Good and bad results for the Repsol riders at the Grand Prix of France. The weather finally respected the race day and only the fog early in the morning forced a small delay of the warm up sessions. After this little incident, the races could be held under normal conditions. The third race of the day, MotoGP, was finally the less positive for the Repsol riders. Despite Nicky Hayden´s start with clear chances to finish on the podium, the race of the North American Repsol Honda Team rider went to less. Just the contrary of what happened to his teammate Max Biaggi who had crashed during the warm up session banging his back. Despite the pain, the Italian rider decided to take the start of the race. Max did not make a very good start, but he began overtaking rivals until finishing in a meritorious fifth position. Edwards made the best start, taking the lead of the race. Behind him, Hayden, Capirossi, Melandri, Nakano, Rossi, Gibernau, Barros and Biaggi. The first three opened a gap leaving the rest of the pack behind, getting an advantage of more than two seconds. While Capirossi lost contact with the leading two and Rossi started to push harder in order to take the final victory, Hayden began loosing positions until crossing the finish line in sixth place. Meanwhile, his teammate made an improving race, passing several riders, Hayden included. Max was ninth after the first lap and during the race managed to overtake Barros, Nakano, Capirossi, Elias and his teammate Hayden, taking the chequered flag in fifth position behind Melandri, after a nice duel between these two riders.
Heart-stopping race in the 250cc in Le Mans today. Pedrosa made the best start, closely followed by Dovizioso, Stoner, De Puniet and Porto. This group of five quickly opened a gap, although only a few laps later Lorenzo and De Angelis were able to join them. Lorenzo even managed to put himself second while De Angelis trying to follow the pace of the leaders, ended up in the gravel. With 14 laps to go, De Puniet decided that is was time for him to play the leading role in his home Grand Prix, taking over the lead and trying to escape from the rest. One lap later, his teammate Sebastián Porto was forced to ride back to his garage due to mechanical problems with his Aprilia. With Porto out of the fight for the victory, the final battle for the win began eight laps before the end of the race, when Pedrosa overtook De Puniet and both riders started to open a gap leaving the rest of the group behind. Two laps before the end of the race, De Puniet spectacularly overtook Pedrosa through the outside, entering the chicane and tried to keep the lead until the end of the race. However, a few corners before the finish, during the last lap, the Aprilia machine of the French rider strongly skidded with the rear tyre and Pedrosa made good use of the problem overtaking De Puniet and taking the victory. De Puniet was finally second and Dovizioso third.
Lights and shadows in the minor class for the interests of the Repsol riders. The race began with Héctor Faubel and Sergio Gadea starting from the third and tenth place respectively and making the first lap on sixth and ninth place. Joan Olivé was fifteenth after the first lap. A group of six riders was quickly built in the front, lead by Swiss rider Luthi, followed by Lai, Talmacsi, Di Meglio, Repsol rider Faubel and Kalio. Luthi then opened a gap leaving the rest of the pack behind and rode all alone towards his first victory of the Championship, first victory for a Swiss rider in more than 15 years (Jaques Cornú, 1989, 250cc GP of Belgium). Faubel seemed to be riding comfortably in the group that was following the Swiss rider, the group that was going to be fighting for the second position of the race. But at the beginning of the eighth lap, the hopes of the Repsol riders seemed to disappear after Faubel had to retire while being third, just as Olivé, who was lapping on fifteenth place, both due to mechanical problems. On lap twelve it was Carchano who was forced to give up after being involved in a crash with two other riders. Halfway the race, everything seemed to turn out into a finish without any highlight for the Repsol riders. However, Sergio Gadea had different plans in mind and began pushing hard, setting faster lap times than the group ahead, made up by Simoncelli, Di Meglio, Kallio and Talmacsi, to finally catch up with them. In only a few laps, Gadea managed to overtake all of them, opening a gap during the final laps and crossing the finish line in second position, thus taking his first podium finish in the Motorcycle World Championship.
Repsol rider´s comments
MotoGP. Max Biaggi.
5th 5º, 4´9.926:
“A very, very hard race. After the warm-up crash I didn´t think I could race. The pain never left me. When I put on my leathers my back was in such a bad condition that I never thought I could make it to the chequered flag. Then, adrenaline and my big desire to do good gave me an incredible fuel. Anyhow at the end of the race I almost couldn´t get off the bike. After this I can only be happy about this fifth place: these are 11 important points for me and my team. Our job starts again from tomorrow. There is a lot to do to come back competitive in time for the Italian Grand Prix.”
MotoGP. Nicky Hayden.
6º, 4´3.993:
“Just really, really disappointed! I got a good start and it all felt great but about 10 laps from the end it started to feel like last week in the rain. I got a lot of chatter as the race went on. We don´t really know why. We need to find out! It´s a pretty lame excuse but the bottom line is I just went backwards. It´s been a hard weekend but I felt we were in with a chance after all the great work the team put in. It felt good to be running up front but I want to do that all race. I´m not looking forward to a three-week break now. I just want Mugello to come next weekend!”
250. Dani Pedrosa
1st, 4255.152:
Its been a really tough race, the group was pushing very hard and it was difficult to overtake the other riders; its been really hard. I think that the tyres have been the key of this race, because we were all skidding a lot. At the beginning I was analysing the race pace and looking for my chances, then I opened the throttle. When De Puniet passed me, I knew that there werent many laps left, but not how many, and when I saw his eagerness I though it was the last lap. I crossed the finish line praying that it wouldnt. So it was and then I took advantage of a mistake he made to pass him back. Fortunately we were able to win, which is the most important for us. I want to thank the team because theyve all been working hard and they deserved it. I gave my best and weve been able to win a difficult race, which in the end is the most important for us, even more than having recovered the lead of the overall standings. The championship, as all the races weve had so far, is much contended. Lets hope to be able to stay on this line during the rest of the races.
250. Randy De Puniet
2nd, 4255.403:
Today has been a fantastic day, even if we lost the victory in the last lap. Considering the problems we had during the practices, this is a good result for us. Today, during the race, my bike wasnt at a 100% but I pushed hard from the start. I had a bit of trouble at the beginning, but I kept increasing the pace and I noticed that I was able to pass Dani. From then on I began to remount. I was convinced that I was able to win, but I made a mistake in the last lap and Dani knew how to make the best of it, taking the victory. I had to settle for second. Its not what I expected, but here, in France, this is a great result for me and the fans.
250. Sebastián Porto
not classified:
Im really angry because this was a race we could have made a very good job. I made a good start and was riding very comfortably and calm in the group, but suddenly the engine broke down and I was forced to retire. Neither the team nor I know what is happening with Aprilia. Were having lots of problems and, in addition, everything is happening to us, specifically me. When these kinds of things happen, you cannot be blamed for it and what is left is a big feeling of helplessness. As regards the championship, my rivals have opened a small gap, but when you arent lucky theres nothing you can do. Now we only have to keep on working because there are a lot of races ahead. We have to look forward.
125. Sergio Gadea
3rd, 4155.852:
Im very happy with todays result, because I havent got too good results lately. We were having a lot of problems; I just didnt manage to find a set-up that would make me feel comfortable, especially as regards the suspensions. In China we already decided to go back to the rear suspension setting we had in Valencia last year and for this race we used the 2004 front fork improved, which also worked out very well. I made a good start, although I fell back at the beginning. I hadnt been able to ride fast so far and I still lack a bit of pace. I managed to get a good pace halfway the race and caught up with the front group. I passed them because I was lapping faster and I just didnt stop until the finish line. I want to dedicate my first podium finish to all those who have been there supporting me, to my family, to my friend Héctor and to the team, who have done a great job.
125. Héctor Faubel,
not classified:
Everything was going smoothly today, I was in the leading group and Im sure that if I wouldnt have had those problems I would have been able to be on the podium easily. But unfortunately I had a problem with the engine, which broke and I had to give up. The championship has become a bit complicated, but, well, the rest of the riders can have problems as well in any other Grand Prix, so we have to keep on working and be prepared.
Track conditions
- weather: cloudy
- Temp: 12º-15º
- Asphalt: 16º-21º
- Humidity: 68%-8%
- Wind: 12-17 Km/h
Repsol rider´s tyres choice
- Héctor Faubel: Soft – Soft
- Sergio Gadea: Soft – Soft
- Sebastián Porto: Soft – Soft
- Randy De Puniet: Soft – Soft
- Dani Pedrosa: Soft – Soft
- Max Biaggi: Medium – Medium
- Nicky Hayden: Medium – Medium
Standings
125
- T.Luthi (Honda) 4´2.772
- S.Gadea (Aprilia) 4´5.852
- M.Kalllio (KTM) 4´6.035
- M. di Meglio (Honda) 4´7.009
- M.Simoncelli (Aprilia)´7.083
World Championship
- M.Kallio, 66
- T.Luthi, 54
- M.Simoncelli, 52
- F.Lai, 49
- M.Passini, 46
8. H.Faubel, 30
13. S.Gadea, 20
250
- D.Pedrosa (Honda) 4´5.152
- R.de Puniet (Aprilia) 4´5.403
- A.Dovizioso (Honda) 4´6.706
- C.Stoner (Aprilia) 4´9.382
- J.Lorenzo (Honda) 4´1.179
- H.Aoyama (Honda) 4´9.121
World Championship
- D.Pedrosa, 73
- A.Dovizioso, 69
- C.Stoner, 63
- A. de Angelis, 40
- S.Porto, 38
- R. de Puniet, 36
- A. Aoyama, 36
MotoGP
- V.Rossi (Yamaha) 4´2.223
- S.Gibernau (Honda) 4´2.605
- C.Edwards (Yamaha) 4´7.934
- M.Melandri (Honda) 4´9.499
- M.Biaggi (Honda)
World Championship
- V.Rossi, 95
- Melandri, 58
- S.Gibernau, 53
- M.Biaggi, 47
- A.Barros, 43
