Updated Post: Rossi Beats Gibernau In French Grand Prix

Updated Post: Rossi Beats Gibernau In French Grand Prix

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MotoGP Race Results From Le Mans: 1. Valentino ROSSI, Yamaha, 28 laps, 44:12.223 2. Sete GIBERNAU, Honda, -0.382 second 3. Colin EDWARDS, Yamaha, -5.711 seconds 4. Marco MELANDRI, Honda, -7.276 seconds 5. Max BIAGGI, Honda, -7.703 seconds 6. Nicky HAYDEN, Honda, -21.770 seconds 7. Loris CAPIROSSI, Ducati, -24.664 seconds 8. Shinya NAKANO, Kawasaki, -35.940 seconds 9. Toni ELIAS, Yamaha, -38.062 seconds 10. Troy BAYLISS, Honda, -52.607 seconds 11. Olivier JACQUE, Kawasaki, -53.302 seconds 12. Ruben XAUS, Yamaha, -60.342 seconds 13. Kenny ROBERTS, Suzuki, -60.514 seconds 14. Jurgen vd GOORBERGH, Honda, -77.993 seconds 15. Roberto ROLFO, Ducati, -92.233 seconds, crash 16. John HOPKINS, Suzuki, -1 lap 17. Franco BATTAINI, Blata WCM, -1 lap 18. Alex BARROS, Honda, -16 laps, DNF, crash 19. James ELLISON, Blata WCM, -26 laps, DNF, crash 20. Shane BYRNE, KTM Proton KR, -28 laps, DNF, crash 21. Carlos CHECA, Ducati, -28 laps, DNF, crash MotoGP World Championship Point Standings: 1. ROSSI, 95 points 2. MELANDRI, 58 points 3. GIBERNAU, 53 points 4. BIAGGI, 47 points 5. BARROS, 43 points 6. EDWARDS, 41 points 7. NAKANO, 27 points 8. HAYDEN, 26 points 9. JACQUE, 25 points 10. CAPIROSSI, 23 points 11. BAYLISS, 21 points 12. CHECA, 17 points 13. XAUS, 16 points 14. ELIAS, 15 points 15. vd GOORBERGH, 12 points 16. HOPKINS, 11 points 17. Makoto TAMADA, 8 points 18. ROBERTS, 7 points 19. TIE, Alex HOFMANN/ROLFO, 5 points 21. ELLISON, 4 points 22. Tohru UKAWA, 1 point More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: NAKANO EIGHTH IN TOUGH RACE AT LE MANS Shinya Nakano brought his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR home in eighth place in today’s French Grand Prix, after a difficult race on the Bugatti circuit at Le Mans. After qualifying sixth on the second row, Nakano was anticipating challenging for a top five finish in the 28-lap event, which was watched by a near capacity crowd of 75,000. However, a minor engine problem slowed his ZX-RR from mid-race, forcing Nakano to ride conservatively to ensure a top ten finish. Teammate and crowd favourite, Olivier Jacque, received a tremendous ovation as he crossed the line in an impressive 11th place in his home race. This was Jacque’s first dry weather race on his Bridgestone-shod Ninja ZX-RR, as the replacement rider for the injured Alex Hofmann, and he continued his steep learning curve after a long layoff from racing. Jacque started sharply and was quickly into 11th. He held off the factory Honda ridden by Troy Bayliss for 20 laps, before making a small mistake on the brakes at the second chicane. Finishing strongly with a fast rhythm, Jacque set his fastest time on the penultimate lap as he chased Bayliss to the finish line. Nakano also started strongly, and was into fifth place and ahead of eventual race winner and world champion Valentino Rossi after two laps. After holding off a chasing pack Nakano slipped to eighth place, but by mid-race he suffered a small engine misfire that slowed his progress. Over the final laps Nakano held a safe gap of three seconds to Toni Elias, as he rode for valuable championship points. Today marked the end of Jacque’s temporary two-race appearance with Kawasaki, which was highlighted by his superb second place in the Chinese Grand Prix two weeks ago Shinya Nakano: #56 – Eighth “My start was fast, I had a good feeling and tyre grip in the early laps and I felt comfortable. But for some laps I had trouble into turn one judging my braking point, I wasn’t as fast as I usually am in this part of the track. Then, when my good feeling returned, I felt a small misfire with the engine and immediately thought that I must try and finish the race; I didn’t score any points in China two weeks ago, so this was very important.” Olivier Jacque: #19 – Eleventh “This race was a special experience for me, because it was my first race in the dry on the Kawasaki. I learned a great deal today, which I hope will help in the future if I get another MotoGP opportunity. I made some braking mistakes early on in the race, and then ran up the escape road at the second chicane. Later in the race I found a fast rhythm and just got faster and faster; I’m very happy to finish like that. I tried to catch Bayliss at the end after he passed me, but I just couldn’t get close enough.” Harald Eckl: Team Manager “After Shinya’s strong qualifying performance this result is a little disappointing for everyone in the team, as we expected a top six result was possible in the race. The technicians are still checking on Shinya’s engine problem, but he heard some noise and felt a misfire, so he did the right thing to ride for points. As for OJ, he did another fantastic race for Kawasaki, with limited testing and practice in the dry. He is still learning about the Ninja ZX-RR and Bridgestone tyres, but he gave us a great result, second in China, which was obviously a highlight for the team.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Rossi takes win with stunning last lap at Le Mans Valentino Rossi set a new circuit record on the final lap of the Grand Prix Alice of France to take his third victory from the opening four rounds of the MotoGP World Championship after a thrilling battle with Sete Gibernau. Rossi got a bad start from pole position but made his way through the pack from sixth place as his Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards led they way. Rossi caught Edwards by lap nine after passing Loris Capirossi and Nicky Hayden and the pair built a comfortable advantage over the rest of the field. However, a stunning charge from Gibernau in the second half of the race saw the Spaniard surge from seventh place to third, repeatedly setting the fastest lap of the race and swiftly closing in on the front two. Gibernau’s charge sparked Rossi into life and, after both passing Edwards in the same corner on the 21st lap, the pair went head-to-head in a breathtaking finale. “I made a mistake at the start, just like at the last round in China, but I made positions up lap by lap with some good overtaking moves and eventually caught Colin,” explained Rossi, who crossed the line with an advantage of 0.382 seconds after clocking a time of 1’33.226. “I stayed behind him for a while because his rhythm was good, but then Gibernau arrived very fast from behind so I decided to try and overtake him and push to the maximum. Every lap I was better and better and I set the fastest time of the race on the final lap. I am very happy.” Whilst second place for Gibernau moves him up to third in the championship behind his team-mate Marco Melandri, who finished fourth today after an intense battle with Max Biaggi, Edwards’s first podium for Yamaha in third place moves him up to sixth overall. Hayden and Capirossi eventually dropped to sixth and seventh respectively after their electric starts, with Shinya Nakano taking eighth place ahead of Toni Elías and Troy Bayliss. Local hero Olivier Jacque missed out on a top ten finish by less than a second as he clinched eleventh place to the delight of the home crowd, with Rubén Xaus, Kenny Roberts, Jurgen Van Den Goorbergh and Roby Rolfo completing the points. Carlos Checa, Shane Byrne, James Ellison and Alex Barros all crashed out but were uninjured. Dani Pedrosa denied Randy De Puniet home victory with a last lap move just three corners from the end of an exciting 250cc race to recover the World Championship lead by four points over Andrea Dovizioso. Dovizioso led for the opening nine laps before Casey Stoner, De Puniet, Jorge Lorenzo and Pedrosa all took turns at the front, with the Frenchman grasping control on the penultimate lap. The 75,000 crowd were on their feet as De Puniet looked certain to take victory but Pedrosa produced a stunning recovery to take his second win of the season. Dovizioso clinched the final podium spot in third place with Stoner and Lorenzo completing the top five. Thomas Lüthi took his first ever victory in the 125cc race from pole position after streaking into a lead of over eight seconds from the third lap. The Swiss rider never looked in danger as a packed second group gave chase, with Sergio Gadea and Mika Kallio eventually winning the battle for the remaining two podium positions. The result means Kallio now leads the championship by twelve points from Lüthi, with Marco Simoncelli in third place after taking fifth place today. More, from a press release issued by Gauloises Yamaha: GAULOISES YAMAHA TAKE PODIUM DOUBLE AS ROSSI WINS AT LE MANS Gauloises Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi extended his lead at the top of the MotoGP World Championship with a victory from pole position at the French Grand Prix this afternoon. The Italian World Champion recorded the fastest ever motorcycle lap of Le Mans in qualifying yesterday and followed it up with a new lap record on the very last lap of the today’s 28-lap race. He was joined on the podium by team-mate Colin Edwards who took an excellent third place from the second spot on the grid. With Rossi making a poor start, Edwards charged to the front and led the way for the first 20 laps. Meanwhile, Rossi made his way through the pack from sixth place and joined the American ahead of the field, making his first attempt to pass on lap 18 as Sete Gibernau (Honda) closed in from third place. The Italian’s attempted manoeuvre failed as he ran wide on the exit of the corner, allowing Edwards to recover the lead and Gibernau to steal through for second. However, three laps later the World Champion was back on the charge, passing Gibernau and then Edwards on consecutive laps and this time hanging on to the lead. With Gibernau passing Edwards in the same corner as Rossi, the pair went head-to-head for the final eight laps and set a scorching pace. The breathtaking battle went all the way to the final lap, when Rossi set a sensational new circuit record to secure victory by 0.382 seconds from the Spaniard. His championship tally now stands at 95 points from a possible 100 giving him a 37 point advantage over Marco Melandri (Honda) whilst Edwards now moves up to sixth overall. The result also extended Yamaha’s lead in the constructors’ and teams’ World Championships. The next round of the season takes place at Mugello in Italy in three weeks’ time. VALENTINO ROSSI (1st 44’12.223) New lap record 1’33.678 (lap 28) “At the start of the race we were lucky that it didn’t rain and we were able to put on a fantastic show. It was a difficult and long but great race, although I made my life more complicated by messing up the start. But I made positions up lap by lap with some good overtaking moves and eventually caught Colin. I stayed behind him for a while because his rhythm was good and nobody was catching up, but then Gibernau arrived very fast from behind so I decided to try and overtake and push to the maximum. Every lap I was better and better and I set the fastest time of the race on the final lap, so that shows the excellent progress we have made with the setting of the bike. I took pole position, the fastest lap of the race and the victory and Colin was also on the podium, so it has been a perfect weekend for us. The bike was very precise and I was able to get the power down well so this looks good for the coming races. We continue our work here tomorrow. I’m not sure what I have to test but I’m very happy to stay if we can make even more progress. I’m looking forward to Mugello and hope to see lots of Italian fans there.” COLIN EDWARDS (3rd 44’17.934 +5.711) “I desperately wanted to win that race but the other guys were just too fast today! Basically we took a gamble on the race tyre because with the limited dry track time in practice we only had five laps on it and didn’t know if it would work towards the end of the race. I got a good start, got into my rhythm of mid-34s and knew that should be enough to keep me at the front. If you’d have said to me you have to get into the 33s I’d have told you there was no way I could do those times! But then Valentino and Sete came through and their pace was incredible. The tyre got really hot and I had of couple of moments, so I just decided to make sure of third place. It’s an overdue reward for the phenomenal job the team have been doing and now we have a firm base to go from for the rest of the season.” DAVIDE BRIVIO TEAM DIRECTOR “It was a fantastic day for us almost perfect! Valentino took the victory and extended his lead in the championship, which is good to be able to take to Mugello in the next round. It was a very important podium for Colin I have always believed that he was capable of this kind of performance. Today was a result of the hard work put in by the team over the winter and the first three rounds of the season. Now we want to see both riders on the podium as much as possible!” More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: CAPIROSSI STARS IN EARLY STAGES OF FRENCH GP Ducati Marlboro Team rider Loris Capirossi ran strong in the early stages of today’s French Grand Prix at Le Mans, eventually finishing round four of the 2005 MotoGP World Championship in seventh position. Team-mate Carlos Checa had a luckless afternoon, he was the innocent victim of a first-lap melee, after he had run 0.6 seconds fastest than next man in this morning warm-up. The race, run on a dry track after two days of ever-changing weather conditions, was won by reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi. “This was a complicated weekend because the weather changed every session – sometimes wet, sometimes dry, sometimes in between – which made it difficult to work on tyre choice,” said Ducati MotoGP project manager Livio Suppo. “We are still in the early stages of our relationship with Bridgestone, we are on a learning curve, and we learned a lot today, our second dry race with them. Carlos chose a tyre with a more durable compound, so it’s a shame we couldn’t verify its performance over race distance. Loris was able to run with the leaders early on, which was good, it shows that we have a good package. Now we just need to continue working at making the tyres even better. We are looking forward to Mugello.” The Ducati Marlboro Team stays at Le Mans for two days of intensive testing tomorrow and Tuesday. STUNNING START FROM CAPIROSSI Loris Capirossi played a starring role in the first third of today’s race, riding with early leaders Colin Edwards and Nicky Hayden. But after one-third distance the Ducati Marlboro Team man began to lose rear traction and had to ease off. Even then he maintained an impressive pace to finish less than three seconds down on sixth-finisher Nicky Hayden. “I had a fantastic start!” said Capirossi, who gunned his Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici into third place from the fourth row of the grid. “After that I found that I could easily stay with the leaders, the bike was working really well, so it seemed like my Desmosedici could fight for a podium finish. But from lap ten onwards I needed more rear traction, so I had to ease my pace. It’s not been easy here because we only had one fully dry session, so I wasn’t able to try so many tyres. I chose the same tyre that worked so well during my ten-lap endurance run yesterday afternoon. Of course, I’m not happy with seventh, but I am happy that we were strong for ten laps. Our relationship with Bridgestone has only just started, we’re improving step by step.” FASTEST IN WARM-UP, CHECA OUT OF LUCK IN RACE Carlos Checa started today’s French GP in confident mood after setting the pace in this morning’s warm-up session, when he was 0.6 seconds faster than the next man. But the Ducati Marlboro Team rider was out of luck in the race, crashing out after making contact with Max Biaggi at the very first chicane. Biaggi was forced to run wide to avoid slowing riders ahead and Checa couldn’t miss him. “Max moved off line to avoid someone and I couldn’t brake because I was already leaned over into the corner,” explained Checa. “Sometimes racing is like this, but it’s not easy to accept such bad luck, especially when we had the chance of a good result here. The bike is working so well at the moment, it’s getting better all the time and we are doing everything we can to score good results. I can’t carry this bad luck forever, so I’m looking forward to Mugello.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Bad luck follows Team SUZUKI MotoGP to Le Mans Team SUZUKI MotoGP’s string of bad luck continued at the Grand Prix Alice de France today as John Hopkins was forced to start from pit-lane due to an engine management control fault. Today started positively for both Hopkins and team-mate Kenny Roberts Jr as the two Suzuki GSV-R riders posted the second and fourth quickest times respectively in a damp morning warm-up. Before the start of the race, held in dry but overcast conditions, Hopkins had to pull into the pit-lane at the end of the warm-up lap and change to his reserve bike. Starting nearly a lap down, he managed to catch the tail-end of the field – and pass one rider – but was not able to reel in the main pack and finished in 16th place. A frustrated Hopkins said: “I’m absolutely devastated. We’ve worked hard all weekend and we qualified the bike well. I really felt we could have got a good result. “Even on the spare bike – that didn’t perform quite as well as my main bike – I was able to run at a reasonable pace but I just didn’t have the target of any other riders to aim for. I’m sure my pace could have been a lot quicker if I had been with the faster guys. “I have no idea what happened to my bike on the warm-up lap. I really feel for my team as they have worked so hard again this weekend. We now need to put this behind us and move onto the next race, and have another go.” Roberts Jr finished in a points scoring position in 13th place and his lap-times towards the end of the race were worthy of a higher placed finish. His Chief Technician Tom O’Kane said: “Kenny didn’t get a good qualifying position here yesterday after he nearly crashed on his fastest lap and that showed in today’s race. “It’s really difficult to pass riders at Le Mans due to the nature of the circuit but his times towards the end of the race showed that if he had got away with the leaders things might have been very different.” Team Manager Paul Denning said: “I’m really disappointed. Today was different from Shanghai, we didn’t have the chance to win the race but we did have a chance for solid top-ten finishes. “You can call it bad luck be we have to look at how we can make our luck better. We can’t afford to blame bad luck when that’s the only type of luck coming. “I feel sorry for John but he never gave up and showed a true racing spirit by riding hard and completing a Grand Prix from what was basically a hopeless position. “Kenny’s pace was good towards the end and showed that race-long consistency is there from the Bridgestone tyres. “We now have a further day’s testing here tomorrow with some new engine and chassis parts as well as some prototype Bridgestone tyres. We start working on improving our chances of success tomorrow.” Today’s race was won by World Champion Valentino Rossi on a Yamaha in front of a crowd of over 75,000. The next round of the MotoGP world Championship will be at Mugello in Italy on June 5th. More, from a press release issued by Camel Honda: Fortune doesn’t favour Camel Honda in France It was an unlucky Le Mans for Alex Barros who lost control of the rear end of his RC211V on the thirteenth lap, and crashed out, hitting his back hard. The brazilian rider was given the all-clear though by Dr. Costa in the mobile clinic, with just severe bruising. Tomorrow he will stay in France for tests alongside his team-mate, and will decide whether he is fit enough to ride in the morning. There will be no problems however for the Mugello race in three weeks time. Troy Bayliss finished in tenth place, after a nice battle with home hero Olivier Jacque and tomorrow will be able to use the whole day to work with his team on the set up of his Honda. Sito Pons Camel Honda “It’s a real shame that Alex couldn’t get the result we all expected. He didn’t have good grid position, and then had more misfortune with his crash. It was clear he wasn’t comfortable on the bike, because he didn’t have the front group’s rhythm, even though he gave it his all. I think he could have pushed into the top six and that would have been okay for the championship. The most important thing is that he is well though. The next race is the Mugello GP, on a track he likes and where we already won together so he will try to fight for the victory again. Troy did well to finish the race, and that will give him confidence after two crashes. Tomorrow we will stay he with him to try and get the bike better for him and I’m sure that he will find the right setting so that he can show the best of his potential.” Alex Barros Camel Honda crashed “I’m really disappointed, I certainly didn’t expect today to go like this. I was pushing a bit because I was trying to catch up Max and Melandri, but it was hard work. I was giving everything and I lost the back end. I couldn’t control it and I got a big smack, but it was okay because it was a hard fall and could have been worse. It’s a shame because I take no points away from here, but now the world championship is the last thing on my mind. I want to recover and think about the next race, and getting back to winning ways. I like Mugello, I’ve won there before, so my objective is the same again.” Troy Bayliss Camel Honda 10th place “I’m happy to have finished the race, to have had a good battle with Olivier Jacque and to have beaten him. Of course, there is still ground to be made up, because I’m still not comfortable on the bike, not as I need to be to ride at the limit anyway. I did my fastest lap on the last one, so there is obviously room for improvement as regards set-up. So I’m happy to stay behind to test tomorrow, I want to try and get the most possible out of the session.” More, from a press release issued by Telefonica Movistar Honda: SETE BACK ON THE PODIUM IN STYLE Melandri, constantly growing, remains second in the standings after taking fourth place FRENCH GP – MOTOGP RACE Sete Gibernau was back to his best at the French Grand Prix, adding a second place that felt more like a victory to his two previous success in the last two visits here with the MotoGP World Championship. Despite the difficulties in finding a good race set-up this weekend, the Spaniard made a great race. Sete suffered in the first laps as he started with a different configuration to the one he had used on his bike during practice. Then, as he got used, he grew in strength as the race wore on and fought from seventh place to challenge Valentino Rossi for victory on the final lap. Leaving Edwards trailing by five seconds, Gibernau pushed Rossi all the way to the line and clinched a valuable second place, which moves him up to third in the championship on 53 points, just five behind his team-mate. Marco Melandri started from the front row of the grid and rode another intelligent race, taking fourth position and defending second place in the championship overall. The Movistar Honda team will be staying on at Le Mans for a day of testing tomorrow. SETE GIBERNAU (2nd): Today we’ve returned to where we should be, fighting to win races. I’m particularly satisfied because we’ve had a lot of problems in qualifying to find a good race pace and without the help of Michelin and the incredible job done by my team, this result was unthinkable. At the start it took me a while to get used to the bike and the tyre but I didn’t lose my head or my confidence and gave it everything to arrive at the front. It was incredibly tough because I needed an opportunity to rest and allow the tyre to cool down but they didn’t let me. When I saw Rossi pass Edwards I went with him. I had a clear idea of whereabouts I was going to pass him but I made a mistake on the corner before and it was impossible. In any case this is a very important result.” MARCO MELANDRI (4th): “We suffered at the start of the race but from there on I managed to set a good pace and I’m satisfied with this result. I chose a compound that was a little hard, in order to have more advantage in the second part of the race. In fact, from the second half of the race, I got a good rhythm and conquered the 4th position. It was only my second dry race of the season and we gathered a lot of important information. We’ll have to work hard during the test tomorrow to improve our performance in the first part of the race. All in all, I’m very satisfied, my feeling with the bike improves every race and thanks to Honda and my team I’m learning a lot and I’m growing constantly”. More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information: GIBERNAU BACK IN THE HUNT WITH STRONG SECOND Sete Gibernau (Team Movistar Honda RC211V) got his season back on track here at Le Mans with a fighting second place to Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) in front of 75,000 French fans. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) was third. Droplets of rain threatened the dry track at the start, but happily failed to fall in any numbers as the race got underway. Edwards led away from the lights from Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) and peeled into turn one ahead of the bunched-up pack. Rossi and Gibernau were well down the order in sixth and seventh as Edwards, Hayden and Loris Capirossi (Ducati) made the early running from Marco Melandri (Team Movistar Honda RC211V) and Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki). By lap four Rossi was up to fourth and putting in early fastest laps. Gibernau made a mistake and dropped back just as he was making progress, and Alex Barros (Camel Honda RC211V) capitalised on his error. But as the Spaniard got the feel of his RC211V in race trim he soon began making his way forwards again. Edwards was looking comfortable at the front with Hayden unable to make an impression on his lead in second as Rossi grabbed third from Capirossi on lap seven of the 28-lap contest. Meanwhile Melandri and Gibernau were locked together in fifth and sixth. But this was when Gibernau began his remorseless charge to the front setting an early fastest lap of 1m 33.937s on lap ten and moving up to fifth. As Gibernau snatched fourth from Capirossi and made ground on Hayden, Barros fell and was out of the race. Gibernau put in another fastest lap on the 15th tour of the 4.180km track and as Edwards and Rossi pulled clear of Hayden, Gibernau took third from the American as Max Biaggi (Repsol Honda RC211V), who had fallen heavily the morning warm-up, got his race together and began circulating in front of Melandri in fifth. Now it was a fierce three-way fight between Edwards, Rossi and Gibernau, with Hayden losing touch in fourth as Max and Melandri kept the pressure on in fifth and sixth. By lap 21 Rossi had edged ahead and Gibernau cleverly used Rossi as a shield to slip past Edwards tucked right behind the Italian. It soon became clear that Edwards could not match the leading duo for pace and as the final three laps unfolded Gibernau shadowed the reigning World Champion. Max and Marco were now also locked in combat for fourth and fifth places in sight of Edwards in third. Gibernau tried everything to edge past Rossi in an intense final four laps. Rossi held a 0.2 second advantage as the final lap began, Gibernau showing great coolness to pressure the Yamaha rider. But Rossi held on to win by 0.382 seconds as Gibernau showed he is back in title contention with a fine ride. Edwards held third while Melandri pipped Biaggi for fourth. “The team and Michelin did a great job,” said Gibernau. “We didn’t look like getting a podium here but here we are in second place. I took it steady until I could feel how good the bike was and then I made my way to the front. But I just couldn’t get the win. We go to Mugello in strong shape now because we learned a lot here this weekend.” Melandri said, “We suffered a lot at the start but from there on we managed a good pace. The morning warm-up didn’t help with tyre choice because the temperature was low and there were damp patches, and I went for a tyre that was little too hard. But this is only the second dry race this season and we’ve got a lot of useful information now.” For Max this was another reasonable result salvaged from impending disaster. “A very hard race,” he said. “After the warm-up crash I didn’t think I could race. When I put my leathers on I wasn’t even sure if I could make it to the flag. But adrenaline is an incredible fuel although by the end of the race I couldn’t even get off the bike. This fifth place is really important in terms of points for the team.” Nicky was typically honest. “Really disappointing,” he said. “I got a really good start, but then ten laps from the end I had a lot of chatter. I don’t really know why and we need to find out. It’s a lame excuse but I just went backwards. It’s been a hard weekend but I thought we were in with a chance here.” Troy Bayliss (Camel Honda RC211V) said, “I’m happy to have finished the race, to have had a good battle with Olivier Jacque, and to have beaten him. There is still ground to be made up because I’m still not comfortable on the bike not to ride at the limit anyway. I did my fastest lap on the last one, so there is obviously room for improvement with set-up.” Jurgen van den Goorbergh, standing in for the injured Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V), finished 14th and said, “During the last two sessions we didn’t complete all the work that we planned, so we didn’t have a clear idea which tyres to use for the race. But I gained more confidence lap after lap. This is only the second time in the MotoGP for me so I have to be satisfied with the results.” Barros said, “I’m really disappointed, I certainly didn’t expect today to go like this. I was pushing a bit because I was trying to catch Max and Melandri, but it was hard work. I was giving it everything and I lost the back end. It’s a shame because I take no points away from here, but now the World Championship is the last thing on my mind. I want to recover and think about the next race.” The World Championship points table now looks like this: Rossi 95, Melandri 58, Gibernau 53, Biaggi 47 and Barros 43. The Italian Grand Prix is the next race in three weeks time. The 250cc race was a nail-biter with Dani Pedrosa (Team Movistar Honda RS250RW) diving past last lap leader Randy de Puniet (Aprilia) just before the final right/left complex to edge past the finish line 0.251 seconds ahead of the Frenchman for his second victory of the season. Andrea Dovizioso (Scot Racing Team Honda RS250RW) was third. Dani got the holeshot into turn one but it was Dovizioso who shook of his pursuers to pull out an early lead before the chasing pack of Casey Stoner, Sebastian Porto, de Puniet (all Aprilia), plus Dani and Jorge Lorenzo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) hauled him in. This six-rider bunch kept hard at it with Stoner and de Puniet taking turns to lead until Porto dropped out with machine trouble. Lorenzo then made his move to the front by lap 16 as Dani began reeling off fastest laps to hit the front on lap 19 of the 26-lap race. As the final laps approached it was Dani who was making the pace at the front with de Puniet and Dovi close behind. Stoner and Lorenzo just couldn’t stay with the front three as Dani turned two consecutive fastest laps. On lap 25 de Puniet dived into the lead and held it until Pedrosa made his perfectly judged pass to win on the final lap. “That was a difficult race,” said Dani. “The leading group was very strong and tyres were the real issue with a lot of the group getting big slides on. My engine wasn’t perfect and I had to push really hard to win here. But my set-up was really good at the end of the race which really helped me.” Dovi in third, his third podium in four races in his debut 250 season, said, “Pedrosa was very quick and I expected him to be very strong at the end of the race. But I’m happy with a podium that keeps me in touch in the World Championship. I know I can run with Pedrosa.” The World Championship points table shows Pedrosa in the lead now with 73 points, from Dovi on 69 and Stoner with 63. Seven Honda machines finished in the top ten here at Le Mans. Lorenzo eventually finished fifth, Hiroshi Aoyama (Team Movistar Honda RS250RW) sixth and Hector Barbera (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) seventh. Swiss star Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) won his first Grand Prix comfortably from Sergio Gadea (Aprilia) with Mika Kallio (KTM) third. The 18-year-old was in total control after the first three laps and he cruised across the line by three seconds after holding and eight second advantage mid-race. Mike Di Meglio (Kopron Racing World Honda RS125R) rode his best race so far to finish fourth in front of his home crowd, but Fabrizio Lai (Kopron Racing World Honda RS125RW) failed to finish the race after dropping back from first on lap two, falling further in arrears, and then dropping out with six laps to go. “I’m very happy with my first win,” said a delighted Luthi. “My start was good, I went to the front and then pushed on home from there. The bike was good all weekend. This is a fantastic day for me and there is more to come now.” Di Meglio was equally happy with his day’s work. “I wanted a good race at my home track and to show I’m as fast as the bets riders. The bike was fast but the feeling from the chassis made the real difference. I had a bad start but got back to the front and it was good riding with the front runners.” Kallio leads the World Championship points table with 66 points, Luthi is now second with 54, Marco Simoncelli (Aprilia) who finished fifth has 52 and Lai is still hanging in there on 42. HONDA TEAM QUOTES: MotoGP: Sete Gibernau, Movistar Honda MotoGP: 2nd: “Today we’ve returned to where we should be, fighting to win races. I’m particularly satisfied because we’ve had a lot of problems in qualifying to find a good race pace and without the help of Michelin and the incredible job done by my team, this result was unthinkable. At the start it took me a while to get used to the bike and the tyre but I didn’t lose my head or my confidence and gave it everything to arrive at the front. It was incredibly tough becuase I needed an opportunity to rest and allow the tyre to cool down but they didn’t let me. When I saw Rossi pass Edwards I went with him. I had a clear idea of whereabouts I was going to pass him but I made a mistake on the corner before and it was impossible. In any case this is a very important result.” Marco Melandri, Movistar Honda Moto GP: 4th: “We suffered a loot at the start of the race but from there on I managed to set a good pace and I’m satisfied with this result. The warm-up didn’t help with the tyre choice because the track was quite damp and I think I chose a compound that was a little too hard for me. It was only my second dry race of the season and we gathered a lot of important information. We’ll have to work hard during the test tomorrow to improve our performance in the first part of the race”. Max Biaggi, Repsol Honda Team: 5th: “A very, very hard race. After the warm-up crash I didn’t think I could race. The pain never left me. When I put on my leathers my back was in such a bad condition that I never thought I could make it to the chequered flag. Then, adrenaline and my big desire to do good gave me an incredible fuel. Anyhow at the end of the race I almost couldn’t get off the bike. After this I can only be happy about this fifth place: these are 11 important points for me and my team. Our job starts again from tomorrow. There is a lot to do to come back competitive in time for the Italian Grand Prix.” Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda Team: 6th: “Just really, really disappointed! I got a good start and it all felt great but about 10 laps from the end it started to feel like last week in the rain. I got a lot of chatter as the race went on. We don’t really know why. We need to find out! It’s a pretty lame excuse but the bottom line is I just went backwards. It’s been a hard weekend but I felt we were in with a chance after all the great work the team put in. It felt good to be running up front but I want to do that all race. I’m not looking forward to a three-week break now. I just want Mugello to come next weekend!” Troy Bayliss, Camel Honda, 10th: “I’m happy to have finished the race, to have had a good battle with Olivier Jacque and to have beaten him. Of course, there is still ground to be made up, because I’m still not comfortable on the bike, not as I need to be to ride at the limit anyway. I did my fastest lap on the last one, so there is obviously room for improvement as regards set-up. So I’m happy to stay behind to test tomorrow, I want to try and get the most possible out of the session.” Jurgen van den Goorbergh, Konica Minolta Honda: 14th: “During the last two sessions we didn’t make it to complete all the work that we have planned, therefore before the race I didn’t have a clear idea on which tyres to use during the race. Notwithstanding this, I have to admit that the type of tyres used during the race has revealed to be great and they allowed me to acquire confidence lap after lap. This has been only the second time in the MotoGP for me and I have to consider my self satisfied for the results obtained. Here I made it to have a great jump at the start and I found myself behind Bayliss and I thought I could have passed him, but at the crucial moment I made a little mistake which made me lose a couple of positions. After this fact I preferred to don’t risk anymore to don’t throw away the work done here. In the race I kept thinking on where to make the changes to adapt my riding style to the great performances of such a bike and at the end I felt a lot of more confident. I’m sure that if the weather condition would have helped us in the past couple of days, my performance could have been much better. I’m anyway very happy and I want to thank the Konica Minolta Honda Team that chose me for these two Grand Prix with the hope that I have given them back the trust they gave me.” Alex Barros, Camel Honda, dnf: “I’m really disappointed, I certainly didn’t expect today to go like this. I was pushing a bit because I was trying to catch up Max and Melandri, but it was hard work. I was giving everything and I lost the back end. I couldn’t control it and I got a big smack, but it was okay because it was a hard fall and could have been worse. It’s a shame because I take no points away from here, but now the world championship is the last thing on my mind. I want to recover and think about the next race, and getting back to winning ways. I like Mugello, I’ve won there before, so my objective is the same again.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Le Mans May 15th, 2005 Grand Prix of France Capirossi and Nakano fight it out – Bad luck for Checa and Hopkins Ducati rider Carlos Checa and Suzuki’s young hero John Hopkins ran into bad luck in today’s French Grand Prix. Checa had a fantastic start from the third row of the grid, and rocketed into third place before the chicane, only to be taken out at the end of the first corner combination in a collision with Max Biaggi. Hopkins on the other side suffered mechanical problems on the starting grid and was forced to pull in and change the bike. After that, the Californian rode a lonely yet determined race to 16th place. In the meantime, the spectators saw a thrilling performance from Checa’s Ducati team-mate Loris Capirossi. The fearless Italian held third place ahead of world champion Valentino Rossi for the first five laps. Capirossi then paid tribute to a medium rear tyre choice, and slowly dropped back within the leading pack. Seventh from mid-race on, Capirossi was able to defend his position to hard-charging Shinya Nakano aboard Kawasaki’s Ninja ZX-RR. The Japanese ace seemed set to beat Capirossi in the end, but eventually settled for a safe eighth. Qualifying on the 4.180 kilometre Bugatti circuit had been very promising, with Shinya Nakano and John Hopkins fastest Bridgestone riders in sixth and seventh place. Bridgestone’s strong performance was further confirmed in the warm-up on Sunday morning, when Carlos Checa and John Hopkins took first and second place, and Kenny Roberts rode to fourth in overcast and cool conditions. Bridgestone was equally well prepared for wet conditions, with a brand new compound for heavy rain and cool temperatures, and also with the same rain tyre type that had shown supreme grip and traction levels in China two weeks ago. The qualities of this tyre type were confirmed in the wet free practice session on Saturday morning, with four of the six Bridgestone riders Checa, Capirossi, Jacque and Nakano classified within the top eight positions. Loris Capirossi Ducati Marlboro Team 7th position “I am happy with our progress, podium finishes are now within reach for our bike. Finding the right tyre for this race was another story, due to the ever-changing weather conditions on all three days here in Le Mans. Eventually, I chose a different rear tyre to my team-mate Carlos Checa, and maybe his harder compound would have been ideal, because I started to slide a lot after ten laps. But never mind, our working relationship with Bridgestone has only started recently, and we’ve already made significant steps into the right direction. We are on track, but it just takes time. With more and more experience, our package will improve further!” Shinya Nakano Kawasaki Racing Team 8th position “I had a good start and enjoyed myself. The bike was working well, and tyre grip was good and consistent. I was able to catch up with Capirossi and thought of mounting an attack, when in the middle of the race an engine problem developed. It felt like some misfire, or as if one of the cylinders was cutting out. I thought the bike was going to stop, so I just tried to bring it home safely, thinking that some points were better than none. I guess I was lucky to see the chequered flag!” Junichi Kawajiri Manager Motorcycle Racing Tyre Developement Bridgestone “2 top ten finishes with Loris and Shinya is very positive, so thanks to them and their team for a gutsy performance. It was unfortunate for Carlos to get into an accident on the first lap because he had very good lap times on race tyres during practice sessions, but that’s racing. Overall performace of our tyres today were a bit below our expectations, so we will bring these back to Japan for some analysis work. Now we look forward to Mugello and start preparation for the next race.!” Bridgestone Results: 7. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, 44.36,887, 8. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki, 44.48,163, 11. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki, 45.05,525, 13. Kenny Roberts (USA) Suzuki, 45.12,737, 16. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, 44.50,726. Did not finish: Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati Temperature Track Air Weather Afternoon 15 C 11 C Cloudy More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha: PROGRESS SHINES THROUGH ON GREAT DAY FOR YAMAHA The FORTUNA YAMAHA team demonstrated impressive progress throughout the three days of the French Grand Prix and confirming the positive steps forward being taken by the team led by Hervé Poncharal. Toni Elías, who set a series of fast times yesterday, ended the race in a creditable ninth position after putting a strong rhythm together after narrowly avoiding a multiple crash in the first corner. Ruben Xaus, meanwhile, became more and more comfortable with his machine as the race wore on, a level of progress made evident by his lap times in the final third of the race. FORTUNA YAMAHA plan to continue their work at the French circuit for another two days, when they will continue with their development programme ahead of the next round of the championship, which takes place on the 5th June at Mugello, Italy. TONI ELIAS – (24) RACE: 9TH / WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: 14TH / 15 POINTS “The crash at the beginning in the chicane spoilt things for me quite a lot because I had to dodge Checa to make sure that I didn’t run over him. From there on I was able to maintain my position in the second group, with the first four riders in the front group setting a rhythm that was impossible for the rest of us. In order to recover lost ground I rode on the limit throughout the race and I wasn’t completely comfortable because grip levels were low with the track being so much colder. The important thing is tha we are improving our results with every race and I’m sure the next two days of tests here will be very useful for us to prepare for the next round in Italy.” RUBEN XAUS (11) RACE: 12TH / WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: 13TH / 15 POINTS “At the start I found it very hard to follow the race pace because I got a bit left behind over the first few laps. I had Bayliss, Jacque and Kenny in front of me and it wasn’t too difficult to pass Roberts. A backmarker got in my way and I lost contact with Bayliss and Jacque and it was impossible to catch them. I felt much more comfortable from the 15th lap, which allowed me to drop my times from high 36s to low 36s. We’ve seen a lot of positive things today and I hope we can make even more progress in the test tomorrow..” HERVE PONCHARAL – TEAM DIRECTOR OF FORTUNA YAMAHA “Yamaha have celebrated a magnificent podium at Le Mans thanks to a sensational performance from their main riders. Toni had his best race of the year so far. To finish just behind Nakano is a good reference point to know where we need to continue working. Ruben also had a good race, lapping even faster than Bayliss. The key to his adaptation is to keep making progress at every race, having shown evident steps forward today.”

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