Lorenzo scores dramatic French win

From motogp.com

Spanish star Jorge Lorenzo found the perfect remedy for his Jerez frustrations at Le Mans on Sunday, bouncing straight back from his DNF in Spain with a brilliant win at the Grand Prix de France in highly difficult conditions - to return to the top of the standings.

Lorenzo took the lead on the first lap and shot away at the front, building up a big advantage on wet tires as the track dried quickly, eventually being the last rider to change onto slicks in his first ever ‘flag-to-flag’ contest and riding superbly on both sets of tires to win by a 17-second margin.

“It was very difficult because I am not used to changing bikes in the middle of the race and this was the first time in my life that I have done it," Lorenzo said. "I am grateful for the victory because I was fast with the wet tires and also with the dry ones. I knew it would be so hard because you have to change bikes at the right moment, if you do it one lap too late you could lose. We changed at the perfect point and we are back on top.”

Another brilliant effort by Hayate Racing’s Marco Melandri saw him cross the line second for his first podium since 2007, having been unsure of his MotoGP future over the winter.

“It is awesome to be back on the podium," the Italian beamed. "One month and a half ago, to imagine tasting the champagne again would have been so difficult, so it is one of the best feelings I have had in my life. I had a very difficult 2008 season and now I am working to get my speed back.

Talking through the French race he explained, “It was tough because at the beginning my wet tires were probably a bit too soft for the conditions that we had and every lap I wanted to change the bike, but it was still too early. When I changed the bike maybe I should have done it a lap later, so I just tried not to make any mistakes and just keep the pace. In the end I managed to have a really good race.”

Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa hunted down his team-mate Andrea Dovizioso on the final lap for third place to secure his third consecutive podium result.

A nightmare for Valentino Rossi saw him slip from first to joint second in the standings after a chaotic race. The World Champion swapped bikes three times, suffered a crash and was given a ride through for speeding in pit lane before eventually finishing last.

“I had difficulties from the start and I really could not ride my bike to its best," he explained. "By the fourth lap I felt that I was quite slow and that I couldn’t ride as I wanted. I decided to change bikes early because usually this strategy pays off. I knew that I had to warm the tires up a little bit but I crashed anyway in that corner because at that point the track was still wet and I just didn’t ride into it in a calm enough manner.

“Luckily I was able to make it back to the pits and then later I changed again, but the rule says that if you change the bike again then you have to use one wet tire, and so this is what we did. When I started that time, the pit-limiter on my bike was not on and so I was given a ride-through for speeding, but by that time it was too late for our race anyway.”

Australians Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro) and Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki) were fifth and sixth respectively, with Stoner drawing level with Rossi in second place in the championship.

Veterans Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), who mounted a comeback from 16th early in the race, and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) would have ultimately hoped for better than their seventh and eighth places.

A solid performance for James Toseland (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) saw the Englishman take a step in the right direction in ninth and Toni Elías (San Carlo Honda Gresini) completed the top 10.

Lorenzo's advantage at the top of the standings is just one point, ahead of title favourites Rossi and Stoner who sit jointly in second position with 65 points each.

Mugello, one of Rossi's favourite venues and his home circuit, will host the next round, the Gran Premio d'Italia Alice, the fifth date on the 2009 MotoGP World Championship calendar.

In the 250cc race, on a wet track Marco Simoncelli took his second podium in two races, with his first win of the year, going some way to make up for his pointless visits to Qatar and Japan.
Simoncelli brought his Metis Gilera machine home 18 seconds ahead of Héctor Faubel (Valencia CF – Honda SAG), who recorded his first 250cc podium with a solid ride.

Also avoiding any errors was Simoncelli’s Metis Gilera colleague Roberto Locatelli who came home third, having not been on the rostrum since 2006.

Álvaro Bautista (Mapfre Aspar) picked up good points in fourth place to go top of the standings, a single point ahead of Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Racing) who finished eighth.

Julián Simón put his Jerez heartbreak behind him with a masterful display in the 125cc race at Le Mans on Sunday, dealing brilliantly with the difficult conditions to come from seventh on the grid to win by 27 seconds.

The Spaniard rode carefully in the opening laps as several riders crashed out on the wet track, and then took control to extend a lead at the front, riding a lonely race to go top of the general standings after four races of his 125cc comeback.

In second place German 15-year-old Jonas Folger (Ongetta Racing I.S.P.A.) also put his Spanish GP disappointment out of his mind with a battling display from 16th on the grid, riding beyond his years to take his first podium in just his 10th race.

MotoGP Race Results
1. Jorge LORENZO (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 47:52.678 (146.848 km/h)
2. Marco MELANDRI (ITA) Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 48:10.388
3. Dani PEDROSA (SPA) Repsol Honda Team Honda 48:12.571
4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (ITA) Repsol Honda Team Honda 48:13.133
5. Casey STONER (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 48:23.217
6. Chris VERMEULEN (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 48:30.140
7. Colin EDWARDS (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 48:32.869
8. Loris CAPIROSSI (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 48:38.099
9. James TOSELAND (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 48:42.985
10. Toni ELIAS (SPA) San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 48:45.896
11. Alex DE ANGELIS (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 48:46.228
12. Nicky HAYDEN (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 48:49.325
13. Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN) Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 48:49.366
14. Randy DE PUNIET (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 49:03.977
15. Niccolo CANEPA (ITA) Pramac Racing Ducati 49:08.063
16. Valentino ROSSI (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha +2 laps
Not classified
Mika KALLIO (FIN) Pramac Racing Ducati +17 laps

MotoGP Point Standings
1. Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha) 66
2. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha) 65
3. Casey STONER (Ducati) 65
4. Dani PEDROSA (Honda) 57
5. Marco MELANDRI (Kawasaki) 43
6. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda) 43
7. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha) 35
8. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki) 31
9. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki) 27
10. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda) 26
11. Toni ELIAS (Honda) 21
12. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda) 20
13. James TOSELAND (Yamaha) 17
14. Mika KALLIO (Ducati) 16
15. Nicky HAYDEN (Ducati) 9
16. Sete GIBERNAU (Ducati) 8
17. Yuki TAKAHASHI (Honda) 8
18. Niccolo CANEPA (Ducati) 3