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Casey Stoner takes second consecutive victory of the season in Estoril, with Dani Pedrosa taking 100th podium with third place
The Repsol Honda Team had an historic race at the Portuguese Grand Prix. Reigning World Champion Casey Stoner dominated the contest right from the opening lap, crossing the line 1.421 seconds ahead of second placed Jorge Lorenzo. Dani Pedrosa earned his 100th World Championship podium with third place. With this latest victory at the Portuguese Grand Prix, Stoner has now won at every circuit on the current calendar in the MotoGP class.
With this third position, Dani Pedrosa joins an elite club of riders with 100 podiums to their name. Only six competitors have acheived the milestone before the Repsol rider: Valentino Rossi —175 podiums—, Giacomo Agostini —159—, Ángel Nieto —139—, Phil Read —121—, Mike Hailwood —112— and Max Biaggi —111—. What’s more, at just 26 years of age he is the second youngest —after Rossi— in reaching his century.
Since his debut in the World Championship in 2001, the three-time champion has not stopped picking up triumphs. That year he stepped onto the rostrum for the first time and now, eleven years and 179 races later, he is celebrating a hundredth podium. His most successful track for top three finishes is Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, where he holds seven podiums divided across the three categories in which he has competed.
The 2012 season has just begun and the Repsol rider has already claimed top three finishes in the opening trio of Grands Prix. The celebration of his 100th podium will serve as an extra motivation for Number 26 in his battle for the title in the remaining fifteen events. The third position takes Pedrosa to third in the overall standings, 14 points behind Repsol Honda teammate, Casey Stoner, World Championship leader.
