MotoGP – The MotoGP French Grand Prix turn by turn –

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The MotoGP French Grand Prix lap by lap

MotoGP - The MotoGP French Grand Prix turn by turn -

Who from Pedrosa, Lorenzo or Rossi will start again from Sarthe at the head of the general? The fifth round of the season was to be the referee for the strongmen of the championship: complete analysis of the race tests with the turn-based site.

Friday: second free practice session
On a half-fig, half-grape track and in a temperature of 15 ° C, Dani Pedrosa took the best time of the session. The young Spanish prodigy is followed by Casey Stoner, Colin Edwards, Jorge Lorenzo, Chris Vermeulen, Valentino Rossi, Shinya Nakano, Randy de Puniet, John Hopkins, Alex de Angelis, Loris Capirossi, Nicky Hayden, Andrea Dovizioso, Marco Melandri and James Toseland . Sylvain Guintoli is 18th.

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The n ° 50, precisely : shortly after his test session, Sylvain Guintoli told Site that he had suffered a fall "ridiculous, with two degrees of angle, which made me do a 360 °", from his warm-up lap! Unfortunately, this unexplained outing will affect the French pilot who admits to us having lost his confidence for the future…

Saturday: qualifying session
Shattering the previous record held by Ewards by almost a second (!), Dani Pedrosa loudly displays his claims for the race! Behind him, the Texan Tornado follows one hundredth, disappointed to have been hampered by a distressed Melandri with an approximate style … Casey Stoner climbs to third place ahead of Rossi, Lorenzo, Hayden, Toseland, Vermeulen, Hopkins, Dovizioso , Capirossi, De Puniet, Nakano, Elias, De Angelis and Guintoli.

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The incredible Jorge Lorenzo, victim of a fall on Friday then on Saturday, which monopolizes the star of all the media: even TF1 broadcast a subject of several minutes during the news, presenting the mobile clinic of Dr Costa and the miracles performed on pilots like our national Randy, but especially on the Spanish whose spectacular fall of Shanghai made the honors of the report !

Sunday: the race !
Departure : Casey Stoner signs the hole shot in front of Dani Pedrosa, Colin Edwards, Nicky Hayden, James Toseland, Valentino Rossi, Chris Vermeulen, Loris Capirossi and Randy de Puniet. Marco Melandri remains stuck on the spot and seems in difficulty, just like Lorenzo 12th.

2nd round : The four leading men are in a pocket handkerchief and Pedrosa tries to get inside on Stoner at the entrance to the Dunlop Chicane, but the Australian resists and keeps the advantage. Guintoli is 16th.

Valentino Rossi overtakes ‘Kentucky Kid’ and goes hunting for ex-teammate Colin Edwards.

3rd round : Stoner always leads in front of a supercharged Pedrosa who manhandles his RCV with talent and energy! Colin Edwards is solid third ahead of Rossi, Hayden, Vermeulen, Capirossi, Hopkins, Toseland, Dovizioso, Lorenzo and Elias. Randy de Puniet is 14th, following a straight ahead on the first corner…

James Toseland made a mistake by hanging on with Dovizioso, who managed to stay on the track: "it’s nobody’s fault", will explain the English, disappointed.

4th round : Pedrosa is very pressing on the reigning world champion, while the n ° 46 has returned to the exhaust of Edwards’ M1: the phenomenon with seven world titles will pass the American under the braking of the Museum. At the same time, the n ° 26 passes Stoner but widens considerably: the Aussie regains its position, while Dani Pedrosa manages to turn in front of his rival from Yamaha.

The Doctor takes advantage of the error of the HRC pilot to put him down when braking the new green Garage bend: the stands cheer for the pass which continues until the braking of the Chemin aux boeufs: the Spaniard takes the advantage, but Rossi brakes beautifully at the Blue Esses and comes out second in the clash !

5th round : Casey Stoner starts the lap in the lead followed by a very incisive Rossi, Pedrosa, Edwards, Vermeulen, Hayden, Capirossi, Hopkins, Lorenzo, Elias, Nakano, De Puniet, Dovizioso and de Angelis.

6th round : the current n ° 1 still contains the Yamaha rider – Bridgestone, but we feel that this one is very comfortable on the Bugatti: the explanation promises to be torrid! Dani Pedroda is slightly off in front of Edwards, Vermeulen and Hayden.

Sylvain Guintoli is 15th and Randy de Puniet 13th, while Anthony West brings up the rear, decidedly unable to keep pace … How to explain this catastrophic start to the season? Why are the Greens having so many difficulties? Stay connected !

7th round : back to the top of the race with Dani Pedrosa who tries to match his Italian rival’s Yamaha under the Dunlop braking, but Rossi resists and retains his place !

Colin Edwards clocked the fastest lap in 1’34.321 while Rossi passed Stoner at La Chapelle. But the Australian takes advantage of a slight gap of the Italian to regain the leadership !

8th round : the leading order remains unchanged on the line, while the JIR driver, Andrea Dovizioso, passes Nakano and De Puniet in the process! Jorge Lorenzo is still sailing around tenth place.

Valentino Rossi creates a magnificent interior on Casey Stoner’s Ducati at the Museum bend and tackles the Green Garage in the lead. Edwards follows the lead group with relative ease.

9th and 10th laps : Vale is still leading the race and is now 0.825 seconds ahead of Casey Stoner! Faithful to his habits finally found, the Doctor seems to want to take the loose…

11th round : Stoner slows down and stops Dani Pedrosa and Colin Edwards. Randy de Puniet manages to overtake Alex de Angelis, but still turns around the fifteenth place. Pedrosa takes second position at the expense of Casey Stoner: the current leader of the championship goes outside the Australian and makes him inside near the connection.

12th round : Valentino Rossi is now two seconds ahead of Pedrosa. Follow Stoner, Edwards, Vermeulen, Lorenzo (who won three places), Hayden, Capirossi and Hopkins.

13th round : Rossi is in the lead with 2,695 seconds in advance, while his injured "teammate" has passed Hayden and comes back on Vermeulen with big shots of tenths! Colin Edwards manages to get the better of Casey Stoner, but the n ° 1 recovers his position in the next sequence.

14th round : Randy de Puniet is 13th ahead of Toni Elias and Sylvain Guintoli. Rossi is now more than three seconds ahead! Nicky Hayden misses the hookup, while Lorenzo does a stunning interior on Chris Vermeulen !

15th and 16th rounds : a few drops of rain appear, risking upset the race … The white flag is waved: pilots can now change their mount. Rossi, who sensed the danger, continues to increase his lead over his pursuers: Pedrosa, Stoner and Edwards do not seem able to reply. Lorenzo and Vermeulen follow.

17th round : John Hopkins, victim of a chain break in the Chemin aux Boeufs, must give up. Lorenzo returned to Edwards while Vermeulen is dumped.

18th and 19th laps : Randy is 11th, with Nakano and Hayden in sight. Dovizioso precedes Capirossi, Hayden, Nakano, De Puniet, Elias, de Angelis and Sylvain Guintoli.

20th round : the rain redoubled in intensity … Rossi thinks he will stop to change motorcycle, taking advantage of his 4.6 seconds advance ?

Jorge Lorenzo passes Colin Edwards braking on Chemin aux Boeufs, while Marco Melandri stops to change bikes: given his position, the Italian probably thinks he has nothing to lose and can hope to play a good shot…

21st round, twist : Casey Stoner is passed in the pit straight by Jorge Lorenzo and Colin Edwards! The Australian, visibly a victim of mechanical difficulties, is now driving at slow speed and will undoubtedly try to reach his stand to change his mount…

Meanwhile, Jorge Lorenzo makes the interior to Dani Pedrosa at the Museum bend: but where does the Spanish go to get all his resources ?!!

22nd round : Rossi prances in front while Edwards takes advantage of the lack of confidence of the HRC pilot to pass him in the sequence of the Dunlop! Vermeulen, Dovizioso, Capirossi, Hayden, De Puniet, Elias and De Angelis follow.

Stoner returns to the pit and leaves with his second machine fitted with rain tires.

23rd and 24th laps : Rossi leads in front of two other Yamaha, but with more than ten seconds ahead of his teammates! His team encourages him not to return to the pits, because the weather has stabilized.

Randy de Puniet passes Nakano in the sequence of the Dunlop and is ninth in the standings: a mixed result for the French who wanted to shine in front of his family…

25th and 26th laps : The leading order has not changed and Vale begins to manage his – consequent – advance! Alex de Angelis is 12th ahead of Sylvain Guintoli: "I am very disappointed, I did not have a good feeling with the front or the rear of the machine, I do not know what to say. I really didn’t manage to drive the way I wanted. I hope that we will find solutions for the next race …"will blow" Syl ", after a race in half shade.

As for Rossi, he seems to be climbing towards his 64th success and his 90th victory in GP: he would thus equal the record of Angel Nieto !

27th round : Hayden and Capirossi fight like ragpickers, followed by Randy who came back 9th: "I got knocked down from the first corner, but I managed to come back up well even though I only finished ninth. Despite everything, I’m in the top 10 and that allows me to get my head out of the water a little, following a difficult start to the season. I am still satisfied, because the race turned into a lottery due to the uneven condition of the track", explains the Frenchman after the race.

Last round : Valentino Rossi still leads and is about to put a lap to Casey Stoner, 16th … Randy comes back meter after meter on Hayden, but it might be a bit tight…

Vale crosses the finish line as a clear winner, followed by Jorge Lorenzo and Colin Edwards. Dani Pedrosa fourth loses not only big points but also first place in the standings to his enemy Rossi, and finds himself tied with Jorge Lorenzo: "I am disappointed because we could have been on the podium, but I did not manage to go as fast in the race as in qualifying. From the start, I had problems with the front tire that prevented me from braking as I wanted", explains Dani" Asimo "Pedrosa, annoyed.

To celebrate Rossi’s victory, Angel Nieto himself performs the lap of honor with the Doctor sitting behind him on the M1! "It was organized for a long time", admits Rossi:"I remember after my 88th success, in Portugal last year, I went to see Angel and told him that I was ready to match him. I told him "if I can do it, you have to come with me on the bike!" He hesitated, but he ended up saying "yes" … We finally had to wait a long time! After my victory in China, I told him "I’m ready!" I was under pressure, because I knew that Angel was waiting for me on the track with the leather suit … When I won, I told him "you are the one driving!" He replied "no, it’s you", but I insisted and he did very well !"

They explain themselves

Valentino Rossi (1st) : "I had not won two victories in a row since 2006 (Italy and Catalonia, NDLR). This proves that we are competitive again. The bike ran very well and the tire grip was good. When it started to rain, I tried to ride very smoothly around the corners. I didn’t want to change bikes and I still had enough tire grip to continue. Being at the head of the championship is a very good result, but the championship is long and there are some very good drivers, like Jorge (Lorenzo) who is injured, but who finishes 2nd".

Jorge Lorenzo (2nd) : "I am very satisfied, because after having achieved the 11th time of the warm up I told myself that the race was going to be very hard and that I would already be happy to finish 6th or 7th … To finish 2nd, it’s a dream! I had a little less pain than in China during the race, but now it hurts a lot because I did not have any infiltration and after my fall on Saturday I was afraid for my right ankle"…

Colin Edwards (3rd) : "I’m a little frustrated because I drove fast all weekend and thought I was going to win this race! I even think I started very well, but Pedrosa and Stoner were faster. I fought to stay in their wake, but couldn’t stay close enough and they never opened the door for me. Then Valentino arrived like a cowboy with his gun! Then I tried to pass the two guys in front of me and finally Casey had a problem. Then it rained and I was able to pass Pedrosa, but Jorge had a fantastic race !"

MotoGP Ranking
1- V. ROSSI 6- A. DOVIZIOSO 11- T. ELIAS
2- J. LORENZO 7- L. CAPIROSSI 12- A. DE ANGELIS
3- C. EDWARDS 8- N. HAYDEN 13- S. GUINTOLI
4- D. PEDROSA 9- R. DE PUNIET 14- A. WEST
5- C. VERMEULEN 10- S. NAKANO 15- M. MELANDRI

Alexandre BARDIN – Photos DR

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