Lorenzo launches to Le Mans victory
Added on Sunday, May 23rd, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments
Lorenzo launches to Le Mans victory
Jorge Lorenzo launched to an exciting MotoGP victory at the infamous Le Mans circuit this afternoon, now edging him nine points clear at the top of the table.
A good start ensured the young FIAT Yamaha rider the number spot at the chequered flag, despite the best efforts of teammate Valentino Rossi.
As the race began, Rossi made a good getaway from pole position, to immediately launch into the lead from the off. Fellow front row starters, Dani Pedrosa and Lorenzo, followed behind in second and third, whilst everyone settled into position behind.
Determined not to let his chief rival get too far ahead, Lorenzo soon made a move on Pedrosa for second, and set about chasing down Rossi. Marco Melandri had a storming start, rocketing from eleventh on the grid to sixth on the opening lap.
The Ducati duo of Nicky Hayden and Casey Stoner enjoyed an in-team battle during the first two laps, until Stoner slipped from his firey red machine. Unfortunately he was unable to rejoin the race, leaving Hayden to finish off for the team. Stoner wasn’t alone in retirement, when he was later joined by Ben Spies and then Loris Capirossi.
As the race gradually progressed, Lorenzo was soon right on the tail of Rossi, with the battle for the lead really hotting up. The young Spaniard really began pressuring his teammate, and dived through for the lead in no time. Rossi initially fought back and regained the position, however this was short lived, as Lorenzo’s determination won him back the lead. From here he didn’t give up the position again, regardless of Rossi trying his best to out smart his younger teammate.
With the top two places taken care of, third and fourth began to go much the same way, with Repsol Honda teammates, Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso trying to take the upperhand from one another.
As the French encounter came to an end, it was Lorenzo who swept passed the flag to take another win, and the first back-to-back victory of his MotoGP career. Rossi had to settle for second, whilst Dovizioso crept passed teammate Pedrosa on the final tour to steal third.
After enjoying much of the race from fifth, Hayden decided to follow suit when Dovizioso moved upwards, also sneaking passed Pedrosa for fourth. The latter was forced to accept a fifth place finish, quite a distance ahead of Melandri. Randy De Puniet was somewhat further back in seventh, with Hector Barbera in eighth. Aleix Espargaro completed a strong race in ninth, just ahead of Marco Simoncelli in tenth.
Looking back over his achievement from the day, Lorenzo told MotoGP.com: “I am so happy to win for the second race in a row, it’s the first time for me in MotoGP and it makes me feel very confident in myself. Finally I made a good start, which I’m really happy about, then I easily got past Pedrosa.
“Passing Valentino wasn’t so easy because he was braking so deep and I had to be very patient, something that I might not have managed one year ago! Finally I overtook him but I didn’t expect to be able to get away like that. My bike and Bridgestone tyres just felt so good and it wasn’t difficult for me to keep this pace up,” he added.
All in all it was a top race for the MotoGP squad, as ever, with many separate battles going on throughout the field. Lorenzo now leads Rossi by nine points, and will be looking to extend his advantage at Mugello on the 6th June.
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