MotoGP – The French Grand Prix turn by turn –

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The French Grand Prix turn by turn

MotoGP - The French Grand Prix turn by turn -

Wet, dry or mixed track? The French public did the rain dance this weekend for their favorites: Di Meglio, De Puniet and above all OJ, luxury replacement on the Kawa … Suspense for the 75,740 spectators who came to brave the elements !

On Friday, the morning free practice takes place in the dry and in the afternoon, the first qualifying session for the 125s and then the second MotoGP free session are still on dry track. For the first qualifying session of the 250, on the other hand, a real deluge fell on the Le Mans track: only 18 pilots would dare to start, 15 preferring to stay in the pits including Pedrosa, Porto, Stoner, Dovizioso, De Puniet and Guintoli! It is not the four pilots who have not even completed a lap in these dire conditions who will throw stones at them !

Out of the 14 drivers who managed to post a time, the Australian Anthony West was the fastest and only four other drivers, including Arnaud Vincent and Hugo Marchand, respectively 2nd time at 3 s and 3rd at 6 s, have achieved a time which qualifies them, namely less than 107% of the time of the first! Imagine for a moment a "rich" starting grid of five machines! Fortunately, Saturday benefits from dry weather for the qualifying sessions. On Sunday, a persistent fog maintains a tricky humidity for a long time on the Le Mans piste. The rain always threatens !

Class 125

On Friday, Kallio took the provisional pole ahead of Simoncelli, Talmacsi and Faubel. Di Meglio at home achieved the 8th fastest time, just ahead of his teammate Lai, to the satisfaction of the public in Le Mans. Mattia Pasini, after her first victory in China, broke her forearm falling in the qualifying session: he hopes to be back for Mugello.

Saturday’s qualifying session takes place on a dry track, with only a few traces of humidity in the straight line and the Dunlop curve. Halfway through the session, Julian Simon goes to the high side at the angle change of the Dunlop chicane, Kuzuhara rolls onto his leg and falls, forcing Talmacsi out into the gravel but without falling. Big strike which will cause the package of Kuzuhara, broken collarbone. Thomas Luthi took pole ahead of Kallio, Faubel and Talmacsi. In the 2nd row we find Simoncelli, Pesek, Lai and Simon. Mike Di Meglio, who failed to improve his time on Friday, will start from 9th position. At his side on the 3rd row, Gadea, Alexis Masbou author of superb tests and Nieto. The positions of the invited French: Cluzel 26th, Gines 32nd, Lussiana 33rd, Deschamps 39th and Michel 41st and last qualified.

During the warm-up, run on a drying track and above all very delayed by thick fog, many drivers will only take the track at the end of the session. Gines, national guest, will be the first to descend under 2 minutes. Mike Di Meglio sets the best time ahead of Simon, Lai, Olive, Miralles, Carchano, Simoncelli, Luthi, Cortese, Rodriguez, Talmacsi, Bautista, Giuseppetti, Hernandez and Terol. Gines finally signs the 18th fastest time, Masbou the 19th, Lussiana the 32nd, Deschamps the 34th, Cluzel the 35th and Alexis the 37th.

Departure. It was Talmacsi who took pole, in the fight with Luthi who only gave in at the entrance of the Dunlop chicane. Follow Kallio, Lai, Faubel who missed his start a little, Di Meglio started well, Gadea, Masbou, Nieto. At Chemin aux Boeufs, Luthi takes the lead in front of Talmacsi and Di Meglio brakes at Faubel.

At the first crossing on the line, Luthi leads a few lengths in front of Talmacsi and Lai. Follow Di Meglio, Kallio, Faubel, Masbou, Nieto and Madea. At the entrance to Dunlop, Faubel passes 4th in front of Kallio. Cluzel is 23rd, Lussiana 30th. In the lead, Luthi, Lai, Talmacsi and Di Meglio stand out slightly ahead of Faubel, Kallio and Masbou. Nieto is already slightly behind. At the entrance of the Blue Esses, Lai takes the lead in front of Luthi thanks to a superb braking.

On the second lap, Lai signs the best lap ahead of Luthi, Talmacsi, Di Meglio, Faubel, Kallio and Masbou. At the entrance to the Dunlop, Di Meglio passes in front of Talmacsi who catches him on the outside to the left of the descent, returning to 3rd position in the bend of the Chapel. Di Meglio, visibly on the attack, gets hot on acceleration as he leaves the Museum. Mike Di Meglio returned to 3rd under braking on Chemin aux Boeufs, then in the process, passed his teammate Lai at the entrance of the Blue Esses !

On the third lap, Luthi, who had the fastest lap, took advantage of the fight behind him to widen the gap. Di Meglio leads the chase ahead of Lai, Talmacsi, Faubel, Kallio. Nieto and Simoncelli passed Masbou, author of a magnificent start to the race. Kallio takes 5th place under the braking of the Green Garage at the expense of Faubel. The Finn passes 4th in front of Talmacsi at Chemin aux Boeufs.

On the 4th lap, Luthi, who posted another fastest lap, increased his lead: 1.7 s over Di Meglio, Lai, Talmacsi, who moved back to 4th ahead of Kallio and Faubel. Simoncelli passed in front of Nieto and Gadea, Simon, Masbou, Pesek and Koyama to chase this group. Rodriguez gives up. On lap 5, Luthi was 2.5 s ahead of Di Meglio, Lai, Kallio and Talmacsi, Faubel won slightly. Simoncelli, he goes back and let go of Nieto. At the entrance of the Dunlop, Kallio unleashed passes Di Meglio and Lai into a hellish interior! Kallio tries to speed up so as not to let Luthi go. Di Meglio stays in his wheel, Lai stalls slightly and has to let Talmacsi pass when braking the blue Esses.

In the 6th lap, Luthi, author of a new fastest lap, increased his lead to 3 s. Kallio and Di Meglio took advantage of the fight between Talmacsi and Lai to outrun them. Faubel attacks and passes Lai inside the Dunlop. Simoncelli nibbles meter after meter of being behind the group. Talmacsi reconnects with Di Meglio at the Blue Esses. On lap 7, Luthi was 3.5 s ahead of Kallio, Di Meglio, Talmacsi and Faubel wheel to wheel, Simoncelli came back on them. Further on, Gadea, Masbou, Nieto and Simon, then Bautista and Koyama precede Espargarro, Toth, Poggiali, Zanetti and Cortese. In this lap, Pesek then Faubel were forced to retire due to mechanical failure. Olive gives up too.

On lap 8, Luthi, who improved the best time even further, led more than 4 seconds ahead of Kallio, Di Meglio and Talmacsi. Simoncelli is still going up, Gadea 7th left behind Masbou who himself let go of Nieto. Jules Cluzel is 22nd, Mathieu Gines 27th, Mathieu Lussiana 28th, Alexis Michel 34th. In the 9th lap, Luthi is still largely leader ahead of Kallio, Di Meglio and Talmacsi. Simoncelli returned to the wheel of Lai, Gadea and Masbou several lengths behind him. Simoncelli passed 5th ahead of Lai in the Dunlop. Bautista falls and retires when he was 11th ahead of Koyama and Toth.

On the 10th lap, Luthi leads 5 seconds ahead of Kallio. Di Meglio and Talmacsi are wheel to wheel. Simoncelli lets go of Lai. Gadea is alone 7th but Masbou sees Nieto and Simon return. Koyama and Toth follow in 11th and 12th positions. Simoncelli and Gadea are then the fastest on the track! On the 11th lap, the positions are unchanged but Gadea comes back on Lai who wins more and more and lost 1 s on Simoncelli and Gadea. Alexis Michel falls and gives up. In the 12th lap, Luthi was 6.2 s ahead of Kallio and Di Meglio who slightly left Talmacsi, caught by Simoncelli. The Italian tried a slightly daring outside on the Hungarian in the fast Dunlop curve, but without success. Braillard, Pirro and Carchano hang on and fall at the Green Garage.

The yellow flags are waved but Simoncelli does not see them and passes Talmacsi under the braking of the Green Garage, risking a penalty (passing through the pits at reduced speed) if he does not return to his 5th place! Behind them, Gadea commits the same mistake by passing Lai! Simoncelli tries to attack Di Meglio at Chemin aux Boeufs but without success.

On the 13th lap, Luthi was 6.7 s ahead of Kallio, Di Meglio, Simoncelli and Talmacsi. Gadea is 6th ahead of Lai and Masbou. Di Meglio passes 2nd in front of Kallio inside the Dunlop! Koyama passed 9th ahead of Simon. Mathieu Gines is 24th. On the 14th lap, Luthi leads, Kallio came back to 2nd ahead of Di Meglio, Simoncelli and Talmacsi. Gadea is only a few lengths behind the Hungarian, then Lai, Masbou, Koyama, Simon, Nieto, Toth, Zanetti, Espargarro and Poggiali. Simoncelli passed 3rd in front of Di Meglio at the change of angle of the Blue Esses: he still did not realize his fault when overtaking under the yellow flag !

On lap 16, Luthi was 8 seconds ahead of Kallio, who saw Simoncelli pass him inside while braking the Dunlop. Gadea, him, passes 5th in front of Talmacsi! On the 17th lap, Luthi still largely in the lead, the race marshals gave Marco Simoncelli a "5 OK" sign telling him to voluntarily return to this fifth position. The Italian steps aside to let Di Meglio pass, who hesitates and lets Gadea pass him inside the Dunlop! Annoyed, Mike reacts and passes Gadea again at the cost of superb braking at the entrance to the Green Garage! Jules Cluzel, Tomoyoshi Koyama and Mathieu Gines collide, fall and give up. Gadea passes Di Meglio before the Chemin aux Boeufs.

On the 18th lap, Luthi is 8 seconds ahead. Kallio, Gadea and Di Meglio widened a slight gap on Simoncelli and Talmacsi. Simon is 7th ahead of Nieto. Gadea passes 2nd ahead of Kallio and Di Meglio! Talmacsi infiltrated inside Simoncelli in the Dunlop, but Simoncelli resisted by staying outside and delaying his braking at the entrance to the chicane. Lai is forced to retire, his mechanics which had delayed him since the start of the race having finally let him go completely. Alexis Masbou fell by delaying his braking too much at the Blue Esses and retired. In the 19th lap, Luthi is still largely leader ahead of Gadea, Kallio, Di Meglio, Simoncelli and Talmacsi who are once again grouped. Simon and Nieto are wheel to wheel. Simoncelli passed 4th in front of Di Meglio inside in the bend of the Chapel.

On the 20th lap, Luthi, sure of his lead, gave up his hand slightly. He is 7.3 s ahead of Gadea, Kallio, Simoncelli, Di Meglio and Talmacsi, 24 s over Simon and Nieto, 29.1 s over Toth, 34 s over Poggiali, Zanetti and Espargarro 39.8 s over Hernandez and Giuseppetti and 43.6 s over Cortese. Gadea and Kallio distance Simoncelli, Di Meglio and Talmacsi. On lap 21, while Luthi was 6.6 s ahead of his pursuers, Di Meglio reacted and made his personal best lap. In front of him, Kallio tries to pass Gadea inside the Dunlop without success.

At the 22nd lap, Luthi still ensures with 5.8 s in advance, Gadea made a slight comeback on Kallio and Simoncelli, Di Meglio and Talmacsi, author of their best time. Simoncelli passed third ahead of Kallio inside the Dunlop. Simoncelli, Kallio and Di Meglio present themselves head-on at the entrance to the Museum but remain in that order. Kallio takes advantage of the aspiration to pass Simoncelli at the entrance to Chemin aux Boeufs.

At the start of the last lap, Luthi is still 4.9 s ahead. Gadea is hot when accelerating from the straight line but stays on the throttle and maintains a lead of several lengths on the line. Mike Di Meglio dives inside Simoncelli in the bend of the Chapel. The Frenchman is 5 or 6 lengths behind Kallio but he is doing everything possible to come back, carried by the public! While Luthi crosses the line, Kallio returned to the wheel of gadea tries to attack him with the acceleration without success. Behind, Simoncelli is almost at the height of Di Meglio having come out very hard from the Junction corner, but does not manage to pass the French before the line.

Luthi takes his first victory, the previous one for a Swiss driver being that of Jacques Cornu in 1989 in 250. Gadea is 2nd for his first podium and Kallio 3rd, which confirms his domination in the championship. Di Meglio 4th made the best result of his career and Simoncelli limited the damage in the championship with his 5th place. Talmacsi is 6th, Nieto 7th, Simon 8th, Toth 9th, Poggiali 10th, Zanetti 11th, Espargarro 12th, Giuseppetti 13th, Hernandez 14th and Cortese 15th. Mathieu Lussiana, 16 years old and a true French hope, finished 18th.

In the championship, Kallio and Luthi are doing the right thing with the abandonment of Lai and the withdrawal of Pasini: the Finn now leads with 66 points ahead of Luthi 54, Simoncelli 52, Lai 49, Pasini 46, Talmacsi 37, Poggiali 31, Faubel 30 , Simon 28, Nieto 25 and Di Meglio 23. Alexis Masbou keeps his 3 points acquired in Portugal. On the brands side, Aprilia leads with 90 points ahead of Honda and KTM tied with 77.

Class 250

After the incredible first qualifying session on Friday (the morning saw the return of Porto in great shape ahead of Pedrosa and De Angelis), during which only five drivers were qualified, the Saturday session appeared like a balloon of oxygen !

In the dry, Pedrosa snapped pole for almost 1/2 s ahead of Stoner and Lorenzo, 9/10 ahead of Porto. The 2nd row, already more than 1s behind, is formed by Dovizioso, De Puniet, De Angelis and Guintoli, author of good home tries. Barbera, Aoyama, Davies and Takahashi are in 3rd line. Nigon is the 21st fastest and Leblanc the 22nd. Marchand, who fell, is satisfied with the 27th fastest time and will be forfeited for the race: the bad luck is on the French !

Vincent, back with Fantic, does not qualify with his 29th time, just like Samuel Aubry 30th and the French wild card Scaccia, 32nd. Li, the Zongshen team rider, is forfeited after his fall at Chemin aux Boeufs which resulted in a broken collarbone. 28 pilots are therefore qualified.

During the warm up on Sunday morning, the track was still bathed in fog which made the track very long to dry. Most riders therefore use mixed tires. Randy de Puniet, started on rain tires, returned to the pits on the first lap to immediately start again in mixed. Until the end of this warm up, despite the absence of rain, large traces of humidity remain, especially in the fast and technical Dunlop curve! It was finally Pedrosa who signed the best time, more than 1 s ahead of Randy de Puniet, Stoner, Porto, Guintoli in good shape for his national Grand Prix, Locatelli, De Angelis, Aoyama, Takahashi, Baldolini, Smrz, Lorenzo, Nigon , Barbera and Leblanc. The French are at the forefront: so much the better for the show !

Departure. Pedrosa took full advantage of his pole position and made the hole shot ahead of Dovizioso, Stoner, De Puniet, Barbera, Porto, Aoyama, Takahashi and Lorenzo. Dovizioso takes the lead inside on the Chapel bend. As soon as they came down from the Chapel, Jenkner, who had stolen the start anyway, fell. Heidolf cannot avoid rolling on his leg and he too falls! Porto passes Barbera when braking the Chemin aux Boeufs and Lorenzo passes Takahashi. Heat for Randy at the exit of the Blue Esses but without consequence.

In the first lap, Dovizioso, who started at a very fast pace, widened a small gap on Pedrosa and Stoner. De Puniet and Porto did the same on Barbera, Takahashi, Lorenzo, Aoyama, De Angelis, Guintoli, Locatelli, Debon, Ballerini and Corsi. Nigon is 23rd, Leblanc 25th. Stoner passes 2nd ahead of Pedrosa in the Dunlop. On the second lap, Dovizioso and Stoner, who had the fastest lap in the race, were a few steps ahead of Pedrosa, who himself slightly let De Puniet and Porto. Followed by Barbera, Lorenzo, De Angelis and Aoyama.

In the 3rd lap, Dovizioso, Stoner, Pedrosa, De Puniet and Porto are almost regrouped. Lorenzo 6th in front of De Angelis and Barbera made the forcing to come back to Porto. Sylvain Guintoli is 11th. At the 4th lap, Dovizioso, Stoner, Pedrosa, De Puniet and Porto lead with a good lead over Lorenzo, De Angelis and Barbera. Randy is pressing on Pedrosa but cannot find the opening in the Dunlop. Debon passed 11th ahead of Guintoli. Erwan Nigon is 22nd at 18s and Gregory Leblanc climbed 23rd at 20.5s.

On the 5th lap, Dovizioso, Stoner, Pedrosa, De Puniet and Porto saw Lorenzo return, who had the fastest lap in the race. De Angelis, Barbera and Aoyama are a few pitches away. Porto attacked and passed De Puniet under the brakes of the Green Garage. On lap 6, Dovizioso, Stoner, Pedrosa and De Puniet saw Lorenzo and De Angelis come closer and closer, taking all the risks and setting the best time. Porto went third at the entrance to the Dunlop chicane. Watz gives up. On the 7th lap, Lorenzo, who had the fastest lap, and De Angelis, who had the same heat accelerating from the straight line, almost made the connection with the leading men. Barbera and Aoyama follow a few lengths. Randy de Puniet in his turn passed Pedrosa on the outside in the Dunlop then Porto under the braking of the Blue Esses. De Angelis, in these same blue Esses, goes to the high-side when accelerating, falls after almost recovering his machine and gives up.

On the 8th lap, Dovizioso leads in front of Stoner, De Puniet, Porto, Pedrosa and Lorenzo, author of a new fastest lap in the race. Barbera and Aoyama are 7th and 8th. Lorenzo passed 5th in front of Pedrosa making him inside at Chapel. After the 9th passage, Stoner and De Puniet pass Dovizioso in the Dunlop. Lorenzo in turn passed 3rd in front of Dovizioso. At the 10th passage, Stoner leads ahead of De Puniet, Lorenzo, Dovizioso, Porto, Pedrosa, Barbera and Aoyama.

In the 11th lap, Stoner, De Puniet, Lorenzo, Porto, Pedrosa and Dovizioso lead. Barbera is 7th at 5.2 s, then Aoyama at 5.7 s, Guintoli at 13.1 s, Debon at 13.3 s, Takahashi at 14.2 s, Locatelli at 15.4 s, Corsi at 17.3 s, Baldolini at 19.2 s and Davies at 19.6 s. Pedrosa attacks and passes Porto in the right double of the Green Garage. On the 12th lap, Pedrosa 4th posted the best time, Dovizioso 6th achieving his personal best lap. Randy very comfortable takes the lead inside the Dunlop! Pedrosa tries to do the same on Lorenzo but without success. Lorenzo passes 2nd inside Stoner in the green garage.

On the 13th lap, De Puniet, Lorenzo, Porto and Dovizioso improved their lap times. Porto suffered a mechanical breakdown and had to let Dovizioso pass, who was a few lengths behind in the maneuver, in the descent of the Chapel, before giving up. Pedrosa passes Stoner thanks to superb braking at the entrance to the Green Garage. On lap 14, after having set the best time, Pedrosa passed Lorenzo inside in the Dunlop but Lorenzo delayed his braking and retained his 2nd place. Lorenzo even tried to attack De Puniet but the French resisted and closed the doors by delaying his braking. Stoner took 3rd position in Pedrosa when braking on Chemin aux Boeufs! Guintoli is 8th ahead of Debon and Takahashio. Leblanc is 18th.

On the 15th lap, Randy, in the grip of Lorenzo’s attacks, was led to the braking of the Green Garage. On the 16th lap, Lorenzo, De Puniet, Stoner, Pedrosa and Dovizioso are in a fight and do not let go. Aoyamaest is at 8.7 s, Barbera at 9.6 s, Guintoli at 17.3 s and sees Debon return at 17.9 s. Takahashi is at 18.8 s, Locatelli at 24.6 s, Corsi at 24.8 s, Davies and Baldolini at 25.9 s and Ballerini at 27.7 s. Randy de Puniet takes the lead again ahead of Lorenzo! Pedrosa also passes Lorenzo, author of the best lap on the 18th lap! Dovizioso passed 4th in the Dunlop, immediately followed by Stoner! Pedrosa took advantage of De Puniet’s gap in the Chapel to take the lead. Dovizioso passes Stoner to the Green Garage. Pedrosa tries to get away, and only Randy seems able to keep up with number 1 !

In the 19th lap, Pedrosa posted the fastest lap in the race ahead of Randy de Puniet, Dovizioso a few lengths away achieved his personal best lap, Stoner held on, Lorenzo struggled! On the 20th lap, Pedrosa leads ahead of De Puniet who sets his personal best time and Dovizioso who sets the fastest lap. Stoner and Lorenzo also get their best times! Aoyama and Barbera are still together at 6th and 7th positions. On the 21st lap, Pedrosa signed a new lap record in front of De Puniet who improved his best lap, Dovizioso who slowed down, then Stoner and Lorenzo who also set their personal best. Further on, Aoyama makes the effort and lets go of Barbera.

On the 22nd lap, Pedrosa was 0.78 s ahead of Randy, 1.4 s over Dovizioso, 2.3 s over Stoner and 3.4 s over Lorenzo: the little Spaniard broke the leading group! Aoyama at 17.3 s, Barbera at 19.4 s, Guintoli at 26.1 s, Debon at 26.4 s, Takahashi at 28.3 s. On the 23rd lap, Pedrosa relaxed a bit and allowed De Puniet and Dovizioso to stabilize the gap. Stoner at 3 s and Lorenzo at 4.2 s seem to have been let down for good. On the 24th lap, Randy, who set the lap record, came back and took the lead thanks to an incisive braking at the entrance to the Dunlop chicane! Pedrosa stays in contact but Randy is at the limit and closes the doors well.

At the start of the last lap, Randy de Puniet leads the French Grand Prix in front of Pedrosa to the clamor of the French public all in favor of his cause! At each braking, Pedrosa shows his wheel but De Puniet resists. In the Green Garage, Pedrosa almost collides with Randy who comes out very hard from the Chemin aux Boeufs, comes back towards the middle of the track, sets out again towards the outside to enter the Blue Esses but he is a little wide and stalls from behind in the right, deviating from the ideal trajectory! Pedrosa immediately takes the opportunity to infiltrate a mouse hole! The number 1 manages to maintain his very small lead over the French: Pedrosa crosses the line as the winner in front of a Randy de Puniet returned to his best level in front of his home crowd. Dovizioso completed the podium 1.5 seconds behind the two leading men. Stoner is 4th, Lorenzo 5th, Aoyama 6th, Barbera 7th, Debon 8th and first private, Guintoli 9th, Takahashi 10th, Corsi 11th, Davies 12th, Baldolini 13th, Locatelli 14th and Ballerini 15th. Leblanc finished 19th ahead of Nigon 20th.

In the championship, Pedrosa with 73 points regains the lead ahead of Dovizioso 69 and Stoner 63. De Angelis remains at 40 after his fall, Porto at 38 after his retirement due to a mechanical problem. Randy de Puniet with 36 points gets closer, tied for 6th with Aoyama. Follow Lorenzo and Barbera 34, Debon 24, Takahashi 21, Corsi 20, Guintoli 19. Leblanc retains his only point acquired in Jerez. Side brands, perfect equality between Honda and Aprilia: 90 points everywhere !

MotoGP Category

Makoto Tamada, who had just recovered from his injury, was finally unable to ride and again gave way to Jurgen Van den Goorbergh, called to the rescue at the last minute and who could only cover five laps Friday. OJ, he is here and there! Author of careful testing on Friday, he finished 16th in the morning and 15th in the afternoon, more than 2s from pole and 1.3s from Shinya Nakano, brilliant 5th on Friday.

The only MotoGP qualifying session offers a great battle between the Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki and Ducati. Rossi is once again out of the game with pole, achieved once again on the last lap on a circuit where he has won only once in his career. His teammate Edwards, in constant progress and who proclaims himself favorite this Sunday, is 2 / 10th just ahead of Melandri who confirms his position as best Honda rider in the championship.

In the second row we find Gibernau, Hayden and Nakano. The Japanese will no doubt be keen to erase the bad memory of his unique tour of Shanghai (read). Hopkins, Biaggi and Checa form the 3rd row, Capirossi, Barros and Elias the 4th. All of these pilots are in the same second. Elias is 7 / 10ths behind Rossi’s! Olivier Jacque confirms his talent with his 13th fastest time 1.1 seconds behind Rossi despite his lack of physical condition. His next, Roberts, is more than 6 / 10ths from French! 21 pilots are qualified.

During warm-up, the Dunlop curve still does not dry out as the pilots enter it full angle at almost 300 km / h … Hot! Rolfo is at the forefront on the Ducati d’Antin Chaussee de Dunlop. Max Biaggi takes a big fall on the bend of the Museum and goes out on a stretcher, groggy. For the record, Max has never missed a GP for injury in his entire career! Finally the victim of a burn to the forearm but especially of a big trauma to the pelvis which should make him suffer during the race, he will take the start well..

In these tricky conditions, Carlos Checa on the Ducati set the best time in the warm up ahead of Hopkins, Hayden, Roberts, Rossi, Capirossi, Barros, Edwards, Melandri, Elias, Rolfo, Nakano, Bayliss, Jacque and Xaus. Gibernau only achieves the 16th time in the morning !

Departure. A few drops of rain having fallen just before the start, the race is declared "wet". This does not change much with the new regulations, since the change of machine is now authorized during the competition, without stopping the race as in the past or for the 125 and 250 categories. The track drying quickly, all the pilots go on slick tires.

Nicky Hayden got the best start ahead of Edwards, who immediately passed the American outside in the Dunlop curve followed by Melandri, Capirossi, Nakano, Biaggi and Checa. In the Dunlop chicane, Biaggi loses the front, recovers his bike as if by a miracle but causes a big gap for Checa who falls in front of Rolfo! The Italian cannot prevent his motorbike from going to bed practically at a standstill, wanting to avoid the Spanish … Rolfo has left but the unfortunate Checa is forced to retire after the first turn! Edwards leads in front of Hayden, Capirossi, Melandri, Rossi who took advantage of Biaggi’s fault to pass Nakano, then Gibernau and Barros who also passed the Roman. In the curve of the Museum, Nakano takes revenge for a nice interior on Rossi. Hopkins, whose motorbike did not manage to complete the warm-up lap, joins the pits to leave with his mule! OJ is 11th ahead of Bayliss. Shane Byrne, with the KTM-powered Proton, also falls in the first lap and has to be evacuated on a stretcher.

In the first lap, Edwards leads ahead of Hayden, Capirossi, then Melandri, Nakano, Rossi, Gibernau, Biaggi, Elias, Jacque and Bayliss. Rolfo started again in 18th position and Hopkins lost about 1 minute changing machines. On the second lap, Edwards, Hayden and Capirossi widened a significant gap over Melandri, Nakano and Rossi, slightly ahead of Gibernau, Barros, Biaggi, Elias and Jacque. Rossi passes Nakano from a masterful outside in the Dunlop. Then His Holiness continues with a lesson-shaped braking on Melandri at the entrance to the Green Garage.

On the 3rd lap, Edwards took 0.5 s ahead of Hayden and Capirossi 3rd had the fastest lap in the race. Rossi then declares the hunt for the top three open and takes Melandri, Nakano, Gibernau, Barros, Elias and Biaggi in his wake. Jacque and Bayliss mark time. Ellison falls and walks back to the pit. Rossi distances Melandri and returns like a bullet on Capirossi.

On the 4th lap, Edwards, Hayden and Capirossi saw a Rossi return, setting the track record 1 s behind Ducati n ° 65. At the entrance to the Dunlop chicane, behind Melandri and Nakano, Gibernau, a little optimistic, who wanted to attack the Kawasaki under braking, exits beyond the curb, returns to the track in front of Barros but has to let the Brazilian pass at the exit. At the entry of the 5th straight line, Rossi who signs a new record has returned to the wheel of Capirossi. Vale wasted no time in passing 3rd in front of Capirex !

Gibernau, he passes successively Barros then Nakano. On the 7th lap, Edwards still leads a few lengths ahead of Hayden. Rossi returns, Capirossi 4th is left behind, then Melandri is increasingly threatened by his teammate Gibernau, Nakano and Biaggi clinging to his basques. Barros also seems to be let down, then further on, Elias keeps up a good pace in front of Jacque, solid 11th who took shelter from Bayliss. Biaggi passed 7th ahead of Nakano at the entrance to the Dunlop chicane. Gibernau is carried inside Melandri under the braking of the Green Garage, but Marco resists and forces Gibernau to stay behind, the two teammates almost colliding in the maneuver. !

At the entrance of the Blue Esses, Rossi came back to Hayden’s wheel! In the 8th lap, Melandri under threat from Gibernau signed his personal best lap. In the bend of the Museum, Hayden widens slightly: Rossi who did not ask for so much infiltrates immediately under the fairing of the Honda HRC! Hayden tries to resist by staying at Rossi’s level until the entrance to the Green Garage, but His Holiness pulls out one of those late braking of which he has the secret and the American, defeated, lines up wisely behind Il Dottore whose the bike seems to want to slip away in the double right but is holding on.

On lap 9, Edwards, Rossi and Hayden took a solid lead over Capirossi who spares no effort on the handlebars of the Ducati which moves a lot. Gibernau signs his best personal lap and gradually distances Melandri and Biaggi who also come back with a better personal lap. Nakano sees Barros return to his wheel, also the author of his personal best lap. Elias is only 10th, then Jacque keeps Bayliss at a reasonable distance.

On lap 10, Rossi almost got back into the wheel of his teammate Edwards. Hayden and Capirossi see Gibernau and Melandri return, both authors of their personal best lap. Unhappy Hopkins is taken for a ride by the leaders. On the 11th pass, Edwards feels Rossi’s breath in his aspiration. Hayden and Capirossi still 3rd and 4th saw the return of a Gibernau, author of the race record, followed by Melandri who also lowered his times and gave nothing to his teammate … OJ is still 11th.

When braking on Chemin aux Boeufs, Rossi turns around to assess the forces involved: Gibernau has come back to Capirossi’s wheel! On lap 12 Edwards and Rossi wheel to wheel lead in front of Hayden. Capirossi senses the growing threat of Gibernau 3.3s from the leader. Biaggi passed 6th ahead of Melandri. Barros, Nakano, Elias and Jacque hold their positions. Gibernau passes Capirossi inside in the Museum. Barros makes a mistake in the left of the Blue Esses and is injured in his fall, letting Nakano fly.

On the 13th lap, Edwards still leads ahead of a Rossi stuck to his basques. Hayden at 1.4 s, Gibernau at 3.4 s, Capirossi at 4 s, Biaggi and Melandri at 6 s, Nakano at 9 s, Elias at 14.6 s, Jacque at 24.6 s, Bayliss at 25.1 s, Roberts at 28.3 s, Xaus at 25.1 s and Van den Goorbergh at 37.7 s. On lap 14, Gibernau continues to climb back up and Melandri makes his personal best lap looking to get Biaggi back.

Entering the 15th straight line, Gibernau got back into Hayden’s wheel and set a new race record. Behind them, Capirossi misses his braking at the entrance to the Dunlop chicane, exits behind the curb and must let Biaggi pass as he takes to the track. Melandri then takes advantage of his best momentum to pass Capirex outside at the entrance to the Chapel. At the entrance of the Museum, Gibernau passes Hayden and immediately releases the American.

On lap 16, Edwards, who achieved his best personal time, still had Vale hooked to his wheel. Gibernau signs a new race record and seems to have left Hayden behind. Biaggi is again under the threat of Melandri, Capirossi seems let down, Nakano holds his 8th place. Next come Elias, Jacque and Bayliss. On lap 17th, the unleashed Gibernau improved his race record again, falling within a second of Rossi !

At the entrance to Chemin aux Boeufs, Rossi delays his braking, passes Edwards but widens beyond the vibrator and lets the Texan pass again! Gibernau, in the maneuver, placed himself in Rossi’s wheel at the exit from the left. He is up to the Dottore when braking the Blue Esses and goes 2nd with a determination that is a pleasure to see from the Catalan !

On the 18th lap, Edwards took the opportunity to regain some air on his pursuers, Rossi this time sticking to Sete’s wheel. On the 19th lap, Gibernau and Rossi got back into the leader’s wheel! In the Museum, Edwards widens slightly: Gibernau immediately tries to infiltrate but the Texan tightens the rope and closes the door! Nice three-way fight! At the entrance of the Blue Esses, Gibernau shifts but comes back behind Edwards before entering the right: Rossi immediately takes advantage, delays his braking and passes the Spanish !

On lap 20, Rossi was stuck to Edwards’ aspiration in the straight line but couldn’t find the opening. Under the braking of the Green Garage, Rossi attacks Edwards under braking and passes, forcing his teammate to deviate from the trajectory, which Gibernau immediately takes advantage of to sneak up on the rope in the middle of this double right. Edwards shakes his head as he exits the corner, annoyed that he had to let Gibernau pass because of his own teammate…

On the 21st lap, Rossi was 0.4 s ahead of Gibernau and 0.96 s of Edwards. Biaggi is 5.1 s, Melandri 6.5 s, Hayden 8 s, Capirossi 11.1 s, Nakano 13.9 s. Edwards, whose bike moves a lot, seems unable to keep up with the pace imposed by the two new leaders and takes down meter after meter. On the 22nd lap, Rossi and Gibernau stuck to his wheel were about twenty meters ahead of Edwards. This lap seems to mark the end for the Texan who crosses the 23rd straight line with a good fifty meters behind. Biaggi 4th sees again the threat of Melandri, author of his personal best lap. Hayden passed 6th ahead of Capirossi 7th.

On lap 24, Rossi and Gibernau still wheel to wheel let Edwards go more than a second. Biaggi is again directly threatened by Melandri. When braking on Chemin aux Boeufs, Melandri passed 4th in front of Biaggi. On the 25th lap, Rossi was still under threat from Gibernau and Edwards secured his podium at a distance from the two leaders. Melandri consolidates his 4th place ahead of Biaggi.

In the 26th lap, Gibernau seems to follow Rossi to better observe him, using his opponent’s favorite tactic! Edwards, off the hook, sees Melandri and Biaggi come back! At the start of the last lap, the whole world is waiting to see where Gibernau will try to attack The Doctor … In the long curve supporting the Museum, Rossi deviates a little from the rope, Gibernau tries to s’ infiltrate it but Rossi accelerates harder on the exit. Gibernau persists but his motorcycle moves too much in the maneuver and he has to give way … At the exit of the Green Garage, Gibernau is better placed but Rossi delays his braking at the entrance of the Chemin aux Boeufs and enters the pif paf with two lengths in advance! His Holiness maintains this small advance at the entrance of the Blue Esses then until the Connection and Gibernau, powerless, can only maintain this small, this very small gap…

Rossi therefore wins at Le Mans, with the race record on the last lap on a circuit where he has only been victorious once in front of Gibernau, winner of the last two editions! A new snub for the Spaniard who nevertheless resisted brilliantly, also achieving his personal best lap on the last lap! The Catalan will remain hungry for the title, shaking his head in spite during Dottore’s triumphant wheelie just past the finish line…

A handsome player, Rossi salutes his opponent’s performance with a frank handshake after the finish line. Edwards, no doubt the victim of his choice of tires, brilliantly completed the podium and protected his teammate from Marco Melandri, 2nd in the championship before this race! Biaggi, after his morning knockout, had to grit his teeth to sign his 5th place. Hayden is 6th, Capirossi 7th, Nakano 8th, Elias 9th, Bayliss 10th finally overcame the resistance of brilliant OJ 11th for his first dry race with the Kawasaki. Xaus is 12th, Roberts who finally finishes a race is 13th, Van den Goorbergh 14th and Rolfo well back after his mishap on the first lap marks the point of 15th place. Hopkins and Battaini, in one turn, are the last classified.

In the championship, it is of course Rossi who does the right thing and leads with a comfortable lead 95 points ahead of Melandri 58, Gibernau returned to provisional third with 53, Biaggi 47, Barros 43, Edwards 41, Nakano 27, Hayden 26, OJ 9th with 25 points in just two races, Capirossi 23, Bayliss 21 and Checa 17 !

Side brands, Yamaha with 95 points leads in front of Honda 81, Kawasaki with 47 points is in front of Ducati 30, Suzuki 18, Blata 4 and Moriwaki 1. The Gauloises Yamaha team, completes the snub inflicted by Rossi and his band by leading with 136 in front of Movistar Honda 111, the official Repsol Honda HRC team which with 73 points finally passes Camel Honda 64, followed by Kawasaki 57 which is ahead of Ducati with 40.

After Le Mans, Rossi not only reaffirms his domination of the championship, the Honda riders favoring the phenomenon by sharing the points – as if His Holiness, with three wins and a second place in four races, needed this! -, but Yamaha, thanks to the recruitment of Edwards, is ahead of Honda in the ranking of brands and teams! What if Rossi’s challenge in 2005 was not only the riders title like last year, but also to offer Yamaha the constructors title and Gauloises Yamaha the team title? Il Dottore being a man of challenges, there is no doubt that he will do everything to inflict this new punishment on Honda. !

In 250, the return of Randy de Puniet augurs well for good fights at the forefront because the season is still long! And as in 125 Mike Di Meglio also confirms the extent of his talent, strongly the continuation !

Next meeting in three weeks in Rossi’s garden, Mugello, on June 5 !

J. ARSOUILLE – Photos Eric MICHEL, O. BERGAMASCHI and DR

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