Spanish star Jorge Lorenzo found the perfect remedy for his Jerez frustrations at Le Mans, 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 tyres 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 tyres to win by a 17 second margin. MotoGP.com
Lorenzo’s joy was the reverse of Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi who had a nightmare as he sought his 99th career victory but in the end trailed in in 16th position without scoring a point.
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That allowed Lorenzo to take over at the top of the standings where he leads Rossi by a point as well as Australia’s Casey Stoner.
“It was a crazy race,” gasped Lorenzo.
“The pivotal point came when we decided to change the tyres. After that I was riding confidently and it was easy from then on.” AFP
The real shock was second place for the Hayate Racing machine of Marco Melandri, who put his Ducati and Kawasaki nightmares firmly behind him.
Behind Lorenzo and Melandri were Repsol Honda duo Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso, with the Ducati Marlboro machine of Casey Stoner in fifth.
Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki) was sixth, Colin Edwards (Monster Tech 3 Yamaha) finished seventh and Vermeulen’s team-mate Loris Capirossi was eighth. The Press Association
For Melandri it was a surprising but welcome change of fortune after a dire season last year for the former 250cc world champion.
“It’s been a very tough time,” said the 26-year-old.
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“I just came here to do my best and I knew the weather would be a factor in the race.
“It is a very, very nice day for me.”
Pedrosa was relieved to have grabbed third spot.
“I am very happy to be on the podium because I stopped to change the tyres too early.
“However, I was scared on the dry tyres after racing the first lap.” Melbourne Herald Sun
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