2009 MotoGP Championship - Round 4 - Le Mans, France

Colin Edwards. Photos and text courtesy Yamaha Racing, Ducati Corse, BMW Motorrad. 
Edited by webBikeWorld.

Lorenzo in Second Win of Season

Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo took a stunning second win of the season in Le Mans today, negotiating varying track conditions and a change of bikes to lead from the first lap to the flag and take the championship lead.

It was a doom-laden day for his team-mate Valentino Rossi however as the world champion slid off early on and then had a ride-through penalty to compound his misfortune.

With the track still wet from a rainy morning all riders started the race on rain tires, with the mechanics readying the dry bikes in pit lane in anticipation of an early change as the track dried out.

Lorenzo, starting from second, slipped a place at the start but had passed both Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa by the end of the first lap to take the lead. 

By lap five a dry line had begun to appear and a few riders chose to make early pit stops to change bikes.  The 22-year-old Spaniard however was feeling comfortable and had an excellent pace on his Bridgestone wets and so he stayed out, constantly stretching his lead.

In the end he was the last of the front-runners to pit, a gamble which paid off brilliantly as he was by then nearly 34 seconds clear and was able to rejoin the race in the lead on lap 13.

Once he had bit of heat in his slick tires the youngster put his head down and kept his nerve for the remaining 15 laps and he eventually took the checkered flag an impressive 17.710 seconds clear of second-placed Marco Melandri.

It was a day of stark contrasts on the opposite side of the garage, with Rossi forced to make an incredible four visits to pit lane.

The Italian was in second behind his team-mate when he elected for an early bike change, coming in to swap onto his second M1 on dry Bridgestones after just five laps.

The change went smoothly but the track was still damp in places and he went down on the next lap whilst trying to warm his tires up.  He returned to the pits next time around to swap back onto his other bike, with the rules stipulating that he had to keep one wet tire with the second bike change, but a problem with his pit-limiter meant he was penalized for speeding on exit and forced to return once again two laps later to perform a ride-through penalty.

His final visit to the garage came on lap 11 when he changed once again onto a fully-dry machine, but by then he was some two laps adrift and he finished in 16th.

Lorenzo's 25-point haul takes him into the lead by one point and he now has 66 points to Rossi's 65. Stoner has the same points as Rossi but lies third as the Italian has more second places, and Pedrosa follow in the standings.  With just nine points separating the top four the next round in Mugello is sure to be a thrilling spectacle.

Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 1Time: 47'52.678:  "Never in all my dreams did I imagine this situation today - winning the race and leading the championship.

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 tire and the strategy of our team worked perfectly.

I felt happy to stay out on the wet tires 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!  I want to thank my team because they were very clever today, I'm so happy to be here and to have won a third MotoGP race."

Valentino Rossi - Position: 16thTime: +2 Laps:  "I had difficulties from the start today and I really could not ride my bike to its best.  Already 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 - being among the first to change the bike - pays off.  Of course 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 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.

We've had problems throughout the entire weekend with the set-up of the bike and today I was just hoping that I could stay with the riders in front and get some important points for the championship.  Now we go to Mugello, my home GP, where I will perhaps be even more motivated than usual!"

More:  2009 MotoGP Racing Schedule  |  2009 World Superbike Racing Schedule  |  wBW Motorcycle Racing Page (News and More Schedules)

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Le Mans Qualifying

Jorge Lorenzo missed out on a second consecutive pole position by just five thousandths of a second during qualifying for the French Grand Prix in Le Mans today, finishing second to fellow Spaniard, Honda rider Dani Pedrosa.

His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi was just edged off the front row at the end of the session and will start from fourth tomorrow.

After yesterday's rain it was another grey morning and the practice session was run in the dry but with track temperatures reaching only 17 degrees. 

After a slow start yesterday Lorenzo looked much happier this morning and was third in the standings, but Rossi found himself struggling to perfect his set-up and finished down the order in 11th.

Heavy rain fell during the middle part of the day and a wet qualifying session was expected but just a few minutes into the hour the sun miraculously appeared and the track quickly dried out.

Both Rossi and Lorenzo looked strong throughout and the Spaniard especially was hugely consistent around the 4.185 km Bugatti circuit, eventually moving into pole with nine minutes to go.

With a few minutes left Casey Stoner knocked the 22-year-old off the top spot but Lorenzo was able to make full use of his soft Bridgestone tires at the end and retook pole, looking to have the session sewn up. It wasn't over however and Pedrosa's final lap was just 0.005 seconds faster.

The World Champion looked in much better shape this afternoon, having found a setting which enabled him to ride his M1 as he wanted.  He wasn't quite as fast as his team-mate but it seemed he would hold onto the final front-row grid spot as the seconds ticked down before he, too became a victim of Pedrosa's last-minute charge and was bumped to fourth.

Having won from that position last time out however Rossi is confident of being in the mix tomorrow when the race gets going at 1400 CET.

Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 2ndTime: 1'33.979Laps: 30:  "I was tiny bit unlucky on that last lap, and we were so very close so it's a pity!  Anyway the important thing is that we're on the first row and now we can try to get the good start that we need. I felt strong on the bike today and I was able to make a lot of consistent laps this afternoon, so I am happy about the shape we're in for the race.

I really hope that the weather is the same tomorrow and I am looking forward to the race and to getting a good result, like last year here."

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