Alice Grand Prix De France Le Mans Circuit MotoGP Race 1. Marco MELANDRI (Hon RC211V), Michelin, 28 laps, 44:57.369 2. Loris CAPIROSSI (Duc GP06), Bridgestone, -1.929 seconds 3. Dani PEDROSA (Hon RC211V), Michelin, -2.269 seconds 4. Casey STONER (Hon RC211V), Michelin, -5.494 seconds 5. Nicky HAYDEN (Hon RC211V), Michelin, -5.709 seconds 6. Colin EDWARDS (Yam YZR-M1), Michelin, -11.519 seconds 7. Makoto TAMADA (Hon RC211V), Michelin, -16.692 seconds 8. Sete GIBERNAU (Duc GP06), Bridgestone, -18.142 seconds 9. Toni ELIAS (Hon RC211V), Michelin, -23.645 seconds 10. Chris VERMEULEN (Suz GSV-R), Bridgestone, -39.362 seconds 11. Carlos CHECA (Yam YZR-M1), Dunlop, -47.730 seconds 12. Shinya NAKANO (Kaw ZX-RR), Bridgestone, -47.782 seconds 13. Alex HOFMANN (Duc GP05), Dunlop, -1:09.092 seconds 14. James ELLISON (Yam YZR-M1), Dunlop, – 1:16.172 seconds 15. John HOPKINS (Suz GSV-R), Bridgestone, -2 laps, crash 16. Jose Luis CARDOSO (Duc GP05), Dunlop, -7 laps, DNF 17. Valentino ROSSI (Yam YZR-M1), Michelin, -8 laps, DNF, mechanical 18. Kenny Lee ROBERTS (KR211V), Michelin, -27 laps, DNF, crash 19. Randy DE PUNIET (Kaw ZX-RR), Bridgestone, -28 laps, DNF, crash MotoGP World Championship Point Standings (after 5 of 17 races): 1. HAYDEN, 83 points 2. TIE, MELANDRI/CAPIROSSI, 79 points 3. PEDROSA, 73 points 4. STONER, 65 points 5. EDWARDS, 45 points 6. ELIAS, 44 points 7. ROSSI, 40 points 8. TIE, GIBERNAU/TAMADA, 33 points 9. NAKANO, 32 points 10. HOPKINS, 21 points 11. ROBERTS, 20 points 12. VERMEULEN, 19 points 13. CHECA, 15 points 14. DE PUNIET, 8 points 15. HOFMANN, 6 points 16. ELLISON, 5 points More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Melandri Claims Second Win Of Year In French Drama Marco Melandri took victory at a packed Le Mans circuit in a thrilling Alice Grand Prix of France, becoming the first rider to win two races this season. The weather ahead of the race left all riders and teams gambling, and the race itself was equally as unpredictable. The first lap was littered with notable incidents, as Melandri took the holeshot before being overtaken by Suzuki’s John Hopkins and a collision between Randy de Puniet, Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa left Kawasaki’s hometown rider out of the race and pushed Colin Edwards and Sete Gibernau off the track. After storming his way through the field, Rossi was up into the lead by lap 4, and when Hopkins lost his front end and fell to the back of the pack on lap 10 the stage was set for the season’s long awaited battle between the reigning MotoGP and 250cc World Champions. Rossi seemed to have the upper hand over young pretender Pedrosa, extending his lead with assertion over the second half of the race. However, in the key moment of the day, the charismatic Italian pulled over on lap 21, clearly distraught after suffering an unknown mechanical failure. Three laps later, Melandri made his move and broke past Pedrosa. The Fortuna Honda rider created a gap and crossed the line for the win. Loris Capirossi behind meanwhile pulled out one of the best outbraking moves of the season on Pedrosa to snatch second place from under the Spaniard’s nose. Casey Stoner continued his run of good form, having not finished outside the top six in his first MotoGP season. One rider who did see an end to his personal record was Nicky Hayden. The flu-stricken ‘Kentucky Kid’ was off the podium for the first time for the first time in nine races. After dropping down the order in the first turn, Colin Edwards clawed his way back through the field, ahead of Makoto Tamada and fellow first corner incident sufferer Sete Gibernau. Toni Elias and Chris Vermeulen finished ninth and tenth respectively. Nicky Hayden still leads the standings on 83 points, ahead of Melandri and Capirossi who are both breathing down his neck on 79. 250cc Yuki Takahashi took his first victory of 2006 in the 250cc race, snatching victory from Humangest Honda team-mate Andrea Dovizioso on the finishing line. The Japanese rider extends the Italian’s search for his first win in the quarter litre category in a heartbreaking finale for Dovizioso in which the two battled tooth and nail on the final laps. The fight for third place saw brothers Shuhei and Hiroshi Aoyama pulling no punches in search of valuable world championship points. Shuhei, younger by three years, managed to hold off his sibling for a superb first podium of the season. Alex de Angelis, in contention for a rostrum place for a large percentage of the race, finished fifth ahead of Roberto Locatelli, who was involved in a crash with Jorge Lorenzo which put the Spaniard out of the race. Hector Barbera, Marco Simoncelli, Sylvain Guintoli and Jakub Smrz completed the top ten ahead of Anthony West, who dropped down when the expected rainfall failed to arrive. 125cc After a disastrous start to his 2006 season, World Champion Thomas Luthi stepped up to the podium for the first time this year in Le Mans. The Swiss rider was victorious in a damp 125cc race, after a heartbreaking finale for Alvaro Bautista. After Mika Kallio took the holeshot, a group of four riders took charge at the head of the pack. Kallio, Bautista, Luthi and Fabrizio Lai broke free, with Lukas Pesek and Mike di Meglio falling by the wayside. Luthi took the win on the last lap, when Bautista waved him through after suffering a mechanical problem. Kallio and Lai also took advantage of the championship leader’s misfortune to complete the podium positions, whilst Bautista limped across the line fourth. Pablo Nieto appeared seemingly from nowhere to finish fifth, whilst the top ten positions were made up by Raffaele de Rosa, Joan Olive, Sergio Gadea, Andrea Iannone and Simone Corsi. MotoGP 1st, Marco Melandri (Honda): “It’s been a strange season, some races have been bad, some good. Today didn’t start so well. The rear side of the tyre was too hard for the first 5 laps. When the tyres were warm the feeling was good and I started to catch front two. I have been lucky; if Rossi hadn’t have broken down for sure I would have lost to him. When I saw Dani make a mistake I said ‘I think I can overtake him’, and when I saw Rossi pull up I said ‘I think I can win.'” 2nd, Loris Capirossi (Ducati): “I think the race was fantastic, my rhythm was so high, when I saw that Rossi was out I thought that I had a podium finish in the bag, and on the last two laps I went all out to overtake Dani and managed to do so in the final moments. This morning we hoped for rain because we’re not so good here, so I am pleased to be second here.” 3rd, Dani Pedrosa (Honda): “I was doing great at the beginning, but even during the first few laps I knew that the end would be difficult. At first the gap was small, but it was always increasing. I had a lot of tyre problems but the choice was mine. I am lucky to finish on the podium so I have to be happy. I did well despite the problems. When Valentino went out I knew that I could get the podium place because I was part of the front group.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing: MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2006 KAWASAKI RACING TEAM PRESS OFFICE 21 MAY 2006 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NAKANO SALVAGES VALUABLE POINTS AT LE MANS Kawasaki’s Randy de Puniet and Shinya Nakano were both left frustrated by this afternoon’s Grand Prix de France at Le Mans, after de Puniet crashed out of his home race on the opening lap and Nakano was forced to fight back to finish a disappointing twelfth following a ride through penalty imposed for jumping the start. Starting from fourth place on the grid, de Puniet got away with the leading group at the start, but was forced to take avoiding action as Valentino Rossi dived underneath him at the entry to the first chicane. Forced to pick up his bike to avoid Rossi’s Yamaha, de Puniet collided with the rider on his outside and ended his race in the gravel trap. The 25-year-old Frenchman was examined in the circuit medical centre, where he was diagnosed as having suffered a concussion in the crash. As a result, de Puniet can remember nothing of the events leading up to his premature exit from this afternoon’s race. A mistake launching his Ninja ZX-RR off the line meant that Nakano was unable to capitalise on his front row grid position, but the Japanese rider made up places into the first chicane and was lying sixth at the end of the first lap. The 28-year-old Japanese rider was still in touch with the leading group of riders when the Kawasaki Racing Team were informed by race control that Nakano had jumped the start and would be subject to a ride through penalty. Nakano pulled into pit lane from sixth position, and rejoined the race at the first corner dead last. Determined to salvage as many points as possible, Nakano was soon lapping at the same pace as the front-runners, eventually fighting his way through to twelfth place by the end of the 28-lap race. Shinya Nakano: 12th “Obviously I’m disappointed. I didn’t get such a good start, but I was holding onto the back of the leading group for the first few laps and I was just starting to find a good rhythm on the bike. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the pit board calling me in for a ride through penalty. At the time I had no idea what I’d been penalised for, which meant that it was difficult to refocus on the race when I’d completed the ride through. Obviously I now know it was for jumping the start. Our data shows that the bike rolled forward slightly before I launched it off the line, so it was the right call, but that doesn’t make it any less disappointing. After the penalty I rejoined dead last, but I got my head down and eventually managed to salvage at least some points. After such a good practice and qualifying performance, for the weekend to end the way it did is frustrating, but we have to put this behind us now and focus on the next race in Mugello.” Harald Eckl: Team Principal “What a frustrating day. After such a promising performance by both riders during practice and qualifying, I am very disappointed with today’s outcome. This is a circuit where we know our bike is strong, and we needed to come away from here with a good result before the next two races at Mugello and Catalunya, both of which are real power tracks. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be. Randy was unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, while Shinya was heavily penalised for a small mistake at the start that didn’t gain him any real advantage. But that’s racing for you; things don’t always go according to plan!” MOTOGP RACE RESULT 1. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda 44’57.369; 2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +1.929; 3. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +2.269; 4. Casey Stoner (AUS) LCR Honda +5.494; 5. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +5.709; 6. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team +11.519; 7. Makoto Tamada (JPN) JIR Konica Minolta Honda +16.692; 8. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team +18.142; 9. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda +23.645; 10. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Team Suzuki MotoGP +39.362; 11. Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha +47.730; 12. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +47.782; DNF. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team +28 Laps More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: Sunday May 21 2006 Race – Le Mans CAPIROSSI TAKES SECOND FOR DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM AT LE MANS Loris Capirossi summoned all his riding powers to secure a second place finish for the Ducati Marlboro Team at the French MotoGP race, making a determined move forward from third on the very last lap of a dramatic race. Ducati Marlboro Team rider Sete Gibernau was pushed off the track in a first lap incident but stayed upright and recovered his composure quickly, going from 16th on lap one to eighth at the end. Capirossi, who had run most of the race in fourth position, was instantly promoted to third when Valentino Rossi’s machine stopped while leading on lap 21, and this also advanced Gibernau from his long time ninth to eighth place. Capirossi, with eventual third placed rider Dani Pedrosa in his sights as the laps counted down, pushed his way to second on the last lap and repulsed a last corner counterattack from Pedrosa to take second, only 1.929 seconds from the win. It was Capirossi’s 32nd career podium, and puts him third in the championship, equal second on points with Le Mans race winner Marco Melandri, on 79 points. Capirossi’s third also gave Ducati a first Le Mans podium finish. It was his third podium this year, after his win at Jerez and his third place in Qatar. Gibernau’s recovery in the race sees him ninth overall, on 33 points, with the series led by Nicky Hayden, on 83. LORIS CAPIROSSI, finished second, third overall (79 points) “When I was riding with Marco I saw that Valentino was out, so I thought that I would be on the podium right then. Then I saw Marco catching Dani, so on the last few laps I tried to keep with him and see if it was possible to overtake Dani on the last lap. I did it and kept him behind me, so this second position is very good for me. I used the tyre we tested yesterday and I knew I could keep a pace in the high 1’35s, and I maintained this pace all through the race, and never gave up. This track is not one of the best for us, in the rain it seems to be better, but we finished on the podium in second, and got really good championship points. Thanks to the whole Ducati team and the Bridgestone guys.” SETE GIBERNAU, finished eighth, ninth overall (33 points) “We did not so bad and congratulations to Loris. The result he got means that Bridgestone did a good job. At the first corner someone went way too deep and threw me off of the track, so that was my race decided. It was difficult to find my rhythm after that but from then on I just tried to catch up. We need to keep working on the set-up a little bit but I felt much more comfortable today. We made a step forward again and now I have to look forward. It was one more race in which we improved things.” LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP Project Manager “That was an unbelievable job from Loris. Today he made the difference. He was able to keep 120% of what he had. This is the Loris we like, and we are proud to have him on board. It was a pity for Sete to be so unlucky in the first corner, and it must have been difficult for his motivation, but he proved that he is a good rider after his fight back and that we have a good package, so he will also have good days. We also really have to thank Bridgestone, who did a great job, as well as Shell Advance. This morning, in the wet warm-up, we were dominant, and in the dry race we finished second.” Temperatures: Ambient: 20 degrees C. Track: 29 degrees C More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Le Mans May 21st, 2006 French Grand Prix Capirossi second for Bridgestone in French thriller Bridgestone stormed back to the MotoGP podium today with Loris Capirossi calling on all his experience to claim a fantastic second place in a dramatic French GP at Le Mans. The Italian produced a clinical attack on Dani Pedrosa, passing the Spaniard on the last lap to register his 32nd premier class podium that keeps him firmly in contention for the MotoGP world championship. Capirossi’s third podium in the opening five races sees the 33-year-old trailing series leader Nicky Hayden by just four-points going into his home race in Mugello early next month, where he finished third in 2005. Fourth throughout much of the 28-lap race, Capirossi was elevated to third position on lap 20 following the shock retirement of leader and reigning world champion Valentino Rossi. With eight laps to go, Capirossi trailed Pedrosa by close to two seconds, but taking advantage of the much improved consistent grip over race distance from the latest generation Bridgestone tyres, four of Capirossi’s final six laps were in the 1.35 bracket as he piled on the pressure in the race for second. Capirossi’s podium showed a marked improvement for Bridgestone at the famous Le Mans circuit, where the Japanese factory scored a best result of seventh position a year ago. Ducati team-mate Sete Gibernau suffered a stroke of bad luck as he finished eighth after he was the innocent victim of a first corner melee. Suzuki’s John Hopkins finished 15th, but can take great heart from a stunning start to the race, run in under grey and gloomy skies in front of 76,200 fans. The American led for the opening four laps and a maiden podium seemed on the cards until he crashed out of third on lap ten. Loris Capirossi Ducati Corse Team 2nd position “This was a fantastic race for me. I want to say a really big thanks to the Bridgestone guys because they never stop working. We know during the season we can have a lot of difficult moments but now we are so strong. This track is not one of the best for us but we go home with second position and for the championship this is so important. This morning when I woke up and saw the rain I was very happy because I thought our potential was much better in wet conditions. I made a great job in the warm-up but I watched the 125 and 250 races and saw they were dry, and knew it was going to be a dry race for us. I knew my feeling in the dry wasn’t as good in the rain, so I just decided to try and do my best. The tyres stayed constant during the whole race and on the last two laps I could see Dani was having some problems and I overtook him on the last lap. Second place is amazing for us. When I saw Valentino stop I thought ‘well the podium is mine’. I could see Dani slowing down a little so I just pushed really hard in the last six laps. When I caught Dani I could see in some points I was a little bit faster than him. I braked so late to pass and he also braked very late. We ran a bit wide but it was enough for second. Now we look forward to Mugello and go there in great shape.” Junichi Kawajiri – Motorcycle Racing Tyre Development Manager Bridgestone Motorsport “A big thanks and congratulations to Loris and the Ducati team. Second place on the podium here is a fantastic result, and I’m glad that all the hard work we all put in this weekend produced good results. Our race tyre stayed consistent throughout the whole race, and for sure we have made a big improvement compared to last year. Overall we also saw that our qualifyers and rain tyres performed well with 4 bikes in the first 2 rows of the starting grid, and having the top 5 in the wet warmup session, so that is very positive. On the other hand it was unfortunate for our other riders as Shinya, John, and Randy all started from good grid positions, but had some bad luck. That’s all a part of racing though, and we’re still behind them 100% so I’m sure they will all bounce back in the next race at Mugello. Bridgestone Results: 2 Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati 44.59.298, 8 Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati, 45.15.511, 10 Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki 45.36.731, 12 Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki 45.45.151, 15 John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki 45.17.059, Randy de Puniet, (FRA) Kawasaki 44.59.738, DNF Temperature Track Air Weather Afternoon 29 C 20 C Cloudy More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Honda: MELANDRI SECURES SECOND WIN OF THE SEASON Team-mate Toni Elias ninth FORTUNA HONDA rider Marco Melandri, after a spectacular race, clinched his second win of the season at the GP of France held at the Le Mans circuit. In changeable weather conditions, the Italian rode an intelligent and consistent race, maintaining a superb pace throughout. He knew exactly when to attack and, in doing so, made sure he ended on the top step of the podium. The race, which was incident-packed, proved to be one of the most entertaining of the season with the riders somewhat unsure due to the conditions. Melandri lapped consistently and timed his attack to perfection to emerge victorious. His second triumph of the season sees him move up to second in the championship with 79 points. His team-mate Toni Elias, despite making a good start, had to settle for ninth position after having started in 16th. However, the Spaniard was not satisfied with the result as a problem with his rear tyre prevented him from demonstrating his obvious potential. Toni now sits seventh in the championship with 44 points. MARCO MELANDRI (1st, 2nd in championship – 79 points): “It was an incredible race! Obviously I am very satisfied as I was not expecting it. At the start the weather conditions were very changeable and I put on a hard rear tyre for the race after talking to our Michelin technician, Pascal Sasso. I’m happy and I want to thank Michelin because it was the perfect tyre choice. I got away well and that allowed me to lead on the first lap. Hopkins then overtook me as my bike was suffering a bit in the first laps, but after a few laps when the tyre temperature increased, the bike began to work better and better and I was able to lap near the front. As the laps went by I started to think about winning and I overtook Loris and then, when the time was right, Pedrosa as well. I want to thank the whole team, Honda and Michelin for the great job.” TONI ELIAS (9th, 7th in championship – 44 points) “It was a very difficult day. We still had the same problems in the warm-up and could not find a solution. I got a good start but could not then keep up the pace I wanted. Tomorrow we will stay at the circuit to test and I hope to find some solutions. We will look at the situation and I hope to be back where I deserve soon. I want to congratulate Marco who rode a very intelligent race.” More, from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha: RACE REPORT FRENCH GRAND PRIX LE MANS 21/05/06 BAD LUCK STRIKES AGAIN FOR CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM AT LE MANS Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi’s unfortunate start to his MotoGP World Championship defence continued today as the Italian rider was hit by another bout of bad luck at Le Mans, where he was forced to retire from the lead with an engine problem. This time his team-mate Colin Edwards was also hit by the jinx, the American being pushed wide in the second corner of the race and running into the gravel traps. The silver lining to the day for the team on a cloudy day in France was that Edwards did manage to get back on track and charge through from last place to finish in sixth arguably the individual rider performance of the race. Rossi started the fifth round of the season in confident mood after finding a good set-up for his YZR-M1 machine during the dry practice sessions and he quickly translated that pace to the race, moving from seventh on the grid up to second place by lap three. After two laps behind early leader John Hopkins (Suzuki) the World Champion took control and opened out a comfortable advantage over Dani Pedrosa (Honda), who also got past Hopkins. With eight laps remaining Rossi looked on course to become the first rider this season to win two races but to his despair disaster struck, leaving Pedrosa to fight it out with Marco Melandri (Honda) for the win. Melandri made the decisive move for victory with five laps remaining before Pedrosa was also passed for second place by Loris Capirossi (Ducati). COLIN EDWARDS (6th; + 11.519 seconds) “To be honest I don’t quite know what happened at the start. I had my plan which was to run it around the outside like I did last year but things just went haywire from the start and riders were coming at me from everywhere. I got baulked by somebody it might have been Dani Pedrosa but I’m not sure and I couldn’t get to the outside so I had to move where the space was and go tight. Everybody was wide through the right and came across me as we went left into the chicane so I had nowhere to go but the gravel. Last year it would have probably been okay but the changes they made to the track played against me. I lost four or five seconds there and probably lost another four or five trying to get past people during the first six laps. I wanted to overtake on the exits but they all had so much grip at that stage of the race that it was impossible and I just had to wait for opportunities on the brakes. The setting of the bike was good the only thing I was missing was a bit of rear grip at the end but with the pace I had we should have been on the podium today.” VALENTINO ROSSI (DNF) “The team did a great job with the new chassis this weekend and I really enjoyed being able to ride so fast during the race, so it is a real shame that it ended like that and of course I am very disappointed. Everything was working really well, the bike and tyres felt perfect but then the engine went. A bike stopping on me like this has only ever happened to me a couple of times in my career, so for it to happen today is typical of our luck at the moment. Something seems to have gone wrong for us at each of the first few races of the season, apart from Qatar, and it has put us in a difficult situation with regards to the championship. We know that championship is a big challenge now but the last word has not been spoken yet. Now we need to look at it race by race, maybe not think about the championship for a while and concentrate on trying to win as many races as possible from the remaining 12.” DAVIDE BRIVIO CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “We are trying to smile but obviously we are all very disappointed especially Valentino. Our engineers did a great job to get the bikes prepared for this race and both Valentino and Colin were ready to fight for a top result. It was great watching Valentino in harmony with the bike and it looked as though it was going to be a classic Valentino Rossi race, making his way to the front and then controlling his advantage over second place. Unfortunately the engine broke and we are analysing it now to find out why. I have to say Colin rode a great race after being forced wide in the first corner and in general we will take a lot of positives from this weekend, even if we don’t feel too great right now.” Results 1.Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 44.57.369 2.Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team, +1.929 3.Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team, +2.269 4.Casey Stoner (AUS) Honda LCR, +5.494 5.Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, +5.709 6.COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, +11.519 7.Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda, +16.692 8.Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team, +18.142 9.Toni Elias (ITA) Fortuna Honda, +23.645 10.Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, +39.362 DNF: VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, Lap 21 Championship Standings 1.Nicky Hayden (USA) 83 2.Marco Melandri (ITA) 79 3.Loris Capirossi (ITA) 79 4.Dani Pedrosa (SPA) 73 5.Casey Stoner (AUS) 65 6.COLIN EDWARDS (USA) 45 7.Toni Elias (SPA) 44 8.VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) 40 9.Sete Gibernau (SPA) 33 10.Makoto Tamada (JPN) 33 More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing: HONDA RACING INFORMATION French Grand Prix at Le Mans Sunday May 21, 2006 MELANDRI WINS, PEDROSA THIRD AS HONDA DOMINATES THE FRENCH GRAND PRIX Honda riders won all three classes here in France today with Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V) winning his second MotoGP race of the season from Loris Capirossi (Ducati) with Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC211V) third. Four Honda riders finished in the top five. Yukio Takahashi (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) won a spectacular 250cc GP from team-mate Andrea Dovizioso while in the 125cc race reigning 125cc World Champion Thomas Luthi (Elit Honda) won his first race of the season. The race was declared wet as clouds loomed giving riders the option to enter the pits and change machines if conditions worsened. But it was only as the flag fell after 28-laps that any drops began to fall. John Hopkins (Suzuki) led the field on lap one with pole-setter Dani and Melandri hard on his tail as lap one was completed. Loris Capirossi was in the running and Rossi too was in fifth as Hopkins set an early fastest lap on lap two. Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki), later hampered by a ride-through penalty for a jump start, was in the mix, although his team-mate Randy de Puniet, so keen to do well in front of his home fans, was involved in a first turn fracas that brought his race to an early close. On lap three Rossi made his way to third, then second and closed on leader Hopkins. Pedrosa consolidated third while Melandri and Capirossi disputed fourth. Nakano, Hayden and Stoner battled for fifth before the Japanese Kawasaki man was brought in for his ride-through punishment. On lap five Rossi relieved Hopkins of the lead and three laps later the American Suzuki rider fell while trying to stay in touch. He remounted to finish 15th. Dani was now in second place and right up with Rossi while Melandri was 2.37 seconds behind the leaders in third. Rossi began to work his lead over Pedrosa harder and by mid-race distance he held 3.2 second advantage over the Spanish rookie. Dani could not make an impression on Rossi, until Rossi slowed with a broken down Yamaha on lap 21. Pedrosa led with eight laps to go, but Melandri was gaining on him lap by lap and Capirossi in third was closing too. This now turned into a lap time against laps remaining equation that would not run in Pedrosa’s favour. Melandri had the speed and took Pedrosa at the turn one chicane on lap 24. Capirossi was 2.5 seconds behind Dani and gaining by 0.44 seconds a lap. Sure enough he took second place off Dani at the Musée turn on the final lap and the young Spaniard decided to collect the points for third rather than risk a fall retaliating. Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) and Casey Stoner (LCR Honda RC211V) had a tough fight for fourth with the verdict going to Stoner as the pair crossed the line. Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V) was seventh, Toni Elias (Fortuna Honda RC211V) ninth, while Kenny Roberts (Roberts KR211V) retired early with so far undiagnosed problems. Melandri was delighted with another victory in his 50th MotoGP start. He said, “I’m happy and I want to thank Michelin because it was the perfect tyre choice. I got away well and that allowed me to lead on the first lap. Hopkins then overtook me as my bike was suffering a bit in the first laps, but after a few laps when the tyre temperature increased, the bike began to work better and better and I was able to lap near the front. As the laps went by I started to think about winning and I overtook Loris and then, when the time was right, Pedrosa as well.” Third-placed Pedrosa said, “When I took the lead I knew they were catching me and I knew I would only lead for two or three laps. On one lap I made two mistakes and I realised I was going slowly whilst on the limit. So I decided I didn’t want to crash like in the race in Turkey and I closed the throttle and focused on finishing the race. But the result is good and we must stay consistent and learn from this.” “Fourth place feels pretty damn good,” said Stoner in fourth. “And again I’ve answered the people who said I couldn’t race on worn tyres. The battle with Nicky was great, it was a clean fight, but unfortunately I nearly took him out at the start of race I’m sorry for that, I just missed my braking a little. By mid-race the bike started to feel more comfortable so I pushed and started to catch the leaders.” Hayden, fifth, said, “It’s been a tough weekend, all weekend! Since we got off the plane from China it hasn’t come real smooth it’s been bad with the weather, bad with the flu we’ve had a few things go against us today. Yesterday we went backwards with the set-up so me and the team put our heads together after the wet warm-up this morning and made some changes. The Repsol Honda boys did a good job giving me a lot better bike that I felt good on so we just fought as hard as we could today and ended up fifth.” Tamada in seventh place said. “I am only partially satisfied of today’s result as after the second free practice session of Friday the feeling with my Honda RC211V had reached a definitely better level than the one of today. I had to struggle all race long with a strong under steering problem, which did not allow me to be sufficiently fast when riding the first corners of the track. Anyway, the condition is absolutely better in comparison to the beginning of the season and this makes me hope for the best for the coming GPs.” Elias had to settle for ninth and said, “It was a very difficult day. We still had the same problems in the warm-up and could not find a solution. I got a good start but could not then keep up the pace I wanted. Tomorrow we will stay at the circuit to test and I hope to find some solutions.” A resolute Roberts, forced to retire after the warm-up lap, said, “I really don’t know what it was. The bike started misfiring on the warm-up and then the engine started cutting out completely. Until we take it all down we don’t know what the problem is.” The World Championship points table now shows Hayden still in command with 83 points, Melandri on 79 tied with Capirossi, followed by Dani with 73 points and Stoner with 65. Rossi lies eighth with 40 points. Honda riders dominated the 250cc race as rookie Yuki Takahashi (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) won a tight tussle from his team-mate and series points leader Andrea Dovizioso (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) with another Honda rookie, Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW), completing the rostrum in third. Takahashi and Dovi scorched into turn one from second and pole on the grid and set about ratcheting up an unassailable advantage over the field. They held a 3.2 second advantage over Roberto Locatelli (Aprilia) who was running third by lap four of this 26-lap race. As Takahashi and Dovi settled down to wait for what was always going to be last lap battle, the chasing field spread out with Aoyama and his brother Hiro (KTM) left to dispute third place between themselves on the final lap. Dovi led the last lap until the final turn where Takahashi slid up the inside on the brakes. The Italian knew the Japanese man would run wider mid-corner and he took the inside but his momentum carried him wide and Taka could get the power on earlier on the inside to broach the line first. “I’m so happy with this result,” said a delighted Takahashi. “My bike set-up was really good and even though we were all sliding from mid-race distance my bike was very controllable and I knew I would do well at the end.” Dovi, who is still searching for that elusive first win in the 250cc class, said, “Yuki was faster than me and it was difficult. I tried to keep him out on the last lap because I knew he’d have a go at me. I tried to get him back at the last turn but it wasn’t possible. But I’m happy to take the points.” Aoyama was happy with his maiden podium. He said, “It was difficult to up the pace but I got faster from the middle of the race. I kept my brother at bay by really attacking the final lap and I’m really happy to be on the podium. Now I want to continue this success.” The World Championship standings now show Dovi leading on 92 points from Hector Barbera (Aprilia), who finished 7th today, on 78 points with Hiro Aoyama on 75 in fourth. Yuki Takahashi is now fourth on 67. Reigning 125cc World Champion Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) won his first 125cc Grand Prix of the 2006 season with a somewhat fortunate victory over Aprilia rider Alvaro Bautista, who slowed with machine trouble on the last lap while leading. He eventually finished fourth behind Mika Kallio (KTM) second and Fabrizio Lai (Seedorf Racing Honda RS125R) third. In tricky damp conditions after morning rain, pole man Mattia Pasini (Aprilia) crashed out at the end of the first lap at the final turn followed closely by front row starter Lukas Pesek (Derbi) who crashed out on lap three. This left a four-man group at the front comprising Kallio, Luthi, Lai and Bautista the race was theirs to dispute. Luthi led for much of this 24-lap encounter setting a fastest lap on his 14th tour of the track and this was also the lap when Lai ran wide at the Garage Vert turn to drop back by four seconds from the leading trio. Lai had opted for cut slicks in the damp conditions and as the race worn on, these proved not to be the best option. Kallio had also fitted cut slicks and dropped back in the closing stages to leave Bautista and Luthi to slug it out on the last lap. But when Bautista’s machine slowed the race was Luthi’s. “I’m very happy to be back on the podium with a win,” said Luthi. “The track was wet in places and that was hard because we chose slicks and it took a while for me to catch the front group as the track dried. I had a plan for the last lap but when Alvaro’s bike stopped I didn’t have to use it.” Lai said, “My start to the season hasn’t been as good as last year and it’s taken me five races to get on the podium. Conditions were hard and my tyre choice wasn’t the best as the track dried. I’d like to dedicate this win to my team because they’ve worked really hard to get me back on the podium.” The World Championship points table shows Bautista ahead with 99 points, Kallio second on 76 and Hector Faubel (Aprilia) third overall with 56. HONDA TEAM RIDERS QUOTES: MotoGP: Marco Melandri, Fortuna Honda: 1st: “It was an incredible race! Obviously I am very satisfied as I was not expecting it. At the start the weather conditions were very changeable and I put on a hard rear tyre for the race after talking to our Michelin technician. I’m happy and I want to thank Michelin because it was the perfect tyre choice. I got away well and that allowed me to lead on the first lap. Hopkins then overtook me as my bike was suffering a bit in the first laps, but after a few laps when the tyre temperature increased, the bike began to work better and better and I was able to lap near the front. As the laps went by I started to think about winning and I overtook Loris and then, when the time was right, Pedrosa as well. I want to thank the whole team for the great job they did.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 3rd: I’m happy with the result because I was lucky today. We are on the podium which is good for me and my team, and also the race was dry. At the beginning I was strong but then I realised Valentino was gaining a few tenths every lap and I was trying not to lose ground on him, yet every time the gap was bigger and I had to focus on controlling the gap behind me. When I took the lead I knew they were catching me and I knew I would only lead for two or three laps. On one lap I made two mistakes and I realised I was going slowly whilst on the limit! So I decided I didn’t want to crash like in the race in Turkey and I closed the throttle and focused on finishing the race. But the result is good and we must keep consistent and learn from this.” Casey Stoner, LCR Honda: 4th: “Fourth place feels pretty damn good and again I’ve answered the people who said I couldn’t race on worn tyres. The battle with Nicky was great, it was a clean fight, but unfortunately I nearly took him out at the start of race — I’m sorry for that, I just missed my braking a little. The mixed weather cost us set-up time and at the start my bike felt terrible, there was no way I could stay with the front guys — I couldn’t brake late enough on full tanks. By mid-race the bike started to feel more comfortable so I pushed and started to catch the leaders.” Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 5th: “It’s been a tough weekend, all weekend! Since we got off the plane from China it hasn’t come real smooth – it’s been bad with the weather, bad with the flu we’ve had a few things go against us today. Yesterday we went backwards with the set-up so me and team put our heads together after thewet warm-up this morning and made some changes. The Repsol Honda boys did a good job giving me a lot better bike that I felt good on so we just fought as hard as we could toady and ended up fifth. It’s not great – it’s not the result we want – but we’re still holding on to that championship lead and hopefully we can get some dry weather here tomorrow for testing and improve things a little and get ready for the summer. It’s on now to Mugello in a couple of weeks and a lot of races coming up. I hated to see that consecutive podium streak end but hey, we’ll bounce back and get ready for the next one.” Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda: 6th: I am only partially satisfied of today’s result as after the second free practice session of Friday the feeling with my Honda RC211V had reached a definitely better level than the one of today. I had to struggle all race long with a strong under steering problem which did not allow me to be sufficiently fast when riding the first corners of the track. Anyway, the condition is absolutely better in comparison to the beginning of the season and this makes me hope for the best for the coming GPs.” Toni Elias, Fortuna Honda: 9th: “It was a very difficult day. We still had the same problems in the warm-up and could not find a solution. I got a good start but could not then keep up the pace I wanted. Tomorrow we will stay at the circuit to test and I hope to find some solutions. We will look at the situation and I hope to be back where I deserve soon. I want to congratulate Marco who rode a very intelligent race.” Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR Honda: dnf – fuel starvation. “I really don’t know what it was. The bike started misfiring on the warm up lap. The fuel pressure was cutting in and out but until we tear it down and look I just cant say what caused it.” 250cc: Yuki Takahashi, Humangest Honda: 1st: “In the last lap I thought just to overtake Andrea. I tried a couple of times, but he brake stronger and I couldn’t pass him. In the last corner, though, he went a bit wide and so I could pass him. I’m so happy that I still don’t believe I won. At half way to go, the bike started sliding and it wasn’t easy to keep my team-mate’ rhythm. But, my team did a great job and in the last lap I could push and try to win. I did it, and I want to thanks everybody of the team!” Andrea Dovizioso, Humangest Honda: 2nd: “I didn’t make any mistakes today, but Yuki passed me inside at the penultimate curve. I tried to overtake him again in the inside but he exited faster from the last corner and so he beat me. This was a very nice race! Yuki stayed very close to me and at the end, he rode better than me, congratulations to him. Today we had the same rhythm and I couldn’t go away alone, even though I tried. When Takahashi was in front, the other riders were coming up very quickly and so I decided to take again the lead and make the pace. I knew he would have tried to pass me in the last lap, also because he is very strong in braking. Anyway, I’m very satisfied because here we have imposed the rhythm and have dominated. This is a good result for the championship: I prefer to have 14 points gap in the general standing than have won two races and be behind. I want to thanks Honda and my team because here the bike was really competitive”. Shuhei Aoyama, Repsol Honda: 3rd: “I’m very very happy. It was difficult to up the pace at the beginning but towards the middle of the race I was able to find my own rhythm. I could see the top group and my brother was pushing hard from the back so I decided to go for them and not to let him pass. I want to thank my team and Alberto and continue like this in the next races.” Martin Cardenas, Wurth Honda BQR: 13th. “My start was not very good and I got hit at the chicane and that cost me a couple of positions. The bike was really good today and when I settled down I was able to race with West and Ballerini. But over the final six laps I made a few silly mistakes and they opened a gap on ad I couldn’t close it again.” Sebastian Porto, Repsol Honda: 14th: “It’s a shame because I thought that we could do a good race today. But once again I haven’t felt comfortable on the bike. I tried, but it didn’t work out and the more I tried to follow those ahead of me the harder it was. We’ll stay around tomorrow to do some calmed testing without the pressure of a racing weekend, and we’ll try to find solutions to get this situation straight. The whole team is working hard to help me and I’m really thankful for it.” Arnaud Vincent, Molenaar Honda: 15th. “Not so bad my start was very good and I had a good first lap. The engine was very good today after our problems in qualifying. We also did some work on the suspension and all that helped me to a good position that I was able to hold. The only real problem I had was that I chose too soft a compound tyre. But I’m happy and I’m looking forward to Mugello, a good track that I like and one where my best engine will help me get a good result.” Arturo Tizon, Wurth Honda BQR: 16th. “I am very happy with my race and the bike but a little sad because I didn’t get into the points. We run a slightly different geometry on my bike than standard so for Mugello I think we will try the standard set up again. The enigne is really fast so I am looking forward to Mugello.” 125cc: Thomas Luthi, Elit Honda: 1st “On the starting grid we saw that there were still some damp patches on the track surface but it was very warm so we went with slick tyres. I took a lot of risks in the opening laps and had some big slides. When the track started to dry I went to the front and opened a gap on the group. Towards the end Alvaro (Bautista) caught me but following him I knew I had a good plan to pass him on the last lap. But his bike stopped and it was easy for me to take the win. It’s fantastic to be back at the top of the podium and for this I have to thank my team for all the hard work they have done for me to make this possible.” Fabrizio Lai, Seedorf Racing World: 3rd: I want to dedicate this race to my team who have worked so hard for me all these months, and to all those who have believed in me. I think I could have finished better but I made a mistake and lost contact with the leaders. I chose an intermediate tyre for he conditions and pushed really hard on braking to stay with the leader but that’s why I made the mistake – I pushed too hard at one point but I am happy with the result.” Sandro Cortese, Elit Honda: 15th. “I got the perfect start to the race from 17th place on the grid to seventh at the chicane. Everything ran really well for he first three laps then my engine would not rev in top gear at the end of the straight. I fought hard to stay in the group by braking very hard but I had to let them go. It was a pity after such a fantastic start.” Gabor Talmacsi, Humangest Honda:17th: After three laps I started loosing confident with the bike and the temperatures of the water started to get higher. I was afraid the engine would break and so I slowed down. Actually, after the practice sessions I thought I could score important points, but I didn’t get any”. Lorenzo Baroni, Humangest Honda: 19th: “Still I don’t believe I did such a good race. I made a bad start and many riders crashed in front of me at turn 1. Luckily, I was able to avoid them and not loose time from the group. I pushed as much as I could, the slick tyres choice was correct and so I could take full advantage of the potential of the bike. I deserved a race like this. I lapped with a good rhythm and this is positive also for next race at Mugello”. Bradley Smith, Repsol Honda: 21st: “The first few laps it seemed that I had improved a little bit but not much; I was in a group of three. I was caught behind a rider and then they opened a gap but I couldn’t catch the gap back. I made a few mistakes, got passed by Hernandez and then I passed him back and then he passed me back again and then I finally made an aggressive pass and managed to break away and catch the group in front. When I arrived to the group I wasn’t aggressive enough, I couldn’t pass and ended up back in twentieth. Then, on the final lap I was pushing to Paveroni but ran over the kerb and got the wrong side of the kerb. Imre Toth passed me and from then on I was trying to pass him but it was never enough and I ended up twenty-first. Maybe or definitely a different approach is needed for Italy, which is the next round.” Joey Litjens, Molenaar Honda: 24th. “The opening laps were really good. It was a great feeling to race in the points scoring positions on the damp track. As the race went on and the track dried I had a little difficulty to up my tempo. But on the closing laps I was faster even though I was sliding a lot with the rear tyre. I am very pleased with my race today.” Mike Di Meglio, FFM Honda: 27th: “This morning, during the warm up, the track was wet and we could confirm the settings of the bike that suited me well. Unfortunately I crashed but, without damage, and realised the pole position of the warm up.. The track was different for the race; it was drying and I didn’t feel comfortable with the tyres. At the start I couldn’t catch the right group because there was only one dry path but then I pushed hard until the 6th place and after 6 laps I lost the front at the beginning of the “Dunlop chicane”. I could restart and finally I finished in 27th position. I’m a bit disappointed because the bike was very good but with the technical staff we keep on working and I will get my revenge in Italy.” Aleix Espargaro, Wurth Honda BQR: Aleix Espargaro did not race due to injuries sustained in race practice. Michele Conti, Seedorf Racing World: dnf crash: “This bike lets you start very fast and it did today. I was about ninth at the first corner and this made me forget my bad qualifying. But I’m really disappointed now because Masbou made a mistake under braking and hit me and I crashed out.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Luckless Hopkins crashes out of Le Mans podium fight Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer John Hopkins crashed out of today’s Alice Grand Prix de France, when he looked odds on to collect his first ever podium, but the gutsy Anglo-American remounted and still managed to claim a point. Hopkins made a superb start to the race and led for the first four laps, after which he was passed by Valentino Rossi who was forced to retire later on and Dani Pedrosa. He stayed in a comfortable third place close behind the two leaders, but crashed into the gravel trap unhurt on lap 10. He showed his determination by remounting and getting his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R back to the pits for some running repairs, before re-joining the race and finishing in 15th position. Chris Vermeulen had a less eventful and somewhat lonely race, having improved on his 12th place start early on. He settled into a consistent rhythm and secured a top-10 finish from his first ever race at Le Mans. His lack of dry track time over the weekend counted against him during the latter part of the race, as he had been unable to collect enough important tyre data over the previous two days and tyre durability became an issue. Today’s race was held in dry but overcast conditions with a constant threat of rain in the air. Over 76,000 spectators witnessed Marco Melandri win his second MotoGP of the season. American Nicky Hayden still leads the Championship. The 2006 MotoGP World Championship now moves to the picturesque Tuscan surroundings of Mugello in Italy for round six on Sunday 4th June. John Hopkins: “I had a slight problem with the clutch. It was not right from the start of the race and if we had ridden at a slower pace then I think it would have been ok. I had to brake too hard to make up for a bit of time lost in acceleration, and the rear stepped out – once that had gone it just sent the front out and I crashed. But we have shown that the Rizla Suzuki has improved and so has Bridgestone and we have made it known that we can run at the front – it’s just a matter of time before that first podium comes. If anything it just makes me more motivated to do well on the next circuit, that’s for sure!” Chris Vermeulen: “We finished in the top 10 which is really what we were aiming for, but I wasn’t so happy with my pace over race distance. We didn’t get as much dry time as we wanted, and had hoped to try a few more things in this morning’s warm-up but it was wet so we were unable to. I went with the setting from yesterday and I was able to run a good pace early on but we didn’t have enough tyre data for durability and it faded a bit towards the end. I am happy enough with 10th place from my first French GP and hopefully we can improve on that position in Mugello.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “A disappointing end to what looked to be a very promising race, but ultimately we have to take the positives out of the weekend. Despite Chris’ tyre choice not giving him the performance he needed for the second half of the race he kept the bike upright and brought it home in the top 10. He will also have learnt a lot about getting around the Le Mans circuit at race pace. “I have to feel for John, but as I say we have to look at the positives. He made a fantastic start and showed a lot of confidence early on. He displayed a lot of composure when dicing with Rossi and Pedrosa and I’m sure his plan was to tag along with them and aim for that first podium. After the crash most riders would have left the bike there but it is very much in Rizla Suzuki’s character not to give up, and for John to come back into the pits, get the bike fixed and circulate for the rest of the race with a damaged machine to score a single point says a lot about his character. “If points were given for effort I’m sure we would have got a lot more than we did at Le Mans today!”