasquez was another to lose it, this time at turn eight on his Blusens Aprilia.

Irishman Eugene Laverty was 23rd fastest for LCR Honda with Britain's Dan Linfoot one place back on his Sicilia Aprilia.

British wildcard Luke Lawrence was one of four riders to fail to qualify within the 107 per cent rule. The McDonalds Aprilia rider needs to find over two seconds in Saturday's second session to make it onto the grid.

Portuguese GP - Stoner doubles up in second practice

Casey Stoner picked up where he left off during the morning by topping the second free practice session for the Portuguese Grand Prix.

The 21-year-old Australian, who can be crowned champion this weekend if he out-scores Valentino Rossi by 16 points, increased his pace during the second session to take his Ducati around the Estoril circuit in 1:37.950.

But there was a shock in second place as Japan's Makoto Tamada fired in two stunningly quick laps to put his Dunlop-shod Tech-3 Yamaha ahead of Valentino Rossi's works machine and only four hundredths of a second slower than Stoner.

Stoner was initially forced to play second fiddle to Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa, but soon established himself with the time that would remain unbeaten after 20 minutes of the session.

To further hammer home his superiority, he failed to use the qualifying tyres Bridgestone had on offer and instead pounded around on race rubber, setting five consecutive laps in 1:38.0.

So it was not of much concern to him when Tamada, enjoying his best session of the season, went second with 12 minutes to go and then, after being relegated two spots, grabbed it back in the dying seconds.

Such was the closeness throughout the pack that Yamaha rider Rossi, in third, and Pedrosa in fourth were both within a quarter of a second of Stoner.

Fifth and sixth were Randy de Puniet's Kawasaki and the Suzuki of John Hopkins, who leapt up late in the session after spending most of the hour in the teens.

Loris Capirossi ended up seventh quickest for Ducati with outgoing world champion Nicky Hayden next up on his Repsol Honda.

Alex Barros was ninth on his d'Antin Ducati while Sylvain Guintoli made sure both Tech-3 Yamahas made it into the top ten.

Further back both Marco Melandri and Kurtis Roberts took trips through the gravel at turn seven on their Gresini Honda and KR respectively.

But Carlos Checa was the only man to crash, dropping his LCR Honda at turn six.

Portuguese GP - Rossi concedes title to Stoner

Valentino Rossi has conceded this year's Moto GP world title to Casey Stoner, admitting there is nothing he can do about the runaway championship leader.

Five-time world champion Rossi, 28, trails Ducati rider Stoner, who has won eight times already, by 85 points with only five races left and 125 points up for grabs.

The points situation means that Australian rider Stoner could even wrap up the championship at the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril this weekend, and Italian rider Rossi, who retired last time out at Misano with an engine failure, knows it.

"To be honest the championship is almost out of reach for us, especially when Stoner is so strong," said Rossi.

"So we will put all our energies into holding onto our second place and winning as many races as possible, as well as thinking about continuing the development of our package for next year."

Rossi has won three times this year for Yamaha, but has been extremely vocal about his Michelin tyres, which have failed to match the performance of the Bridgestones Stoner uses and have, in his opinion, been the reason he has failed a more serious assault on the title.

He has won four times at Estoril in the past but last year was beaten to victory by Toni Elias in the closest finish in modern Moto GP history. And he is looking to get back on the victory trail right away.

"Now the aim is to have a good end to the season - we have five races left and we will be trying to win all five, even if the championship is out of our reach," Rossi added. "I've had some good races at Estoril in the past although last year I missed out on the win by a tiny amount!"

Portuguese GP - 125s: Smith carries British hopes

Bradley Smith leads a group of British riders looking to impress in MotoGP action at the Portuguese GP at Estoril.

With five races remaining in their respective, all are out to score points and impress potential teams for 2008.

Sixteen-year-old Bradley Smith is looking to improve the opening laps of his 125cc World Championship races on the Repsol Honda after finishing eighth at the previous round in Misano.

"I have got to do better in those opening few laps but not make any mistakes. The Honda was going well at Misano and I'm confident it will be the same at Estoril on Sunday.

"I like the circuit and want to get back nearer the leaders instead of having to ride so hard in the last few laps," said Smith.

The Oxfordshire rider rode well at the end of the race and set his fastest lap on the very last lap. He is determined to improve those opening laps especially as he dropped to ninth in the Championship just one point behind Spaniard Pol Espargaro.

Danny Webb had a similar problem at Misano riding the De Graaf Honda in the 125cc race while Dan Linfoot knows he must concentrate harder at the start of the 250cc races.

"I enjoyed the race in Misano but I could have done better if I'd made a better start," lamented Webb, "It's crucial at Estoril that I get those first few laps sorted out and then I can start thinking some championship points."

Linfoot said of his concerns, "I'm working to improve my mindset at the start and my actual start in Estoril. It's so important that I relax and don't fluff the start because mistakes like I made at Misano are ruining my chances in the race."

Meanwhile Irishman Eugene Laverty picked up a useful 250cc Championship point in Misano riding the LCR Honda and will be looking for more on his Estoril debut.

"I'm looking forward to Estoril and since we had the test at Brno after the grand prix last month we have found a much better base set-up for the bike. I've had as good look on the DVD of the circuit but it's another new one to learn," he said.

Portuguese GP - 250s: Top rookies sign on for 2008

Alvaro Bautista and Mika Kallio will continue in the 250cc World Championship next year after electing to stay with their current teams for a further season each.

Aspar Aprilia team boss Jorge Martinez confirmed during the build up to the Portuguese race that Bautista, the 22-year-old Spaniard, would remain with his squad for 2008.

Bautista (pictured), the reigning 125c world champion, has been this year's outstanding rookie after stepping up to the quarter-litre class, and took his maiden win at Mugello on his way to a current fourth place in the championship.

The identity of his team-mate remains the source of much debate though, with current partner Alex de Angelis yet to decide whether to remain with the team or make the step up to Moto GP with the Gresini Honda team next year.

Unlike Bautista, Kallio has yet to win a race in his rookie season, but does lie seventh in the championship following a second place in Germany and third in the Czech Republic.

The 24-year-old Finn, who was runner-up to Bautista in 125s last year, has signed a new one-year deal with KTM and is already targeting the 2008 world title.

Portuguese GP - 125s: Bradl to finish season with Blusens

Stefan Bradl has secured a full-time ride in the 125cc world championship for the rest of the season as a reward for his performances in his few wildcard appearances so far.

The 17-year-old German, who has raced on occasion for the Blusens Aprilia squad, will replace Hugo van den Berg on the team's regular second bike, after taking a career-best seventh place at Misano last time out.

Bradl will switch to Stefan Kiefer's new 125cc squad for next season, and his team-mate was confirmed as countryman Robin Lasser, during the build-up to the Portuguese Grand Prix.

Elsewhere in the paddock, defending champions Aspar Aprilia have confirmed the signing of Spanish teenager Pere Tutusaus alongside Sergio Gadea for 2008.

World championship contender Hector Faubel has also re-signed with the team, but is likely to be moved up to the 250cc squad next season is Alex de Angelis makes his expected graduation to Moto GP.

Finally, KTM have signed deals to provide customer bikes to three teams for next year, although boss Harald Bartol would not say who just yet.

Portuguese GP - Stoner quickest out of the blocks

Casey Stoner left all his Moto GP rivals with furrowed brows yet again as he set the pace in the first free practice session for the Portuguese Grand Prix.

As usual the 21-year-old Australian, who can be crowned world champion if results go his way at Estoril this weekend, was in imperious form from the get-go and lapped the track in 1:38.105 on his Ducati.

Valentino Rossi, who needs to finish at least fifth to take the title battle to another race, was second quickest on his Yamaha, which was again running the pneumatic engine that failed at Misano, 0.312 seconds slower.

His lap though, which was set late in the session, showed the gains that Michelin have made on tyre rivals Bridgestone, who supply Stoner's bike, since the Misano race two weeks ago.

Randy de Puniet was third fastest on his Bridgestone-shod Kawasaki with Colin Edwards' Yamaha and Carlos Checa's LCR Honda - both on Michelins - completing the top five.

John Hopkins was sixth quickest on the best of the Suzukis with Repsol Honda duo Dani Pedrosa and soon-to-be former world champion Nicky Hayden next up.

Shinya Nakano was ninth quickest on his Konica Minolta Honda while Marco Melandri, who has yet to shake off neck and ankle injuries sustained in recent races, completed the top ten for Gresini Honda.

Melandri's Gresini team-mate Toni Elias, who won the race last year, was only 14th quickest.

Free practice times (1) - Estoril.

Full MotoGP free practice times (1) from the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril, round fourteen of the 2007 world championship.





The start of the session was delayed due to red flags during 125cc first practice, caused by fuel left on the circuit after an accident.

1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 38.105 secs
2. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 1min 38.417 secs
3. Randy de Puniet FRA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 38.676 secs
4. Colin Edwards USA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 1min 38.677 secs
5. Carlos Checa SPA Honda LCR (M) 1min 38.995 secs
6. John Hopkins USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 39.036 secs
7. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 39.048 secs
8. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 39.142 secs
9. Shinya Nakano JPN Konica Minolta Honda (M) 1min 39.143 secs
10. Marco Melandri ITA Honda Gresini (B) 1min 39.288 secs
11. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 39.446 secs
12. Makoto Tamada JPN Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha (D) 1min 39.461 secs
13. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 39.511 secs
14. Toni Elias SPA Honda Gresini (B) 1min 39.641 secs
15. Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 39.817 secs
16. Alex Hofmann GER Pramac d'Antin MotoGP (B) 1min 39.827 secs
17. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha (D) 1min 39.928 secs
18. Alex Barros BRA Pramac d'Antin MotoGP (B) 1min 40.110 secs
19. Kurtis Roberts USA Team Roberts (M) 1min 43.011 secs


2006 Portuguese Grand Prix:
Pole position: Valentino Rossi ITA Camel Yamaha (M) 1min 36.200secs
Fastest race lap: Kenny Roberts Jr USA Team Roberts (M) 1min 37.914secs