MotoGP France: PH2
MotoGP delivers yet another stunning round of racing at Le Mans
Speaking of form, newly rejuvenated Lorenzo was leading the way while Rossi duffed up Marquez for fourth spot. Could he make swift work of the two Ducatis between him and Jorge? Or would the Spaniard check out again? More to the point, what was up with Marquez, who was riding far more raggedly than normal and was dropping down the order while Rossi was setting lap records?
At the front Jorge couldn't break free from the clutches of either his teammate Rossi or the two Ducatis of Dovi and Iannone and the four were soon clear of the field. After Rossi slipped past Iannone he was soon up on Dovi and with 16 laps to go he was past. Could Rossi catch Lorenzo, who had taken advantage of the battles behind and had squeezed out a gap of nearly two seconds?
In the end, as in Jerez, Lorenzo controlled the race from the front and won with clear air between him and Rossi with Dovi third. However the battle of the day was for fourth between Iannone and Marquez, with Smith a spectator.
Moto2 and Moto3
After a dodgy Dunlop tyre ruined his Jerez race, Sam Lowes was hoping for a better time of it in France and second spot on the grid gave him a good shot come race day. A cracking start saw Lowes manage to void any first corner disasters and he soon settled into fourth spot, where stayed for the entire race. Luthi took the win from Rabat and Zarco in a fairly quiet Moto2 race.
The Moto3 race didn't start well for Danny Kent and he lined up in a distant 30th spot on the grid after a qualifying nightmare. However, he rode like a future champion with huge maturity to finish a stunning fourth. Despite the leaders being well within his grasp, he opted for the long game and left France with a commanding 37 points lead in the Moto3 championship. Job done.
Results
MotoGP:
1st: Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP)
2nd: Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP)
3rd: Dovizioso (Ducati Team)
Moto2:
1st: Luthi (Derendinger Racing Interwetten)
2nd: Rabat (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS)
3rd: Zarco (Ajo Motorsport)
Moto3:
1st: Fenati (Sky Racing VR46)
2nd: Bastianini (Junior Team Gresini Moto3)
3rd: Bagania (Mapfre Mahindra Team)
Brit watch:
Cal Crutchlow (MotoGP) - DNF
Bradley Smith (MotoGP) - 6
Scott Redding (MotoGP) - DNF
Eugene Laverty (MotoGP) - 14
Sam Lowes (Moto2) - 4
John McPhee (Moto3) - 14
Danny Kent (Moto3) - 4
Previous rounds:
MotoGP USA
MotoGP Qatar
MotoGP Argentina
MotoGP Jerez
Some journos are now trying to make out that it is not the Ducati and Yamahaha that are causing Hinda trouble but the RCV.
Finally Ducati have built a MotoGP bike not a CRT entry and Yamahaha have fitted a fully seemless clutch and made some tweeks.
That Hinda bought 7 bikes to the first test is perhaps an indicator of Hondaitis. They cannot leave it alone.
However MM seems like a rider very much out of water this year now that there are several other riders on competitive bikes and his trusty roadblock has been absent for a few races. His performance at le mans was decidedly average. Some pundits blaming the tyres for all the Honda issues. Though this was refuted by Cal and MM still came 4th.
Looks like Mugello will be interesting for many reasons.
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