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Bridgestone French MotoGP Debrief
23 May 2008
Bridgestone-shod Valentino Rossi took his second consecutive MotoGP victory of this highly competitive 2008 season at the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans, France last weekend, to lead the riders’ championship by three points after five rounds. Ducati’s Casey Stoner was unfortunate not to add another podium result to his 2008 account having been forced to concede third position due to engine trouble. Stoner was on competitive form all weekend, consistently among the front runners in practice and was also the top Bridgestone rider in qualifying, claiming his second consecutive front row position with third place.
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Rossi Says Goodbye to Le Mans With Final Day of Testing
22 May 2008
Valentino Rossi put in another valuable day’s work in Le Mans today, Sunday’s race winner completing 44 laps and setting a best time of 1’33.882. With just four riders testing today, it was a quiet day on track and Rossi and his crew made the most of the relaxed environment to continue testing tyres with Bridgestone and to try out some new settings for the M1. The Italian’s best time was set on race tyres and was an impressive 0.333 seconds quicker than the fastest lap in Sunday’s race, set by Rossi himself on his way to a memorable 90th career victory.
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Ducati Marlboro Team Conclude Test Session in France
21 May 2008
A second day of post-race testing at Le Mans concluded early when the Ducati Corse engineers, studying the data in their possession, singled out the component that caused the breakdown of Casey Stoner's engine in the Grand Prix de France. It was therefore decided not to continue with the test in the afternoon in order to avoid further damage to other engines. Engineers back at the Borgo Panigale factory will now replace the component in question before the team's home race at Mugello in just over a week's time.
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Ducati Marlboro Team Complete First Day of Test at Le Mans
20 May 2008
The Ducati Marlboro Team have concluded day one of testing at Le Mans today in cool and cloudy conditions. Thankfully the weather did not interrupt the riders' programme and both Casey Stoner and Marco Melandri were able to work on various aspects of the set-up of their GP8 machines, as well as trying a variety of new Bridgestone tyres. Stoner completed 50 laps on race tyres and worked on the electronics with the aim of improving engine performance. During a five-laps run, in which the Australian used a particularly encouraging rear tyre, he clocked a best time of 1'33.994.
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Repsol Honda Riders Learn More at Le Mans
20 May 2008
Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden stayed on at Le Mans today for a busy day of testing following yesterday’s French Grand Prix. Both riders focused on evaluating Michelin tyres and different chassis set-up solutions in preparation for the next MotoGP event at Mugello, Italy, on June 1. Pedrosa set the fastest lap of the tests, using qualifying tyres and the end of the day, while hard-working Hayden used race tyres throughout his impressive run of 113 laps.
Mugello is the first of a quick-fire run of six races over eight weekends. Hayden’s next duty, however, is this coming weekend, when he will ride a demo lap aboard a 2007 RC212V just before the start of the huge Indy 500 car race to promote September’s inaugural Indianapolis MotoGP event.
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Edwards Claims Home Podium for Tech 3 Yamaha
20 May 2008
Colin Edwards stormed to his first podium finish of the season in Le Mans today to hand a jubilant Tech 3 Yamaha squad its first premier class top three finish since 2004. Edwards finished third in a rain-affected 28-lap race to give Tech 3 its first home podium since 2003, while the American also helped Yamaha to its first clean sweep of the rostrum since 2001. Starting from the front row of the grid for the fourth time in five races, the American was immediately in contention for the lead as he pursued reigning world champion Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa.
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A Stunning Second for Smith
20 May 2008
Bradley Smith took full advantage of the weather to finish a brilliant second in the five lap 125cc race at the Alice Grand Prix of France after the first race had been stopped because of rain. The 17 year old Polaris World Aprilia rider actually led the shortest race in grand prix history but settled for a safe second place after being overtaken by the Frenchman Mike di Meglio. After his crashes in Portugal and China this result, his best in grand prix racing, was a massive boost to the teenager and his team.
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Tough Day at Le Mans for Ducati Marlboro
20 May 2008
An otherwise positive weekend for Casey Stoner at Le Mans ended on a negative note today as his unbroken run of 22 points-scoring finishes came to an end. The Australian had produced another top performance in the race as he was forced to ride around an unfortunate lack of grip from one side of his front tyre - possibly due to the slight change in track conditions caused by a wet morning warm-up - on the back of another impressive display during practice. Stoner battled through his problems to stay in the podium fight but on the 21st lap the engine of his Ducati also ran into difficulty and forced him to return to the pits. With the white flags having been shown to indicate a wet race, Stoner was able to take his second bike and return to the race on rain tyres - eventually crossing the line in 16th place, missing the points for the first time with Ducati.
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Smith Takes Full Advantage of Second Chance
20 May 2008
Bradley Smith took full advantage of the weather to finish a brilliant second in the five lap 125cc race at the Alice Grand Prix of France after the first race had been stopped because of rain. The 17 year old Polaris World Aprilia rider actually led the shortest race in grand prix history but settled for a safe second place after being overtaken by the Frenchman Mike di Meglio. After his crashes in Portugal and China this result, his best in grand prix racing, was a massive boost to the teenager and his team.
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Bad Luck Dogs Kawasaki at Le Mans
19 May 2008
Despite a strong start to today’s French Grand Prix at Le Mans, Kawasaki’s John Hopkins saw any chance of a top five finish disappear just after the halfway point in the race, when the chain on his Ninja ZX-RR snapped without warning. The 24-year-old Anglo-American had fought his way through into seventh place during the early stages of the race and was closing rapidly on the battle for fifth when the incident occurred. It was a bitterly disappointed Hopkins who was forced to park the chainless bike against the Armco barrier and walk back to the paddock.
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Wet Weather Turns 125cc GP in France into a Two Episode Affair
19 May 2008
Riders in the 125 cc French Grand Prix on Sunday had their race scrapped in the final stages when rain started to fall and stewards brought out the red flags. The French Grand Prix for the small bikes was then re-run as a five-lap dash and Red Bull KTM rider Randy Krummenacher was able to make the best of the tricky, damp conditions to score his first top ten finish of the year. The Swiss teenager, who had finished back in twentieth in the first part of the race, the results of which were negated, made a crucial last-minute tyre change on the starting grid. This turned out to be just the right decision and the Swiss rider, now fully recovered fro his recent spleen operation hunted down a large number of his opponents.
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Kallio Plays Safe & Scores Points on Damp Le Mans Circuit
19 May 2008
Red Bull KTM 250 star Mika Kallio decided to play it safe in damp and difficult conditions at the French 250 cc Grand Prix on Sunday to finish fifth and consolidate his leading position in the championship standings. On a day where fickle weather conditions prevailed at the famous French racing circuit, Kallio started with cut slicks and battled his way through the second group of riders when the track started to dry out. He even looked set for his fifth podium finish of the year when he swept past his opponents Mattia Pasini and Yuki Takahashi with four laps to go.
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Bridgestone-Shod Rossi Takes Second Win
19 May 2008
Fiat Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi has taken his second consecutive MotoGP win using Bridgestone tyres after a supreme performance in difficult conditions at Le Mans this afternoon. Rossi took the lead on lap eight after Ducati’s Casey Stoner commanded an early lead and did not relinquish control, even as light rain hit the Bugatti Circuit just after the halfway mark of the 28-lap race. Rossi’s win takes the number of Bridgestone-shod wins to three in the opening five races and sends the Italian to the top of the riders’ championship with 97 points, marginally ahead of team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who finished second today, and Honda’s Dani Pedrosa who took fourth.
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Rossi Reaches 90 MotoGP Wins
19 May 2008
Valentino Rossi made another historic step in his incredible career today when he took his 90th career victory in Le Mans, equalling the record set by the great Angel Nieto, to move into second in the all-time winners list behind Giacomo Agostini. It was an outstanding display from the Fiat Yamaha Team rider and he celebrated in fine style when Nieto joined him on his slow-down lap, the Spaniard taking charge of the bike with Rossi riding pillion behind him. It was a superb day for Yamaha in general as Jorge Lorenzo once again defied his injuries to ride into an astonishing second place behind his team-mate and Tech 3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards joined the pair on the podium in third place.
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Lorenzo Defies the Odds to Help Yamaha Reign in France
19 May 2008
Fiat Yamaha Team rider Jorge Lorenzo once again stunned onlookers by riding to second place in Le Mans today with two fractured ankles. The 21-year-old rookie has found it increasingly difficult to ride through the pain during the course of the weekend but today he found his rhythm and was able to take his fourth podium in five races. It was a Yamaha whitewash in France as Valentino Rossi took his 90th career victory, equalling Angel Nieto with the second highest number of wins in the sport’s history, and Yamaha Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards rode a strong race to finish third.
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Elias Grazes The Top Ten
19 May 2008
During the firsts laps it seemed like a new race for Team Alice's Toni Elias who started from the fourteenth position on the grid and maintained the tenth position until the fifth lap. But, just a bit later, the Catalan rider didn’t manage to maintain his good rhythm and lost four positions. At mid race, just like in China two weeks ago, with less fuel and therefore with a lighter bike, he found a rhythm which allowed him to finish in eleventh position even if the rain slowed him down during the last part of the race. His teammate, Sylvain Guintoli, wanted to do well for his own supporters, but the Frenchman didn’t manage to find the right rhythm at the beginning of the race. He lost too much time from the group pace and consequently lost the possibility to fight for better positions.
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Fighting Fifth in France for Vermeulen
19 May 2008
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer Chris Vermeulen celebrated his best result so far this season by finishing in an impressive fifth position at Le Mans in France today, with team-mate Loris Capirossi crossing the line in an equally strong seventh place. Vermeulen started from eighth on the grid and made up a couple of places on the first lap. He then set three personal-best laps in succession as he moved into fifth place, and the Australian was in touch with the leaders as light rain started to fall on the 4’185m circuit. Track officials waved the white flags to signify that pit-lane was open if the riders wanted to change to their wet weather bikes, but Vermeulen - like most riders – chose to stay out and consolidate his position.
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Takahashi Takes a Fine Fourth at Le Mans
19 May 2008
The fifth round of the 2008 MotoGP season took place today at the French circuit of Le Mans. Yuki Takahashi put in a race full of commitment once more, confirming to the competition that he is a rider with a very strong character. The start of today’s 250GP was delayed a little thanks to the rain, which affected the 125cc GP. The JiR Team Scot rider quickly took his 12th place on the grid, and from the start put in a series of laps in which he made many passes on the other riders to take second position on just the third lap. The condition of the track was precarious but the circuit got drier and there was more grip with every lap so that by the finish the whole circuit was dry. Only in the final laps was the Japanese rider that lives in Cattolica passed, but he tried valiantly to defend his position from Pasini and Simoncelli but in the end he took fourth position returning to the pits to applause from his team.
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Resol Honda Riders 4th & 8th in Tough French GP
19 May 2008
Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden finished fourth and eighth in today’s rain-affected French GP at Le Mans. Pedrosa, who started the race from pole position, ran in the lead group and only lost his chance of a podium finish in the final two or three laps. Hayden, who qualified sixth fastest, lost several places mid-race when he ran off the track but kept battling hard all the way to the finish. During the early laps Pedrosa fought an enthralling skirmish with rivals Valentino Rossi, Colin Edwards and Casey Stoner. Then rain began falling at half-distance, dampening the track at the entry to the high-speed first corner, which riders attack at about 180km/h
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Dovizioso Rides Another Strong Race at Le Mans
19 May 2008
After two days of hard work in practice to find the best technical package, Andrea Dovizioso started from 10th on the grid today and once more was able to move back up the rankings and finish the race in 6th position. It was a race as usual with a lot of determination, with some very close riding and it proved to be a difficult race thanks to a collision with Yamaha’s James Toseland. Thankfully the JiR Team Scot rider was able to remain in the race but the clash cost the Italian rider a lot of precious time. The end of the race for Dovi was again a battle, this time for 5th position with Suzuki’s Chris Vermeulen.
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