Reverend
May 18th, 2009, 21:27 PM
Jorge Lorenzo moved one point clear at the top of world championship standings after winning the French MotoGP ahead of Marco Melandri and Dani Pedrosa.
Slippery conditions saw all the riders come into the pits and change bikes in a bid to find the right tyres.
Reigning champion Valentino Rossi finished last, out of the points, after crashing shortly after changing bikes.
Casey Stoner finished fifth and Briton James Toseland had his best finish of the season, coming home in ninth.
"It's been a crazy race," said Lorenzo afterwards.
"With the rain tyres it was important to change at the right time - if you changed later you can win. I think we changed at the right point and after that I was riding quite confidently and I won," he said.
Melandri's future looked to be in doubt after a nightmare spell at Ducati last year, so he was even more appreciative than most to finish on the podium.
"It's awesome, it's been very tough but after the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez I was positive, and I came here to do my best," he said.
"I knew if I was going to be quiet I could make a good race, and when I saw P2 I couldn't believe it. I saw the gap behind was quite big and I pushed to try and keep it."
Rossi had a rare point-free day which cost him the lead in the championship standings, but he wrote it off as just a piece of bad luck.
"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," he said.
"Of course I knew that I had to warm the tyres 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."
French MotoGP result:
1. J Lorenzo (Sp) Yamaha
2. M Melandri (It) Kawasaki
3. D Pedrosa (Sp) Honda
4. A Dovizioso (It) Honda
5. C Stoner (Aus) Ducati
6. C Vermuelen (Aus) Suzuki
7. C Edwards (US) Yamaha
8. L Capirossi (It) Suzuki
Championship standings:
1. J Lorenzo 66 pts
2. V Rossi 65
3. C Stoner 65
4. D Pedrosa 57
5. M Melandri 43
6. A Dovizioso 43
7. C Edwards 35
8. C Vermeulen 31
BBC Sport (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/motorbikes/8054381.stm)
Slippery conditions saw all the riders come into the pits and change bikes in a bid to find the right tyres.
Reigning champion Valentino Rossi finished last, out of the points, after crashing shortly after changing bikes.
Casey Stoner finished fifth and Briton James Toseland had his best finish of the season, coming home in ninth.
"It's been a crazy race," said Lorenzo afterwards.
"With the rain tyres it was important to change at the right time - if you changed later you can win. I think we changed at the right point and after that I was riding quite confidently and I won," he said.
Melandri's future looked to be in doubt after a nightmare spell at Ducati last year, so he was even more appreciative than most to finish on the podium.
"It's awesome, it's been very tough but after the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez I was positive, and I came here to do my best," he said.
"I knew if I was going to be quiet I could make a good race, and when I saw P2 I couldn't believe it. I saw the gap behind was quite big and I pushed to try and keep it."
Rossi had a rare point-free day which cost him the lead in the championship standings, but he wrote it off as just a piece of bad luck.
"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," he said.
"Of course I knew that I had to warm the tyres 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."
French MotoGP result:
1. J Lorenzo (Sp) Yamaha
2. M Melandri (It) Kawasaki
3. D Pedrosa (Sp) Honda
4. A Dovizioso (It) Honda
5. C Stoner (Aus) Ducati
6. C Vermuelen (Aus) Suzuki
7. C Edwards (US) Yamaha
8. L Capirossi (It) Suzuki
Championship standings:
1. J Lorenzo 66 pts
2. V Rossi 65
3. C Stoner 65
4. D Pedrosa 57
5. M Melandri 43
6. A Dovizioso 43
7. C Edwards 35
8. C Vermeulen 31
BBC Sport (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/motorbikes/8054381.stm)