Former teammates, The Doctor and the Texas Tornado shake up a little bubbly on the Le Mans podium.
The Doctor is in. Valentino Rossi returns to his old self at the Le Mans circuit, with the five-time premier champion claiming his 90th career victory in Grand Prix - equaling the legendary Angel Nieto. Rossi snagged the French GP checkers after an early battle with Casey Stoner on what proved to be a fantastic day for Yamaha, with tuning-fork riders claiming all the podium positions - Jorge Lorenzo in second and Colin Edwards in third.
The 28-lap Le Mans affair started on a dry track, although rain earlier in the day had fallen during the 125 race. Race officials declared the race "dry", meaning that if rain did fall, riders would have to wait until a white flag was thrown and then opt to come in and change bikes.
Stoner jumped out to the early lead with the holeshot, followed by Dani Pedrosa, Edwards and Nicky Hayden, while Rossi had to pick his way forward from a so-so start. Stoner fended off Pedrosa in the opening laps, but then Rossi began his charge to the front. The Doctor dispatched the Spaniard for second on Lap 4 and took aim at the Australian, snatching the lead momentarily on Lap 7.
As the front three battled for position, Edwards closed the gap to make it a four-way battle. Meanwhile, Suzuki's Chris Vermeulen was riding strong all alone in fifth. Rossi's Fiat Yamaha teammate, Lorenzo, quietly lapped forward in positions, lurking back in sixth.
Rookie Jorge Lorenzo made it a 1-2 finish for the Fiat Yamaha team at Le Mans.
Rossi managed to pass Stoner with 20 to go and then made tracks, quickly opening up a gap over the Ducati. The bad news for Stoner continued when Pedrosa move past for second, with Edwards then looking at the back wheel of the Ducati.
At the halfway mark Rossi was beginning to run away, while Vermeulen and Lorenzo closed the gap on the podium group. Much further back, Hayden led the next group of riders in seventh, as rain began to fall lightly on the track.
With 13 to go, the white flags were shown and teams scrambled in the paddock preparing rain-equipped bikes. The scenario set the opportunity for a great reshuffling of positions, much like the Le Mans race last year where Vermeulen scored his first career victory.
Running in seventh, Kawasaki's John Hopkins was looking good on the ZX-RR until the chain went off and onto the track with 10 to go. Meanwhile the rain continued to fall harder, as a few riders opted to come into the pits.
Dropping out of the podium hunt, Stoner put his hand up with 8 to go due to troubles with his Ducati, limping back into the pits to swap bikes and hope for a couple of championship points. As for Lorenzo, the injured Spaniard muscled his way forward and past Pedrosa with an aggressive move for second, followed by Edwards who also bested the Spaniard.
As the track dried out from the brief moisture, the finishing order up front was set. Rossi, Lorezno and Edwards on the podium, followed by Pedrosa in fourth and MCUSA monthly contributor Chris Vermeulen scoring his best finish of the season in fifth.
MotorcycleUSA.com contributor Chris Vermeulen had his best race of the season, finishing in fifth at Le Mans.
Andrea Dovizioso battled from an early incident with James Toseland to finish sixth, with Loris Capirossi besting Hayden for seventh. Honda satellite riders Randy de Puniet and Shinya Nakano rounded out the top 10. As for Stoner, the Aussie scored his worst-ever finish with Ducati, not scoring points in 16th.
The day belonged, however, to Rossi, who celebrated his 90th career victory. In a sporting gesture, Nieto himself was at the finish in leathers and his old racing helmet, the living legend taking Rossi around for a victory lap as the Doctor sat pillion brandishing a 90-90 flag.
"To arrive at 90 wins like this and equal Angel's record is a dream for me," said Rossi after him dominating win. "I had quite a lot of pressure because Angel was waiting with the special leathers to join me on the bike, so I really needed to win! It was great to ride with him - I think maybe with some practice he can be as fast as us! 180 victories together on one bike is quite impressive I think! Honestly I didn't expect to be so fast today but together with Jeremy and my guys we decided to make some small modifications this morning and in the race my M1 and my Bridgestone tires worked brilliantly from start to finish."
The win is not only a career milestone for Rossi, it also puts him back in the championship points lead. Rossi now owns a three-point lead over Lorenzo and Pedrosa, who are tied for second. Although not scoring points, Stoner retains fourth in the points at 56, with Edwards jumping up to fifth via his 16-point finish.
Now the MotoGP paddock prepares in two-weeks time, the next race at Mugello, with begins a four-GP stretch in the month of June.
Valentino Rossi is the first rider to win two MotoGP races this season.
1. Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team) 44'30.799
2. Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha Team) + 4.997
3. Colin Edwards (Tech 3 Yamaha) + 6.805
4. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) + 10.157
5. Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki) + 21.762
6. Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Team Scot MotoGP) + 22.395
7. Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP) + 27.806
8. Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda) + 27.995
9. Randy De Puniet (LCR Honda MotoGP) + 29.344
10. Shinya Nakano (San Carlo Honda Gresini) + 30.822
11. Toni Elias (Alice Team) + 35.154
12. Alex De Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini) + 36.216
13. Sylvain Guintoli (Alice Team) + 52.038
14. Anthony West (Kawasaki Racing) + 1'29.307
15. Marco Melandri (Ducati Marlboro) 1 Lap
16. Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro) 2 Lap
DNF John Hopkins (Kawasaki Racing) 12 Lap
DNF James Toseland (Tech 3 Yamaha) 26 Lap
