Stoner aims for second season win

Australia's Casey Stoner is hoping fond memories of his maiden 250cc victory will be rekindled Sunday when he aims for his second consecutive Grand Prix victory of the season at Estoril. Stoner, the reigning world champion in motorcycling's MotoGP category, took the first step towards defending his 2011 crown last week when he finally tamed the Jerez circuit at MotoGP level to secure his first win of the season. Victory left him four points off the championship lead of Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo going into Estoril, which is now the only circuit missing from the Australian's MotoGP victory list. Having claimed his maiden 250cc win at the Portuguese circuit, Stoner is hoping past results on the track -- which features the longest straight on the championship calendar and the tightest bend -- bode well for this weekend. "We've had some really good results at Estoril in the past," said Stoner, who dominated the combined free practice on Friday ahead of Yamaha Factory Racing's Ben Spies and Yamaha Tech 3's Cal Crutchlow. "It's where I took my first win in 250cc, so I'm hoping for a similar result this weekend." Stoner would do worse than accept a few words of advice from Spanish stable-mate Dani Pedrosa, who, in memorable fashion, ended Lorenzo's bid for a fourth consecutive victory at the track last year. He had undergone shoulder surgery only weeks previously, but capped a thrilling race by sweeping past Lorenzo with three laps to go to claim his maiden win in Estoril. Lorenzo, however, remains a big fan of the track and believes the right choice of tyres will be crucial for any contender on Sunday. "I've had some great races there and I'm a big fan of the circuit," said Lorenzo, who leads the championship thanks to his win at the season-opener in Qatar and his runner-up place at Jerez. "We can be strong this weekend and, like in Jerez, I think it will be crucial to choose the right kind of tyres." For Valentino Rossi Estoril has been a happy hunting ground, the Italian icon having claimed a total of 10 podium places and five victories at the Portuguese venue. However the Ducati rider, who finished 10th in Qatar and ninth in Jerez, heads into the third race of the season still looking to make an impact. Despite admitting his liking for Estoril, where he finished fifth last year, Rossi said: "It has a few sections that are quite complicated and the weather can be a bit unpredictable." Lagging slightly behind the favoured trio of Stoner, Lorenzo and Pedrosa -- although not necessarily in that order -- sit Yamaha Tech3 pair Cal Crutchlow of Britain and Italian Andrea Dovizioso. The pair were fourth and fifth respectively in Jerez, where they repeated their promising result in Qatar. An all-Spanish duel, meanwhile, could provide the entertainment in Moto2 with Marc Marquez (Suter) out to defend his four-point championship lead over Pol Espargaro (Kalex), the winner in Jerez last week. In Moto3 all eyes could be on rising Italian star Romano Fenati (FTR-Honda), who at just 16 won the second race of the season last week.