Lorenzo triumphs at Le Mans
Added on Monday, May 18th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Lorenzo triumphs at Le Mans
Jorge Lorenzo secured victory at Le Mans after the wet conditions played havoc with tyre selection at the French Grand Prix.
The Spaniard led from the start as he comfortably took his second chequered flag of the season to jump to the top of the rider’s championship in France, backing up from the disappointing DNF in Jerez two weeks ago.
It was in contrast to teammate and title rival Valentino Rossi, who had a catastrophic weekend with tyre selection.
The defending world champion was the first rider to come into the pits during Sunday’s race to change from wet tyres to dry but the decision immediately backfired as he crashed out his first lap on slicks. Rossi eventually changed bikes a further two times and was hit with a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane on a forgettable weekend.
Marco Melandri’s season continued to get better as he secured his first podium since October 2007 and Kawasaki’s first podium since May 2005.
Honda’s Dani Pedrosa managed to secure the final rostrum position after a last-ditch manoeuvre on teammate Andrea Dovizioso.
Casey Stoner struggled in fifth position whilst further back, James Toseland secured a respectable ninth place.
Speaking after the race, Lorenzo was unsurprisingly delighted with the result.
“Never in all my dreams did I imagine this situation today – winning the race and leading the championship,” he claimed.
“This season I have been much more calm and careful and so I was really upset after the crash in Jerez because I didn’t expect it! Today has made up for that though. I had a very good pace with both types of tyre and the strategy of our team worked perfectly.
“I felt happy to stay out on the wet tyres for such a long time and in the end I think we changed at exactly the right time for our race; there was some luck on our side but we were also strong, calm and careful and this paid off. It was the first time in my life that I’ve had to change bikes during the race and I was very nervous, but it went smoothly and I was able to rejoin in the lead.
“I’m sorry for Valentino because it was bad luck to crash, but now we are nearly on the same points and it seems like the championship is starting again!”
MotoGP Championship 2009, Round 4, Le Mans.
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time |
| 1 | Jorge Lorenzo | ESP | Fiat Yamaha | 47:52.678 |
| 2 | Marco Melandri | ITA | Hayate Racing Kawasaki | +17.710 |
| 3 | Dani Pedrosa | ESP | Repsol Honda | +19.893 |
| 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | ITA | Repsol Honda | +20.455 |
| 5 | Casey Stoner | AUS | Ducati Marlboro | +30.539 |
| 6 | Chris Vermeulen | AUS | Rizla Suzuki | +37.462 |
| 7 | Colin Edwards | USA | Monster Tech 3 Yamaha | +40.191 |
| 8 | Loris Capirossi | ITA | Rizla Suzuki | +45.421 |
| 9 | James Toseland | GBR | Monster Tech 3 Yamaha | +50.307 |
| 10 | Toni Elias | ESP | San Carlo Honda Gresini | +53.128 |
| 11 | Alex de Angelis | SAN | San Carlo Honda Gresini | +53.550 |
| 12 | Nicky Hayden | USA | Ducati Marlboro | +56.647 |
| 13 | Yuki Takahashi | JAP | Scot Racing Honda | +56.688 |
| 14 | Randy de Puniet | FRA | LCR Honda | +1:11.299 |
| 15 | Niccolo Canepa | ITA | Pramac Racing Ducati | +1:15.385 |
| 16 | Valentino Rossi | ITA | Fiat Yamaha | +2 laps |
| RET | Mika Kallio | FIN | Pramac Racing Ducati |
Rider’s Championship:
| Pos | Rider | Pts |
| 1 | Jorge Lorenzo | 66 |
| 2 | Valentino Rossi | 65 |
| 3 | Casey Stoner | 65 |
| 4 | Dani Pedrosa | 57 |
| 5 | Marco Melandri | 43 |
| 6 | Andrea Dovizioso | 43 |
| 7 | Colin Edwards | 35 |
| 8 | Chris Vermeulen | 31 |
| 9 | Loris Capirossi | 27 |
| 10 | Randy de Puniet | 26 |
