Pedrosa believes 2012 is Estoril's last

It is yet to be made official, but Dani Pedrosa doesn't expect MotoGP to be returning to Estoril after this weekend's 2012 Portuguese Grand Prix. “Hopefully, we can have good weather and the grandstands are full of Spanish fans as we had in Jerez [last] Sunday, especially being the last season we race in Estoril,” said the Repsol Honda rider. Estoril was the final circuit to be confirmed on this year's MotoGP calendar, having previously joined several venues marked as 'Subject to Contract' due to financial difficulties. "They [Estoril] are having meetings with the government,” explained Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta at the time. “The Portuguese Grand Prix, like many others, is supported by the government. So the government will make the decision about whether they want to continue." Although the decision for 2012 proved positive, with the global financial crisis still gripping the Iberian Peninsula, Estoril and at least one of the four Spanish venues look set to make way for new overseas events. New tracks in Argentina and Texas are due to join the MotoGP calendar in 2013, while India is also expected to debut in the near future. The first MotoGP race was held at Estoril in 2000 but the track has never settled on the calendar, shifting from the beginning to the end of the season several times. Nevertheless, the 2006 Portuguese Grand Prix is considered one of the most dramatic of the four-stroke 'MotoGP' era.