Fourth feels like podium says Simoncelli
Added on Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor
Fourth feels like podium says Simoncelli
San Carlo Honda Gresini rookie rider Marco Simoncelli put in a fantastic performance in Portugal this past weekend and achieved the best result of his MotoGP career so far.
The superb display from the former 250cc World Champion nearly won him a spot on the podium, after a closely fought battle for 3rd place with fellow Italian Andrea Dovizioso. Simoncelli narrowly missed out on his podium spot after he was passed by Dovizioso on the final corner of the last lap, finishing just 0.059s ahead of the rookie rider.
But for Simoncelli it was a great performance and he said that fourth place almost felt like a podium finish. He said: “I am really pleased with my race today,”
He went on: “We did everything right and I was able to maintain a good rhythm from the start to the end. Dovizioso was a little bit faster than me on the straights but I still thought I could beat him. Unfortunately I made a tiny mistake in the final turn and lost a little bit of speed onto the straight, which gave him the advantage over the line.”
Of course missing out in such a close finish is always going to be disappointing but Simoncelli said that he was pleased at being able to compete with the top riders and is hopeful for a podium finish in the final race of the season at Valencia.
“It was a shame but I am still delighted because this feels almost as good as a podium to us,” he said.
He added:”Over the last four or five races I have been consistently on the pace from Friday practice and we did it again here at Estoril. Obviously we still have to work to improve the bike, especially the electronics, if we want to be on the podium but maybe we can do that at Valencia.”
