Round 4: French MotoGP™ – Race
Jorge Lorenzo was unstoppable on the Yamaha Factory Racing M1 today as he dominated in a wet French MotoGP™ to claim his second win of the season.
- Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium. Rear: Soft, Medium (Asymmetric)
- Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative)
- Weather: Wet. Ambient 15-15°C; Track 16-19°C (Bridgestone measurement)
Lorenzo started brilliantly from fourth on the grid to seize the race lead in the opening lap after which he streaked away to cross the finish line ten seconds ahead of his nearest competitor. In second place and on the podium at Le Mans for the second successive year was Ducati’s Valentino Rossi, the Italian coming on strong towards the end of the race to pass Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner who rounded out the podium in third place. The top CRT rider at Le Mans was Paul Bird Motorsport pilot James Ellison who rode a determined race to finish 11th.
With a wet track and very cool temperatures for the race, all riders chose the soft wet compound for the rear and all but one rider selected the soft compound wet for the front to ensure maximum warm-up performance and initial grip. The rain eased off during the race reducing the amount of standing water on track, though the soft compound wet tyres suffered very little degradation with the majority of riders setting their personal best times in the latter stages of the race.
Jorge Lorenzo’s victory lifts him to the top of the MotoGP™ championship standings with an eight point advantage over Casey Stoner, with Dani Pedrosa a further 17 points back in third position.
Hiroshi Yamada – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department
“Today we saw a thrilling race and I commend Jorge Lorenzo and Yamaha for their very strong performance today. The track for the race was very cold and wet and grip levels varied greatly from lap to lap and corner to corner creating very difficult conditions for all the riders, so I am pleased with how our wet tyres performed over the duration of the race as lap times were quite stable and improved towards the end of the race.
“Apart from the spectacular race today, we had some other big news this weekend with Casey Stoner announcing his retirement from MotoGP at the end of the season. We’ve enjoyed a long and successful working relationship with Casey who brought us our first world championship and I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for all he has given to MotoGP and Bridgestone and I wish him all the best for the rest of the season and the next chapter in his life after racing.”
Masao Azuma – Chief Engineer, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department
“Today’s wet and very cool conditions made this morning’s warm-up session very important for teams to find a good setup for the race. Almost every rider selected the soft compound wet tyres front and rear and this combination worked very well in a race where the level of water on the circuit changed substantially. For this race weekend, all our 2012 specification tyres performed very well at Le Mans and provided an effective option for riders in the variable weather conditions.”
Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha Factory Racing – Race Winner
“Today was a very hard race and the conditions were difficult, especially at the beginning of the race. The whole race was a challenge in the wet conditions and when Casey was trying to catch me I had to work really hard to keep my concentration. I am very happy to take this victory and I want to thank my team and my fans for all their support.”
|
Pos
|
Rider
|
Team
|
Race Time
|
Gap
|
Front spec
|
Rear spec
|
Tyres
|
|
1
|
Jorge LORENZO
|
Yamaha Factory Racing
|
49:39.743
|
Soft (Wet)
|
Soft (Wet)
|
Bridgestone
|
|
|
2
|
Valentino ROSSI
|
Ducati Team
|
49:49.648
|
9.905
|
Soft (Wet)
|
Soft (Wet)
|
Bridgestone
|
|
3
|
Casey STONER
|
Repsol Honda
|
49:51.041
|
11.298
|
Soft (Wet)
|
Soft (Wet)
|
Bridgestone
|
|
4
|
Dani PEDROSA
|
Repsol Honda
|
50:09.104
|
29.361
|
Soft (Wet)
|
Soft (Wet)
|
Bridgestone
|
|
5
|
Stefan BRADL
|
LCR Honda
|
50:12.220
|
32.477
|
Soft (Wet)
|
Soft (Wet)
|
Bridgestone
|
|
6
|
Nicky HAYDEN
|
Ducati Team
|
50:12.585
|
32.842
|
Soft (Wet)
|
Soft (Wet)
|
Bridgestone
|
|
7
|
Andrea DOVIZIOSO
|
Monster Tech3 Yamaha
|
50:39.502
|
59.759
|
Soft (Wet)
|
Soft (Wet)
|
Bridgestone
|
|
8
|
Cal CRUTCHLOW
|
Monster Tech3 Yamaha
|
50:44.895
|
1:05.152
|
Soft (Wet)
|
Soft (Wet)
|
Bridgestone
|
|
9
|
Hector BARBERA
|
Pramac Racing Team
|
50:47.589
|
1:07.846
|
Soft (Wet)
|
Soft (Wet)
|
Bridgestone
|
|
10
|
Alvaro BAUTISTA
|
San Carlo Honda Gresini
|
50:52.936
|
1:13.193
|
Soft (Wet)
|
Soft (Wet)
|
Bridgestone
|
FRENCH GRAND PRIX
POINTS FOR MAHINDRA AT STREAMING LE MANS
Mahindra’s Marcel Schrötter claimed a determined 12th place in today’s French GP, soldiering on in conditions that saw falls for more than half of the 33 starters to take the first points for the all-new Mahindra MGP-30 Moto3™ machine.
It was a cheering reward after a difficult weekend for the Indian team, race-developing two of only four independently made machines in a grid made up of fully-fledged over-the-counter production racers.
Marcel’s four points made up for Danny Webb’s disappointment. The 21-year-old Englishman had started from pit lane, and was picking his way forward through the spray and past the debris when he too fell victim to the slippery conditions.
Schrötter (19, from Germany) had started from the back of the grid after problems in qualifying, and knew he faced an uphill task. But he showed true grit as he battled sliding tyres and treacherous tarmac to bring the white-and-red machine home.
“It shows that you must never give up. We are working hard to develop this new machine and there is a lot of work to do. But if we all work together we can do it,” said Mahindra Racing COO Mufaddal Choonia. .
The race, fourth of 17 rounds, was won by French home hero Louis Rossi, survivor of a leading group that was ravaged by crashes.
MARCEL SCHRÖTTER – 12th Position
We had so many problems this weekend and the conditions were treacherous. Our engine is quite aggressive, making it more difficult in the wet. From the start, it was so difficult – so slippery you could hardly go round the corners. By the end I just wanted to finish, even if I lost positions. But it paid off, because so many other riders crashed, and I did finish and it is good to get points.
DANNY WEBB – Did Not Finish
I had a problem on the grid and had to start from pit lane … they’d already gone when I got going. I overtook one person and had quite a nice rhythm. I could see I was starting to catch Marcel, then I tried a little bit too hard, and the bike was down. We’ve had loads of problems this weekend, but we’ll keep trying and we’ll be alright.
source: www.mahindraracing.com, mahindra.com
Ellison Claims Historic CRT Victory For PBM UK
PBM UK rider James Ellison recorded his first points of the 2012 World Championship season with a superb 11th place in today’s French Grand Prix at Le Mans and in doing so, claimed a fantastic win in the Claiming Rules Team (CRT) class for the Penrith-based team.
After the disappointment of retiring in his last two GPs aboard the PBM UK Aprilia ART, the 31-year-old rider from Kendal overcame the treacherous conditions at the legendary circuit to claim his best result since his ninth place in Catalunya in 2006.
The former World Endurance and double European champion rode a calculated race and what made the result even more remarkable was the fact that this was only the team’s fourth Grand Prix and after a number of early season teething problems, the only all-British team in MotoGP are now on course to continue their progress with this exciting project into the next race in Catalunya at the next round.
James Ellison: “The team boss Paul Bird was here this weekend and thankfully we put on a good show for him. We think we have found a setting that works in the wet or dry. It was a tough race and I’m just glad to get one for the team and I’d just like to say thanks to all my sponsors who have supported me and to the team who have done a fantastic job. I’m really looking forward to the next round and hope we can build on this result.”
Paul Bird Team Owner: “James rode a brilliant race and not only did he beat a couple of prototypes, including an ex World Champion Ben Spies on the factory Yamaha, his lap times were similar to them. The team has worked so hard and this is just what they deserved. I never thought we’d be sharing the parc ferme with the likes of Lorenzo, Stoner and Rossi but it just goes to show what can be achieved. We needed to sit down and work out a plan after Estoril, which we did, and it has worked so we now are all looking forward to Catalunya.”
source: Paul Bird Motorsport, cartersport.com