FIM MotoGP World Championship Le Mans, France May 18, 2008 Race Results (dry conditions): 1. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha), Bridgestone, 28 laps, 44:30.799 2. Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha), Michelin, -4.997 seconds 3. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha), Michelin, -6.805 4. Dani PEDROSA (Honda), Michelin, -10.157 5. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki), Bridgestone, -21.762 6. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda), Michelin, -22.395 7. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki), Bridgestone, -27.806 8. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda), Michelin, -27.995 9. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda), Michelin, -29.344 10. Shinya NAKANO (Honda), Bridgestone, -30.822 11. Toni ELIAS (Ducati), Bridgestone, -35.154 12. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda), Bridgestone, -36.216 13. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Ducati), Bridgestone, -52.038 14. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, -89.307 15. Marco MELANDRI (Ducati), Bridgestone, -1 lap, pitted 16. Casey STONER (Ducati), Bridgestone, -2 laps, pitted 17. John HOPKINS (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, -12 laps, DNF, retired 18. James TOSELAND (Yamaha), Michelin, -26 laps, DNF, crash World Championship Point Standings (After 5 of 18 races): 1. Rossi, 97 points 2. TIE, Lorenzo/Pedrosa, 94 4. Stoner, 56 5. Edwards, 47 6. Capirossi, 42 7. Hayden, 37 8. Dovizioso, 36 9. Toseland, 33 10. Nakano, 28 11. Hopkins, 26 12. Vermeulen, 25 13. Melandri, 24 14. Elias, 20 15. De Puniet, 18 16. De Angelis, 11 17. Guintoli, 7 18. West, 5 More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: REPSOL HONDA RIDERS FOURTH AND EIGHTH IN TOUGH FRENCH GRAND PRIX Race Day Attendance: 74.602 weekend attendance: 147.697 French Grand Prix, Le Mans Race day, Sunday May 18 2008 Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden finished fourth and eighth in today’s rain-affected French GP at Le Mans. Pedrosa, who started the race from pole position, ran in the lead group and only lost his chance of a podium finish in the final two or three laps. Hayden, who qualified sixth fastest, lost several places mid-race when he ran off the track but kept battling hard all the way to the finish. During the early laps Pedrosa fought an enthralling skirmish with rivals Valentino Rossi, Colin Edwards and Casey Stoner. Then rain began falling at half-distance, dampening the track at the entry to the high-speed first corner, which riders attack at about 180km/h. However, the rain wasn’t strong enough to bring the front-runners into the pits to change to their spare bikes equipped with rain tyres. In the closing stages Pedrosa slipped to fourth behind Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Edwards. Hayden’s off-track excursion at the Garage Vert corner dropped him to tenth on lap 14, the American gaining two places as rivals hit problems. The Repsol Honda Team will test here tomorrow, focusing on chassis settings and tyre testing with Michelin. Hayden will then travel back to the US where next weekend he will ride a demo lap aboard a 2007 RC212V before the start of the huge Indy 500 car race to promote September’s inaugural Indianapolis MotoGP event. Dani Pedrosa finished 4th, 2nd equal in World Championship Front tyre: 16″ Michelin slick medium Rear tyre: 16.5″ Michelin slick medium “I am sorry because we could have been on the podium but in the race I wasn’t able to go as fast as I had gone during practice. From the beginning of the race I had some issues with the front tyre, I couldn’t brake the way I wanted to brake. When we chose our race tyres we tried hard to choose the best tyres for the race, so we didn’t expect things to turn out like they did. Then in the second half of the race I started to lack some rear grip. When Lorenzo passed me I tried to go with him and not lose contact but I couldn’t manage it. I gave my maximum and despite the problems we finished fourth, which isn’t so bad. We are second equal in the championship and we will continue to work hard to achieve better results at the next races. We stay here tomorrow for one day of testing when we will try to understand what happened today and make another step forward.” Nicky Hayden finished 8th, 7th in World Championship Front tyre: 16″ Michelin slick medium Rear tyre: 16.5” Michelin slick medium “That wasn’t too pretty. All weekend we’ve been missing something, the pace hasn’t been there. I got a good start and recovered a couple of positions but couldn’t go with the group I needed to go with. I was hanging in there, then I ran off the track in turn six, got in just a little bit hot, didn’t make it and that lost me three positions. I came back on, had a little dice with Loris over the last few laps but it wasn’t the result we wanted. It was definitely tough conditions, it wasn’t just a few drops of rain it was straight-up raining through some parts of the track. With the tyres being that hot the lap times didn’t suffer too bad, but I was kinda hoping the rain would come down and let us swap bikes and try something different, but it didn’t happen. This has never been an easy track for me, I’d say Le Mans is the worst track for me on the calendar. Tomorrow we’ll work on chassis stuff. I need to try getting some momentum going, especially for the tracks I really love that are coming up. I need to be strong when I get to them, I need to use the people around me to find what I need.” Kazuhiko Yamano – Team Manager “Racing is never easy and today was a difficult day. Dani didn’t make the podium but he still got a good points score which is good for the overall championship situation. We stay here tomorrow to work on the chassis set-up to put us in the best-possible situation for the next race where we will once again target victory. Nicky had a difficult weekend here but I am confident he will be stronger at the next races.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Valentino Rossi took a runaway triumph at the Alice Grand Prix de France, equalling Angel Nieto´s record of 90 Grand Prix wins with a superb solo run. In a selfless display, Rossi shared the limelight with the MotoGP Legend, asking Nieto to take him on a parade lap onboard the Yamaha M1. Aside from equalling the historic milestone, the win also allowed the five-time MotoGP World Champion to assume the leadership of the overall standings for the first time this season. Whilst second row starter Rossi had broken away from the pack early, the battle for the podium was closely contested right up to the line. The Italian´s Fiat Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo once again took his share of the limelight, bursting through the field to take second place in spite of a catalogue of injuries. His latest rostrum means that he is now the highest rookie point scorer in history from an opening five races, overtaking hero Max Biaggi. Completing the all-Yamaha podium, Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards took another rostrum finish not quite in line with his predictions of victory, but nonetheless a fantastic achievement for the newly consistent American. Poleman Dani Pedrosa relinquished his lead of the World Championship with fourth place, having attempted to lead the race from the front. Some hard moves from both Lorenzo and Edwards at the end of the Le Mans battle left the Repsol Honda rider off the podium for the first time in 2008. On lap fifteen the activity picked up in pit lane, as the white flags shown on trackside provoked the uncovering of the second bikes. The option was open for the premier class riders to make a switch, but few took up the offer. Last year´s race winner Chris Vermeulen elected to stay out, and trailed Pedrosa for fifth, ahead of Andrea Dovizioso, Loris Capirossi and Nicky Hayden. Shinya Nakano and home rider Randy de Puniet completed the top ten on their respective San Carlo Honda Gresini and LCR Honda satellite RC212Vs, whilst there was a crash for Tech 3 Yamaha´s James Toseland and a broken chain for Kawasaki man John Hopkins. Deserving of credit for his performance was 2007 World Champion Casey Stoner, despite the fact that he finished in last place. The Australian had been fighting for the podium until the twentieth lap, and pushed his Ducati Desmosedici GP8 nearly the entire length of the track to switch machines after it broke down. His teammate Marco Melandri was the only other rider to change bikes during the race. Valentino Rossi Race Winner “90 victories is fantastic. It´s fantastic to catch a rider like Angel Nieto. It was a great race; I didn’t expect to be so fast, but we modified some things this morning and we were faster in the dry. Then it started to rain and I tried to ride very sweetly. We had enough grip to continue and now we are waiting for Mugello.” 250cc In his 112th World Championship race, Alex Debon finally achieved his maiden victory in Le Mans. A last-minute tyre gamble paid dividends for the veteran, as the Lotus Aprilia rider took his first World Championship victory in an inspired performance. With the French track still wet from the deluge experienced during the 125cc race, poleman Debon elected to run a slick on his factory Aprilia machine. As the sun dried out the race, the Spaniard racked up circuit record after circuit record to take a huge lead, one that he maintained until crossing the chequered flag. After 112 races, the popular veteran could finally step onto the top step of the podium. The remaining rostrum places were more closely contested, with Metis Gilera´s Marco Simoncelli once again pulling an aggressive final lap move. He took second, with the recipient of the manoeuvre Mattia Pasini completing the rostrum onboard his Polaris World Aprilia. Unlucky to finish outside the top three, after leading the charge to catch up with Debon, JiR Team Scot´s Yuki Takahashi took fourth place. Mika Kallio held onto his World Championship lead with fifth, despite nearest rival Pasini´s podium finish. The top ten was completed by Manuel Poggiali, Hiroshi Aoyama, Julian Simon, Aleix Espargaro and Hector Faubel. 125cc Ajo Motorsport´s Mike di Meglio was the home winner of a race of two halves, taking 125cc victory after rain forced a late restart. The wet weather specialist became the first French rider to triumph in the category at Le Mans since Guy Bertin in 1979, and also snatched the lead of the World Championship. The race had been promising a frantic finish even without the return to the starting grid, with a ten-rider group awaiting a final push. However, the appearance of rain on the twelfth lap was to further bunch together the lower cylinder category pack. On the fifteenth lap, and with wildcard and regular riders hitting the asphalt, the decision was taken to show the red flag and bring the riders into the pits. A reduced `second race´ of five laps was set, with the positions as of lap fourteen deciding the grid placings. `Poleman´ Joan Olive started badly, and leading runs from Esteve Rabat and Gabor Talmacsi were ended by almost immediate crashes. That left Di Meglio able to work his magic and take a memorable victory. Second place went to Polaris World´s Bradley Smith, who had experienced the most active of races. Starting from the front row, the Briton had dropped down to nineteenth and recuperated places up to ninth in the first race, before leading after the restart and taking his second podium of the year. Nico Terol completed the podium spots, ahead of Belson Derbi´s Pol Espargaro, Shanghai racewinner Andrea Iannone and member of the early race-leading pack, Stefan Bradl. Previous series leader Simone Corsi and 2007 World Champion Talmacsi were thirteenth and fourteenth, respectively. Rizla Suzuki: Fighting fifth in France for Vermeulen, strong seventh for Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer Chris Vermeulen celebrated his best result so far this season by finishing in an impressive fifth position at Le Mans in France today, with team-mate Loris Capirossi crossing the line in an equally strong seventh place. Vermeulen started from eighth on the grid and made up a couple of places on the first lap. He then set three personal-best laps in succession as he moved into fifth place, and the Australian was in touch with the leaders as light rain started to fall on the 4’185m circuit. Track officials waved the white flags to signify that pit-lane was open if the riders wanted to change to their wet weather bikes, but Vermeulen – like most riders chose to stay out and consolidate his position. He had a couple of narrow escapes as the track surface got very slippery from the rain, but he brought the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R home safely to score valuable championship points for himself and the team. Capirossi made a strong start from the fourth row of the grid and was up to seventh by the end of lap two. He was involved in a race long battle with a large group of riders, which also resulted in one of them pushing Capirossi off the track and on to the grass. The experienced Italian lost some places but battled back to take a hard, but well earned nine championship points. Today’s race started in bright sunshine with track temperatures at 26ºC, as the light drizzle fell the temperatures cooled off, but this didn’t dampen the spirits of over 74,000 fans at trackside who were treated to a comprehensive victory by Valentino Rossi a win that puts him joint second, with Angel Nieto, in the all-time list of Grand Prix victories by a rider. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will now stay in at Le Mans for a further day of testing, before moving on to Capirossi’s home GP at Mugello in Italy on Sunday 1st June. Chris Vermeulen: “Well that was alright I guess! I’m happy with the weekend, we made some progress and we finally got some good points on the board. I am a little disappointed with fifth because I was really hoping I’d have a bit more pace to be able to fight with the front guys. I felt I was just that little bit behind and just couldn’t close the gap. We are testing here tomorrow so hopefully we can try and improve a few more things on the bike, and make more steps in Mugello. “I want to say a big thanks to my crew, they’ve worked out all the issues we had from China and the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R worked great all weekend and we had no problems at all.” Loris Capirossi: “It has been really hard for me all weekend; we just couldn’t go as quick as we wanted to. We made some changes yesterday and went a bit better, but today we struggled in warm-up. In the race we didn’t get the result we are looking for and seventh is not our target, but we scored some good points and we must wait for it to be our moment to go quick! I was pushed onto the grass by another rider and maybe I could have had a better result, but that is racing and he has come and apologised so that’s all good. Our potential is not too bad, but we still need to discover something new so we can go a bit quicker.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “The Rizla Suzuki MotoGP team has made some steps here at Le Mans, and has backed those up with a good solid result and a committed performance from both riders today. Chris has really found his rhythm this weekend and in the first part of the race fought his way through superbly, from his eighth position start, into fifth. He was pushing to catch the lead group and maintaining a very close gap every lap, but just couldn’t close it down to join the fight. When the rain came he nearly crashed twice and he took the right decision to bring the bike home for his best finish so far this season. “Loris is disappointed with seventh, but it has been a tough weekend for him and he shouldn’t be. He showed again today that he really wants it and will fight just as hard for seventh as he will for first. We are convinced that as we improve the bike and we get everything to a better level, that fighting spirit will allow him to target the podium finishes that he wants so much. “After a difficult Shanghai I’d like to say well done to the team for their efforts this weekend, and let’s hope this is the first step back to where we all want to be, and that’s battling at the front!” More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: ROSSI REACHES 90 WINS WITH PEERLESS DISPLAY TO HEAD ALL-YAMAHA PODIUM Valentino Rossi made another historic step in his incredible career today when he took his 90th career victory in Le Mans, equalling the record set by the great Angel Nieto, to move into second in the all-time winners list behind Giacomo Agostini. It was an outstanding display from the Fiat Yamaha Team rider and he celebrated in fine style when Nieto joined him on his slow-down lap, the Spaniard taking charge of the bike with Rossi riding pillion behind him. It was a superb day for Yamaha in general as Jorge Lorenzo once again defied his injuries to ride into an astonishing second place behind his team-mate and Tech 3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards joined the pair on the podium in third place. Rossi had an average start and was tailing the lead group in fifth at the end of lap one. It was soon clear how well his Yamaha-Bridgestone package was working however and he picked off first Nicky Hayden then Edwards and Dani Pedrosa to move into second behind Casey Stoner, before passing him too on lap eight. From then on Rossi was too strong for the chasing pack, stretching his lead lap after lap until some spots of rain forced him to slow slightly in the last third of the race. The sun soon came back out however, allowing the riders to continue without changing bikes and the Italian to cross the line 4.997 seconds in front to take his first back-to-back victory since 2006. The 29-year-old’s 90th win moves him two points clear at the top of the championship with 97 points, whilst Lorenzo and Pedrosa are just behind him with 94 points each. Rossi will now stay here for two days of testing to ready himself for his home race at Mugello in Italy in two week’s time, when he will be looking for his 7th consecutive win at the track. Valentino Rossi Position: 1st Time: 44’30.799 “To arrive at 90 wins like this and equal Angel’s record is a dream for me. I had quite a lot of pressure because Angel was waiting with the special leathers to join me on the bike, so I really needed to win! It was great to ride with him I think maybe with some practice he can be as fast as us! 180 victories together on one bike is quite impressive I think! Honestly I didn’t expect to be so fast today but together with Jeremy and my guys we decided to make some small modifications this morning and in the race my M1 and my Bridgestone tyres worked brilliantly from start to finish. When is started to rain a little bit I thought “oh no!’ and so I steadied a bit and tried to ride very sweetly; I had such a good rhythm and I really didn’t want to have to change bikes. Luckily the rain soon stopped and I was able to continue in the same way. It’s great for Yamaha to have the first three and I want to congratulate Jorge especially for doing such a good job in his condition. Thanks to everybody in the team; the job that Yamaha has done in three months is incredible. I enjoyed myself so much today, the atmosphere in our garage is perfect and now we will make two important days of testing, try to improve even more and then head to Mugello!” David Brivio Team manager “What a day for Yamaha and for Valentino! This is a great victory, Valentino was even stronger than in China and now we are leading the championship. Our team, engineers and Bridgestone are doing a fantastic job and now we need to maintain this form through the busy run of races coming up. Next stop Mugello, which is a very important race for all of us, so we’ll be working hard at the test here to make sure we are in the best shape to try to repeat this result!” More, from another press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: LORENZO DEFIES THE ODDS TO HELP YAMAHA REIGN IN FRANCE Fiat Yamaha Team rider Jorge Lorenzo once again stunned onlookers by riding to second place in Le Mans today with two fractured ankles. The 21-year-old rookie has found it increasingly difficult to ride through the pain during the course of the weekend but today he found his rhythm and was able to take his fourth podium in five races. It was a Yamaha whitewash in France as Valentino Rossi took his 90th career victory, equalling Angel Nieto with the second highest number of wins in the sport’s history, and Yamaha Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards rode a strong race to finish third. Lorenzo’s race was a carbon copy of China as he dropped back through the field at the start, struggling off the line and unable to find his rhythm in the early stages. He had lost five places from fifth on the grid at the end of lap one but on lap eight he suddenly found the feeling with the bike and began to make headway, passing three riders in one lap and setting off after Chris Vermeulen, who was some distance ahead. It took the Michelin-shod rider seven laps to reel in the Australian and then another five to pass Edwards, before he leap-frogged both Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner on lap 21 to move into second. Some spots of rain caused a flurry of activity in the pits as the mechanics readied the second bikes with rain settings, but the sun reappeared and Lorenzo eventually crossed the line just under five seconds adrift of his team-mate. Rossi’s victory sees him take the championship lead with 97 points but Lorenzo is just three points adrift, equal with Dani Pedrosa on 94 points but ahead in the standings by way of his more recent podium. Lorenzo will now fly straight back to Barcelona for more treatment on his ankles before the next race in Italy on June 1st. Jorge Lorenzo Position: 2nd Time: +4.997 “Firstly I want to say congratulations to Yamaha because it’s fantastic to have three on the podium and it demonstrates how strong our bike is. After the weekend I have had, with the crashes and so much pain, I can’t believe I’m here! All last night I worried about this race because I really thought it might be too hard. It was a dream to finish sixth or seventh, especially when I could only manage 11th in the warm-up. I knew I had to try however and on the grid one of my mechanics reminded me that my rivals were just the same ones as in Portugal; this was a good motivation! I had some problems at the start and it’s clear that we need to work on these, but after a while I found my rhythm and once again I was able to make my way through the field and pass some riders. I think the rain helped me for the first time in my life because everyone was a little bit slower for a few laps, but second is unbelievable and I think I look a bit happier this afternoon! Now we have to work as hard as possible to heal my injuries and improve my physical condition, so that we can be back to our best in Mugello.” Daniel Romagnoli Team Manager “Once again Jorge has done an incredible job in his condition and today is a great result for Yamaha and for the team. Our job this weekend has been very difficult because two crashes have meant less time to perfect the bike, but the team did a great job, found the best possible set-up and then Michelin gave us the best tyre for the race. Thanks to all of them! Now everyone needs some rest but Jorge most of all and we will all be hoping that he is able to relax and recuperate over the next ten days so that he can be back to full strength in Italy.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: BAD LUCK DOGS KAWASAKI AT LE MANS Despite a strong start to today’s French Grand Prix at Le Mans, Kawasaki’s John Hopkins saw any chance of a top five finish disappear just after the halfway point in the race, when the chain on his Ninja ZX-RR snapped without warning. The 24-year-old Anglo-American had fought his way through into seventh place during the early stages of the race and was closing rapidly on the battle for fifth when the incident occurred. It was a bitterly disappointed Hopkins who was forced to park the chainless bike against the Armco barrier and walk back to the paddock. It is the first time that such a failure has occurred, despite many miles of testing and racing. Kawasaki’s race engineers will now return with the chain to Japan, where they will work with the manufacturer to identify exactly what caused the chain to fail under race conditions. With Hopkins out of the race, it was left to Anthony West to carry the flag for Kawasaki, but the 26-year-old Australian had his own problems to contend with. From the start of the 28-lap race, West was struggling with a severe lack of rear grip that saw his Ninja ZX-RR spinning up on the gas out of every turn. In characteristic style, West refused to be defeated by the problem, and his dogged determination saw him eventually finish in 14th position, for which he was rewarded with two valuable championship points. It was a frustrated West that returned to the Kawasaki pit box to demand answers from his crew, who were quick to identify the cause as a problem with the set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR. Both Kawasaki riders leave Le Mans disappointed, but determined to make amends in the next race at Mugello, which takes place in just two weeks time. Anthony West 13 – 14th Position “I am not happy at all. This weekend has been a struggle, because we’ve had the same rear traction problems that we’ve experienced at every track since the start of the season. But then, in the race, the rear grip was non-existent; the bike was spinning up if I even thought about opening the throttle. I knew straight away that something was wrong, but short of coming in for a change of tyre and kissing any chance of a points scoring finish goodbye, there was nothing I could do. In the end, I just did what I could to ride round the problem, but I don’t think I’ve ever been as happy to see the chequered flag as I was today. Now I want to know what the problem was, and I want to be sure that we don’t have the same problem again.” John Hopkins #21 – DNF “After practice and qualifying I really thought we could come away from Le Mans with a good result, which makes today even more frustrating. I got a pretty good start, and was then able to make up places by passing on the brakes, but there are still a number of areas where we’re losing out, on acceleration out of the turns for example, and this makes it difficult to make a pass stick. It’s no fun holding off someone like Lorenzo for a whole lap, only to see him motor past you as soon as you get onto the straight. We need to work on these areas, starting with tomorrow’s test, and we need to make some improvements if we’re to increase our competitiveness. As for the chain, I guess that was just bad luck. Now we need to find out why it failed, so we can avoid the same problem in the future. Finally, I’d like to apologise to Loris for the pass I put on him, which was a little bit hard. Sorry Loris!” Michael Bartholemy Kawasaki Competition Manager “It has been a frustrating weekend for everyone, but we can’t allow our heads to drop as a result of the problems we faced today. John started well, and was closing on the battle for fifth place when his chain snapped, putting him out of the race. Obviously, we need to identify what caused the failure so that we can avoid the same problem in the future. To Anthony I’d like to apologise, because the difficulties he experienced today were due to a miscalculation on the part of the team. He showed true determination this afternoon by riding around the problem to finish the race, and for that he should be commended. Some very important lessons have been learnt this weekend, and while it may have been a painful learning process, this experience will only make us stronger as a team. Now we need to focus on Mugello, where we must realise the full potential of our riders and our Ninja ZX-RR.” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: TOUGH DAY AT LE MANS FOR DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM An otherwise positive weekend for Casey Stoner at Le Mans ended on a negative note today as his unbroken run of 22 points-scoring finishes came to an end. The Australian had produced another top performance in the race as he was forced to ride around an unfortunate lack of grip from one side of his front tyre – possibly due to the slight change in track conditions caused by a wet morning warm-up – on the back of another impressive display during practice. Stoner battled through his problems to stay in the podium fight but on the 21st lap the engine of his Ducati also ran into difficulty and forced him to return to the pits. With the white flags having been shown to indicate a wet race, Stoner was able to take his second bike and return to the race on rain tyres – eventually crossing the line in 16th place, missing the points for the first time with Ducati. After losing thirty seconds at the start of the race when his bike stalled on the grid, Marco Melandri also ended the race on rain tyres after gambling on an early change. Unfortunately for Marco the light rainfall never turned into a downpour, although he did manage to take a point in 15th. MARCO MELANDRI – (Ducati Marlboro Team) 15th “My race was doomed from the start because unfortunately the bike was cutting out on the sighting lap and I thought it was just a temporary thing. Then when I let the clutch out at the start it stalled completely and I lost some vital seconds. Once I got going I got my rhythm together and when I saw it was raining I decided to come in and hope that the gamble of an early change would pay off with some more rain. It’s a shame because things went well in the warm-up when the bike was more balanced and more predictable and I think I was capable of a good race. Now we have a couple of days to test and I’m sure we can make a real step forward before Mugello, a circuit I love.” CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 16th “I got a decent start to the race today but unfortunately I just didn’t have any feeling for the right hand side of the front tyre. I was losing a lot of grip at maximum lean and kept closing the front so I lost a lot of confidence. I couldn’t brake as late as I had been doing during practice so I had to ride around it and managed to get to the point where it was only when the tyre was right on the edge, in T4, that I was really losing time. I was there or thereabouts, still in with a shout of a podium position, and it started to rain so I thought that could give us a chance. Unfortunately that was when I started to have a problem with the engine, I couldn’t get any drive off the bottom end and couldn’t overtake anybody. Then a couple of laps later the engine problem effectively ended the race for us. This weekend has had a lot of positive aspects to it – we’ve got back up to speed again and found our old feeling with the bike so it’s just a case of everything coming together in a race. That’s why I’m looking forward to the next one.” LIVIO SUPPO Ducati MotoGP Project leader “This weekend Casey has been particularly unlucky and I’m sorry for him because he has ridden well and shown the speed and consistency of a true World Champion even though this track doesn’t suit the characteristics of our bike perfectly. In the race he had a problem with the front tyre that we’re looking at together with Bridgestone. It was the same tyre he had put more than race distance on in practice but it only lasted five laps in the race and that could be partly to do with the way the grip levels changed after the rain in the morning warm-up. He was still fighting for the podium when the engine problem came along and obviously we’ll look at that with our engineers. I’m disappointed for Marco too because in the warm-up he showed some real progress and we were looking forward to a fight-back in the race. It clearly wasn’t our day today, we haven’t had one like that for a long time, but we have to put it behind us and continue to work hard because the season is long and there will be plenty of chances for us to put it right.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: PEDROSA FIGHTS FOR FOURTH PLACE IN TOUGH RACE This was by no means the result Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) was looking for as he finished fourth behind the three Yamahas of winner Valentino Rossi, second-placed Jorge Lorenzo and third man Colin Edwards. With unsettled weather again the major factor it proved to be in the 125cc and 250cc races, this 28-lap race got underway in sunshine with rain clouds lurking in the skies. Casey Stoner (Ducati) rocketed into the lead at turn one with Dani and Edwards hot in his tracks. As early as lap three a front foursome of Stoner, Dani, Edwards and Rossi had established some distance between themselves and the pack, and only Lorenzo of the pursuers, would have the pace to get among them in the closing stages. On lap four Dani was eager to get past Stoner and tried a move up the inside of the Aussie at the Musée corner. He hit trouble mid-move and ran wide on the exit dropping back to third spot with Rossi moving up to second. Dani was working hard to get back on terms with Rossi and moved up the inside of the former World Champion on the front straight before dropping in behind again as Rossi leaned on his rival on the entry to the chicane. This would be Dani’s best effort to stay with the race winner. Rossi now had the measure of Stoner and on lap seven he made his move, the Aussie fighting back to retake the lead before Rossi hammered home his advantage on lap eight, establishing a one second lead in the space of two laps and never looking remotely threatened after that. Dani worked his way back to second past Stoner on lap 11 as Rossi set a series of fastest laps stretching his advantage to nearly three seconds by mid-race distance. Lorenzo was lying fifth at this point as Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) ran off track while seventh in his unstinting efforts to haul himself into contention. Rain began to fall at the start of lap 16, and although white flags were deployed to allow riders into the pits for a machine change if they wished, all stayed out in the tricky conditions save the struggling Marco Melandri (Ducati) who gambled on further rain by swapping bikes for a wet-tyre shod version (unsuccessfully as it turned out). Rossi was now away in the distance and as Lorenzo edged past Edwards for fourth, Dani’s second place was now in jeopardy to his countryman who was on a late race charge. On lap 21 Lorenzo moved past Stoner on the pits straight, the Aussie throwing up his left hand to indicate machine trouble. Stoner limped round for another lap trying to get to the pits to change bike, but as he footed into pitlane on his stricken Ducati, it was clear his race was as good as over. He finished 16th, out of the points, after rejoining the race on his number two bike. As Lorenzo stole past Dani for second, Rossi held a seven second lead that he extended to more than ten seconds before easing off the gas in the closing stages to take the flag. Edwards had taken Dani’s third place off him to complete an all-Yamaha podium. Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Scot Honda RC212V) rode a determined race to finish sixth after a slow start that left him down in 12th place at the end of lap one. Dovi was just a bike-length behind Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki). Nicky finished eighth ahead of local hopeful Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) with Shinya Nakano (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) tenth and his team-mate Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) 12th. Dani said: “I’m sorry because we could have been on the podium but in the race I wasn’t able to go as fast as I had during practice. From the beginning of the race I had some issues with the front tyre, I couldn’t brake the way I wanted to. When we chose our race tyres we tried hard to choose the best tyres for the race, so we didn’t expect things to turn out like they did. Then in the second half of the race I started to lack some rear grip. When Lorenzo passed me I tried to go with him and not lose contact but I couldn’t manage it. I gave my maximum and despite the problems we finished fourth, which isn’t so bad.” Dovi, in sixth, said: “When I caught up with James Toseland we overtook each other a few times, then when I was in one of the downhill corners, James hit me very hard from behind. I didn’t crash but his front tyre hit my body, my leathers are marked from his tyre and the bike has some rubber marks on the rear. For this reason I lost a lot of time and probably without this I could have done even better by the end of the race. We have to do better in qualifying we know that and have a better pace in the race.” Nicky Hayden, eighth, said: “That wasn’t too pretty. All weekend we’ve been missing something, the pace hasn’t been there. I got a good start and recovered a couple of positions but couldn’t go with the group I needed to go with. I was hanging in there, then I ran off the track in turn six, got in just a little bit hot, didn’t make it and that lost me three positions. I came back on, had a little dice with Loris over the last few laps but it wasn’t the result we wanted. This has never been an easy track for me, I’d say Le Mans is the worst track for me on the calendar.” De Puniet said: “It wasn’t easy for me today because I finally made a good start but another rider pushed me wide at the chicane and when I rejoined the race I was ninth. Hopkins overtook me on the inside in the downhill and we both went wide. So I lost five places and was 14th. I started to push hard to get back into the top ten. Finally I was behind Capirossi and Hayden but was too late to pass them.” Tenth-placed Nakano said: “Unfortunately today I wasn’t able to put the race together as I had wanted. Starting from the fifth row always makes life difficult but over the opening few laps I couldn’t even stay with the group in front of me. It was only when it started to rain halfway through the race that I got a good pace together and went quicker. I made up ground and caught up with the group but towards the end of the race De Puniet caught me out on the brakes and I missed out on ninth place. I’m not happy finishing tenth, even though I have to say we’ve improved the feeling with the bike here.” De Angelis, who finished 12th, said: “Despite the end position I’m happy with today because we managed to run half of the race together with the guys who are on satellite bikes just like mine. Unfortunately when it started to rain I had no choice but to drop my pace because I was getting a lot of chatter and I couldn’t feel the front. I couldn’t understand if it was the tyre losing grip or if it was just the water on the track that was causing it. Anyway, I lost contact with that group but stayed in the points and that’s positive.” The World Championship table looks like this after five rounds: Rossi 97, Lorenzo and Pedrosa tied in second on 94, Stoner with 56 points. 250cc Grand Prix Alex Debon won his first Grand Prix after more than 100 starts when he opted for slick tyres on a damp track that dried as this 26-lap race ran its course. Marco Simoncelli was second and Mattia Pasini (the only other slick-shod rider) third (all Aprilia). Hector Barbera (Aprilia) got a lightning start from 11th on the grid and led the pack through the chicane, but Debon soon took control of the race and the Spanish rider had worked a ten second advantage over second-placed Yuki Takahashi (JiR Scot Honda RS250RW) by mid-race distance. Takahashi couldn’t quite hold onto second as the final laps unfolded. Pasini slipped past, then Simoncelli and the game fourth-placed Japanese factory man would be denied a podium for the second successive race. Some consolation for his consistency however is third equal in the World Championship points table. He said: “I started very well in the wet conditions and overtook a lot of riders. During the race the asphalt began to dry but I looked and could see that one corner was still a little damp but I had no reference with the other riders about how fast to go through the corner and I didn’t want to take a risk to fall and lose the points. I think that at that point on the track I was losing some time to the other riders but after Pasini and Simoncelli came past on the straight it was difficult to keep contact with them. I would like to have been on the podium today, but next time out at our home race in Mugello I want to make amends.” Ratthapark Wilairot (Stop And Go Racing RS250RW) finished in the points in 15th and said: “The track was very slippery at the beginning, and I rode very slowly, so I lost a lot of positions. Then the track dried, but at half race distance there still were some wet areas, and I was afraid of crashing. I waited for better conditions, and when I started to ride faster it was too late, and I just grabbed a single point.” The points table shows Mika Kallio (KTM) in front with 93 points, Mattia Pasini second with 77 and Takahashi tying with Alex Debon for third with 59 points apiece. 125cc Grand Prix A home win for Frenchman Mike di Meglio (Derbi) was just what the crowd wanted, but it took a rain shower to hand the advantage to the local man. British rider Bradley Smith was second and Nicolas Terol (both Aprilia) third. When rain fell on the 14th lap of the 24 scheduled for this race, red flags came out and a wet restart was declared over five laps. Esteve Rabat (KTM) led the pack into the first chicane but he then fell handing the lead to Terol before Gabor Talmacsi (Aprilia) overhauled Terol to lead. But the reigning World Champion fell at the final turn as lap three ended and Terol took control at the front again before Smith wrested the lead from him. However, it was de Meglio who had the measure of his home track and when he shot past Smith on the penultimate lap he was never headed as he completed a nervous last lap to the flag. Louis Rossi (FFM Racing Honda RS125R) managed his best result so far in his rookie season when he took 19th place. He said: “It feels good to finish in a better placing. In the first leg, I battled with Steven Le Coquen and ended up leaving him behind. I then made a good start in the rain and when I saw I was within the points, I hung on but couldn’t contain the three more experienced riders who overtook me on the last lap.” Cyril Carillo (FFM Racing Honda RS125R) did not make the restart after crashing on lap 11 in the first part of this two-stage race. The World Championship points table now shows Di Meglio in front with 74 points, Terol second on 66 and Simone Corsi (Aprilia) third overall with 61 points after five races. Honda rider quotes. GP France race. MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 4th fastest lap 1m 34.469s lap 5. “I am sorry because we could have been on the podium but in the race I wasn’t able to go as fast as I had gone during practice. From the beginning of the race I had some issues with the front tyre. I couldn’t brake the way I wanted to brake. When we chose our race tyres we tried hard to choose the best tyres for the race, so we didn’t expect things to turn out like they did. Then in the second half of the race I started to lack some rear grip. When Lorenzo passed me I tried to go with him and not lose contact but I couldn’t manage it. I gave my maximum and despite the problems we finished fourth, which isn’t so bad. We are second equal in the championship and we will continue to work hard to achieve better results at the next races. We stay here tomorrow for one day of testing when we will try to understand what happened today and make another step forward.” Andrea Dovizioso, JiR Scot Honda: 6th – fastest lap 1m 34.727s lap 27. “Today I didn’t start very well and at the beginning of the race it was hard to gain positions, but I was soon moving through the field when I caught up with James Toseland. We overtook each other a few times, but when I was in one of the downhill corners, I was accelerating when James hit me very hard from behind. Thank God I didn’t crash but his front tyre hit my body and my leather suit shows marks from his tyre and also the bike has some black rubber marks on the rear part of it. For this reason I lost a lot of time and probably without this fact I could have done even better by the end of the race. We have to do better in qualifying we know that and also work to have a better pace in the race.” Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 8th – fastest lap 1m 35.182s lap 10. “That wasn’t too pretty. All weekend we’ve been missing something, the pace hasn’t been there. I got a good start and recovered a couple of positions but couldn’t go with the group I needed to go with. I was hanging in there, then I ran off the track in turn six, got in just a little bit hot, didn’t make it and that lost me three positions. I came back on, had a little dice with Loris over the last few laps but it wasn’t the result we wanted. It was definitely tough conditions, it wasn’t just a few drops of rain it was straight-up raining through some parts of the track. With the tyres being that hot the lap times didn’t suffer too bad, but I was kinda hoping the rain would come down and let us swap bikes and try something different, but it didn’t happen. This has never been an easy track for me, I’d say Le Mans is the worst track for me on the calendar. Tomorrow we’ll work on chassis stuff. I need to try getting some momentum going, especially for the tracks I really love that are coming up. I need to be strong when I get to them, I need to use the people around me to find what I need.” Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda: 9th – fastest lap 1m 35.191s lap 9. “It was not easy for me today because I finally made a good start but another rider pushed me outside the chicane and when I rejoined the race I was ninth. Hopkins overtook me in the inside in the downhill and we both went wide. So I’ lost five places and was 14th. For the following eight laps my pace was not consistent but I started to push hard to be back in the top ten. Finally I was behind Capirossi and Hayden but was to late to pass them. I feel satisfied anyway because this race was a lottery due to mixed conditions of the track”. Shinya Nakano, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 10th – fastest lap 1m 35.430s lap 4. “Unfortunately today I couldn’t ride as I like. Starting from the 5th row complicated the race from the start, moreover in the first laps I lost the contact with the group of the riders in front of me. Only when it started to rain I found a good rhythm and I could be faster. I reached the guys in front of me but, at the end De Puniet overtook me and I lost the ninth position. I’m not satisfied about my result even if I confess that thanks to some modifications done to the suspensions, the balance of the bike has improved. Tomorrow we will stay here for one day test in preparation of the next race” Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 12th fastest lap 1m 35.327s lap 8. “Despite my position in the classification, I’m quite happy about today as I could stay with the group of the other satellite riders in the first part of the race. Unfortunately, when it started raining, I couldn’t keep the pace because I suffered from chattering and it was impossible to feel the front. I didn’t know if it was because of the tyre or because the track was wet. I lost the contact with the group, finishing 12th. At the end we lost the silencer, so i had less power, but fortunately the race was over.” 250cc: Yukio Takahashi, JiR Scot Honda: 4th fastest lap 1m 40.275s lap 24. “I started very well in the wet conditions and I overtook a lot of riders. The bike was very well prepared by the team and during the warm-up we took the time to verify the settings of the Honda and that they were correct. During the race the asphalt began to dry but I looked and could see that one corner was still a little damp but I had no reference with the other riders about how fast to go through the corner and I didn’t want to take a risk to fall and lose the points. I think that at that point on the track I was losing some time to the other riders but after Pasini and Simoncelli came past on the straight it was difficult to keep contact with them. I would like to have been on the podium today to make right the fact that we didn’t have the rostrum in China, but the next time out at our home race in Mugello I want to make amends.” Ratthapark Wilairot, Thai Honda PTT SAG: 15th – fastest lap 1m 41.688s lap 24. “The track was very slippery at the beginning, and I run very slowly, so I lost a lot of positions. Then the track was getting dry, but at half race there still were some wet areas, and I was afraid of crashing. I waited for better conditions, and when I started to ride fast it was too late, and I just could hunt a single point”. 125cc: Louis Rossi, FFM Honda: 19th – fastest lap 2m 03.627s lap 4.”It feels good to finish in a better placing. I really feel I turned the corner this weekend. As I improve I can better appreciate competing; I feel better and enjoy my Honda. In the first leg, I battled with Steven Le Coquen and ended up leaving him behind. I then made a good start in the rain and when I saw I was within points, I hanged on but couldn’t contain the three more experienced riders who overtook me on the last lap!” Cyril Carrillo, FFM Honda: Dnf crash first lap.”What can I say except that I am very disappointed! At the start, I went too wide in the Dunlop curve and found myself on a dirty part of the track. I was braking into the bend but the front of the bike gave way and I hit another rider before falling. I set off again with a bent gear lever and had to retire on the 11th lap.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Bridgestone-shod Rossi takes second win and claims championship lead Round 5: France Race Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans – Sunday 18 May 2008 Fiat Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi has taken his second consecutive MotoGP win using Bridgestone tyres after a supreme performance in difficult conditions at Le Mans this afternoon. Rossi took the lead on lap eight after Ducati’s Casey Stoner commanded an early lead and did not relinquish control, even as light rain hit the Bugatti Circuit just after the halfway mark of the 28-lap race. Rossi’s win takes the number of Bridgestone-shod wins to three in the opening five races and sends the Italian to the top of the riders’ championship with 97 points, marginally ahead of team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who finished second today, and Honda’s Dani Pedrosa who took fourth. Chris Vermeulen and Loris Capirossi took Suzuki’s best joint result of the season so far with fifth and seventh places respectively, while Honda Gresini’s Shinya Nakano took his fourth straight top ten result with tenth place. There was disappointment for Casey Stoner and Kawasaki’s John Hopkins, who were both forced out of strong positions with mechanical issues. The competitive level of Bridgestone’s range of Le Mans tyres was highlighted by some quick lap times from all teams. All six Bridgestone-backed teams saw their riders lap competitively in the dry conditions with Yamaha, Ducati, Suzuki and Kawasaki all inside the top half of the field in terms of fastest laps of the race with Rossi, Stoner, Vermeulen, Capirossi and Hopkins setting personal bests under the 1m35s mark. Hiroshi Yamada Bridgestone Motorsport Manager, Motorcycle Sport Unit “That was a very exciting race and we must congratulate Yamaha for a podium clean sweep and to the Fiat Yamaha Team for their first one-two of the season. Naturally, we are very pleased to see Valentino winning using our tyres today; he did a truly incredible job in the tough conditions. After the rain-affected race last year at which our riders excelled, it was another mixed weather day today, making life difficult for all the riders. To score our second consecutive French GP win is very pleasing, and across all our teams and manufacturers there were some very good performances, which leads us into this busy run of European races with extra determination.” Tohru Ubukata Bridgestone Motorsport Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development “I am generally pleased with the performance of our tyres here at Le Mans this weekend. All throughout practice many of our riders have been on the pace and we take great pride in the development steps we have made since Qatar. We used many different specification rear tyres with our riders this afternoon and the results were encouraging, not least with Valentino’s excellent victory. Unfortunately, Casey experienced a strange problem with his front tyre after just a few laps, with some unusual degradation, which affected his performance level. It was the same specification front tyre that has enabled him to perform so strongly all weekend, so we will look into this matter very closely with Ducati to determine the cause. Even with this problem he was able to maintain a strong pace and fight near the front, which would undoubtedly have resulted in another podium without his eventual mechanical issue.” Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team Race Winner and Championship Leader “It was a great race and it is fantastic to reach my 90th career win to catch Angel Nieto; it is like a dream for me. I didn’t expect to be so fast today, but we made some good modifications to the bike in the morning warm-up which made a big difference. The Bridgestone tyres had a fantastic grip, which helped me build up a good advantage. When the rain started, I tried to ride very sweetly round the corners because I didn’t want to come in and change bikes. There was enough grip to continue, and now we have taken our second win in a row, the first time since 2006, so we are back in business and ready for Mugello.” Bridgestone-shod Riders’ Race Results and Tyre Choices at Race Start Pos. Rider Team Race Time Gap Front Tyre (all 16.5”) Rear Tyre (all 16.5”) P1 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 44m30.799s WINNER Slick-Medium Slick-Medium P5 Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 44m52.561s +21.762s Slick-Hard Slick-Hard P7 Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 44m58.605s +27.806s Slick-Medium Slick-Medium P10 Shinya Nakano San Carlo Honda Gresini 45m01.621s +30.822s Slick-Medium Slick-Medium P11 Toni Elias Alice Team 45m05.953s +35.154s Slick-Medium Slick-Medium P12 Alex de Angelis San Carlo Honda Gresini 45m07.015s +36.216s Slick-Medium Slick-Medium P13 Sylvain Guintoli Alice Team 45m22.837s +52.038s Slick-Soft Slick-Medium P14 Anthony West Kawasaki Racing Team 46m00.106s +1m29.307s Slick-Medium Slick-Medium P15 Marco Melandri Ducati Corse 46m10.422s +1 lap Slick-Soft Slick-Medium P16 Casey Stoner Ducati Corse 44m47.085s +2 laps Slick-Soft Slick-Medium DNF John Hopkins Kawasaki Racing Team 25m36.029s +12 laps Slick-Medium Slick-Medium Weather: Dry Air 20°C, Track 36°C ( Bridgestone measurement) More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Rossi tops all Yamaha podium in Le Mans Valentino Rossi made another historic step in his incredible career today when he took his 90th career victory in Le Mans, equalling the record set by the great Angel Nieto, to move into second in the all-time winners list behind Giacomo Agostini. It was an outstanding display from the Fiat Yamaha Team rider and he celebrated in fine style when Nieto joined him on his slow-down lap, the Spaniard taking charge of the bike with Rossi riding pillion behind him. It was a superb day for Yamaha in general as Jorge Lorenzo once again defied his injuries to ride into an astonishing second place behind his team-mate and Tech 3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards joined the pair on the podium in third place. Rossi had an average start and was tailing the lead group in fifth at the end of lap one. It was soon clear how well his Yamaha-Bridgestone package was working however and he picked off first Nicky Hayden then Edwards and Dani Pedrosa to move into second behind Casey Stoner, before passing him too on lap eight. From then on Rossi was too strong for the chasing pack, stretching his lead lap after lap until some spots of rain forced him to slow slightly in the last third of the race. The sun soon came back out however, allowing the riders to continue without changing bikes and the Italian to cross the line 4.997 seconds in front to take his first back-to-back victory since 2006. The 29-year-old’s 90th win moves him two points clear at the top of the championship with 97 points, whilst Lorenzo and Pedrosa are just behind him with 94 points each. Rossi will now stay here for two days of testing to ready himself for his home race at Mugello in Italy in two week’s time, when he will be looking for his 7th consecutive win at the track. Valentino Rossi 1st 44’30.799; “To arrive at 90 wins like this and equal Angel’s record is a dream for me. I had quite a lot of pressure because Angel was waiting with the special leathers to join me on the bike, so I really needed to win! It was great to ride with him – I think maybe with some practice he can be as fast as us! 180 victories together on one bike is quite impressive I think! Honestly I didn’t expect to be so fast today but together with Jeremy and my guys we decided to make some small modifications this morning and in the race my M1 and my Bridgestone tyres worked brilliantly from start to finish. When is started to rain a little bit I thought “oh no!’ and so I steadied a bit and tried to ride very sweetly; I had such a good rhythm and I really didn’t want to have to change bikes. Luckily the rain soon stopped and I was able to continue in the same way. It’s great for Yamaha to have the first three and I want to congratulate Jorge especially for doing such a good job in his condition. Thanks to everybody in the team; the job that Yamaha has done in three months is incredible. I enjoyed myself so much today, the atmosphere in our garage is perfect and now we will make two important days of testing, try to improve even more and then head to Mugello.” Davide Brivio Team Manager; “What a day for Yamaha and for Valentino! This is a great victory, Valentino was even stronger than in China and now we are leading the championship. Our team, engineers and Bridgestone are doing a fantastic job and now we need to maintain this form through the busy run of races coming up. Next stop Mugello, which is a very important race for all of us, so we’ll be working hard at the test here to make sure we are in the best shape to try to repeat this result!” Fiat Yamaha Team rider Jorge Lorenzo once again stunned onlookers by riding to second place in Le Mans today with two fractured ankles. The 21-year-old rookie has found it increasingly difficult to ride through the pain during the course of the weekend but today he found his rhythm and was able to take his fourth podium in five races. It was a Yamaha whitewash in France as Valentino Rossi took his 90th career victory, equalling Angel Nieto with the second highest number of wins in the sport’s history, and Yamaha Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards rode a strong race to finish third. Lorenzo’s race was a carbon copy of China as he dropped back through the field at the start, struggling off the line and unable to find his rhythm in the early stages. He had lost five places from fifth on the grid at the end of lap one but on lap eight he suddenly found the feeling with the bike and began to make headway, passing three riders in one lap and setting off after Chris Vermeulen, who was some distance ahead. It took the Michelin-shod rider seven laps to reel in the Australian and then another five to pass Edwards, before he leap-frogged both Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner on lap 21 to move into second. Some spots of rain caused a flurry of activity in the pits as the mechanics readied the second bikes with rain settings, but the sun reappeared and Lorenzo eventually crossed the line just under five seconds adrift of his team-mate. Jorge Lorenzo 2nd +4’997; “Firstly I want to say congratulations to Yamaha because it’s fantastic to have three on the podium and it demonstrates how strong our bike is. After the weekend I have had, with the crashes and so much pain, I can’t believe I’m here! All last night I worried about this race because I really thought it might be too hard. It was a dream to finish sixth or seventh, especially when I could only manage 11th in the warm-up. I knew I had to try however and on the grid one of my mechanics reminded me that my rivals were just the same ones as in Portugal; this was a good motivation! I had some problems at the start and it’s clear that we need to work on these, but after a while I found my rhythm and once again I was able to make my way through the field and pass some riders. I think the rain helped me for the first time in my life because everyone was a little bit slower for a few laps, but second is unbelievable and I think I look a bit happier this afternoon! Now we have to work as hard as possible to heal my injuries and improve my physical condition, so that we can be back to our best in Mugello.” Danielle Romagoli Team Manager; “Once again Jorge has done an incredible job in his condition and today is a great result for Yamaha and for the team. Our job this weekend has been very difficult because two crashes have meant less time to perfect the bike, but the team did a great job, found the best possible set-up and then Michelin gave us the best tyre for the race. Thanks to all of them! Now everyone needs some rest but Jorge most of all and we will all be hoping that he is able to relax and recuperate over the next ten days so that he can be back to full strength in Italy.” Edwards claims home podium for jubilant Tech 3 Yamaha Colin Edwards stormed to his first podium finish of the season in Le Mans today to hand a jubilant Tech 3 Yamaha squad its first premier class top three finish since 2004. Edwards finished third in a rain-affected 28-lap race to give Tech 3 its first home podium since 2003, while the American also helped Yamaha to its first clean sweep of the rostrum since 2001. Starting from the front row of the grid for the fourth time in five races, the American was immediately in contention for the lead as he pursued reigning world champion Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa. Relegated to fourth by eventual Valentino Rossi on lap four, Edwards then spent 15 laps closely pursuing Stoner and Pedrosa, and in the process he clocked the second fastest lap of the race. Rain started to fall on lap 16, dampening the track at certain points, though not hard enough for a second successive flag-to-flag race to be played out in front of a large French crowd. Edwards briefly slipped back to fifth on lap 20, but he moved back into fourth when Stoner encountered technical problems and secured his ninth podium when he passed Pedrosa on lap 22. The result helped move Edwards into fifth place in the points, while Tech 3 Yamaha is now level on points with Ducati’s factory squad in the Team World Championship standings. James Toseland’s Le Mans debut ended in disappointment after the British rider crashed out of ninth place following a tangle with Andrea Dovizioso on lap three. Toseland had made a fantastic start to jump to fifth by the end of the first lap, but in the frantic early exchanges slipped back to ninth before he crashed unhurt. Colin Edwards 3rd +6.805; “I honestly thought that today was going to be my day with the pace I’d been able to run all weekend. I was fastest in free practice, fastest in the warm-up and second on the grid so I had high expectations. I really thought I could have got my first win out there, but I’ll still settle for third because it was a tough race. I thought I’d got a good start and then Casey and Dani came flying by and it was almost impossible to pass them. I tried everything, but they just didn’t make any mistakes and I couldn’t get close enough. I wanted to get by them because looking at my lap times I know I had more in the locker, but I couldn’t pass. They just had the jump on me coming out of the corners with acceleration and it would have taken a risky move for me to do it. I’m an experienced rider and those guys are fighting for the world title while I’m in fifth, so I wasn’t going to do anything stupid. And when Valentino came blazing by like a cowboy with his guns shooting I knew he was going to push hard and that it would be tough for me. Casey had a problem and I got by him and then I passed Dani, as he seemed to check a bit at the first corner because of the rain. I didn’t think the rain was that bad and the lap times were not that much slower. I got to say a huge thanks to my team because I’ve wanted to give them a podium, and I guess there is no better to do it than in their home race. They’ve worked so hard and I’m glad to give them that podium. Congratulations to Yamaha as well because to have a 1-2-3 is fantastic. My Michelin tyres worked great too, so hopefully next time I can be closer to the win.” James Toseland DNF; “I’m pretty frustrated because a little mistake ruins all the hard work myself and the team have put in. I wish I could have a second go at it now like you get in World Superbikes! I got a great start and really wanted to try and get away with the leaders but I lost a couple of places when John Hopkins came by with a hard but fair move. Andrea then made a small mistake and went slightly wide at the fourth corner and as I tried to go underneath him he came back on line and took my front wheel. It was just a racing incident but very disappointing because after that good start I felt like I could have got a good result. I’m already looking forward to coming back strongly at Mugello and having done a bit of testing there before it won’t be completely alien for me. Congratulations to Colin because he has been awesome all weekend. He has been on the pace since pre-season testing and he’s deserved that podium, as has the team for all their effort. It was great for Yamaha to dominate the podium so it proves what great work was done in the winter. Herve Poncharal Team Manager; “It has been a fantastic weekend for Tech 3 and for Yamaha. It has been a long time since our last podium and we had almost forgotten what it was like to celebrate after the race! But Colin has done a great job and I want to thank him for that. He almost got pole position yesterday but second was great and in qualifying this year he has been incredible. We knew it was going to be a tough race because this is a high calibre championship and to get a podium against such quality opposition is a great achievement, and all the more satisfying because this is our home race. Colin never gave up and in the end he was rewarded because he rode a sensible but fast race. It was an exceptional day for Yamaha and congratulations to them and Masao Furusawa. The Yamaha staff put in a tremendous amount of effort over the winter after a tough 2007 so to claim all the places on the podium is incredible. We are not 100 percent happy because of James’ crash but we always knew this was going to be a tough part of the season but he did a good job in qualifying and his start was very impressive. He was right in the heart of the battle and riding well before the incident. I am 100 per cent confident things will get better for him and I believe today he could have finished around sixth. He is a true champion and I know he will never give up.”