The Spanish have taken over France and there is nothing Max Biaggi can do about it. The unlikely duo of Telefonica Movistar Honda's Sete Gibernau and Fortuna Yamaha's
Carlos Checa finished the Gran Prix Polini de France 1-2, followed by Camel Honda's
Max Biaggi just 0.3 seconds in arrears.
Checa led the race until lap twelve when Gibernau finally got past. Max Biaggi rode another incredible race but did not have the ability to make his way around the surprising
Sete Gibernau extends his points lead over Max Biaggi and Valentino Rossi with his second win in as many tries.
Checa and was forced to settle for the final spot on the podium. The second place earned by Checa is his best finish of the season.
Fourth place finisher Gauloises Yamaha's
Valentino Rossi failed to the reach the podium for the second race in as many tries but still remains close behind Gibernau and Biaggi in the championship standings.
Telefonica Movistar Honda's
Colin Edwards was the fastest American, finishing fifth and quite a ways ahead of the duo of Nicky Hayden and Kenny Roberts in eleventh and twelfth respectively.
Sete Gibernau: (Telefonica Movistar Honda) – 1st
"This is incredible. We have done some fantastic work and I must thank my entire team – if I win it is because I have the best team in the world. The help of Honda and Michelin has been unbelieveable in what is such a difficult and demanding season. I raced with a temperature of 38 degrees and at the end it was very hard for me, although I don't want to say this really held me back. In the first few laps I realizd we had not chosen the ideal tie; I followed Carlos (Checa), studied what he was doing and was able to get past him after using all the information I had gathered. I maintained a good rhythm and, with a lot of concentration, was able to win. The best thing about this start to the season is that even though we have not been at our best we have won two races and we got on the podium in the other one. I feel strong, but I know that I can still give more. The best from me and the bike is still to come, but from this race I know what our strong points are and what we must improve on."
Carlos Checa: (Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha) - 2nd
"I am so happy to be on the podium once more; it has been a long time. We knew that this year we had a chance to do well; we made some big improvements to the bike over the winter and I have started the year with a good feeling. Even in Jerez I felt good, although the weather changed everything on race day. I need to keep going like this; this result will help me, the team and Yamaha. It gives me confidence and the season has only just started so I aim to continue improving – I hope that next I can fight to win a race. My start was very good and I tried to keep the gap but I couldn't get away from Sete. When he passed me I tried to stay with him but he was faster. Near the end I had to pass some people at the back and I don't think they'd seen the blue flags – it was quite scary with Max so close behind me! Valentino had some problems during the weekend and wasn't able to ride to his full potential, but he has made a big difference pre-season and I am sure that at the next race he will be there. Now I am really looking forward to Mugello."
Max Biaggi: (Camel Honda) – 3rd
"It was a good race, hard fought and difficult. In the first few laps I lost a few seconds on my rivals because I made a different tire choice to them. Taking a medium rear rather than a softer one. It wasn't an error though because it was adapted to the compromises we made in the set-up to reduce the chatter problem. I had to open the throttle carefully trying to get the most power without getting a wheelie out of the front. I got into a good rhythm and closed up on Checa, even trying to pass him a few times, right until the end, when a group of lapped riders got between me and Carlos and I couldn't do anything to take second place. I'm satisfied nonetheless with my race, and we'll try for the win again in Mugello."
"What can I say," explains Carlos Checa's Crew Chief, Antonio Jimenez. "I am so happy because our expectation was to be on the podium and it worked. We were leading for many laps but second is still a good result. It is great to start the early part of the season like this. The tracks we go to next, Mugello and Barcelona, are very good circuits for Carlos and he is feeling very positive. We need more races like this and our target now is victory."
"That was a really difficult race. The bike just didn't feel right all weekend, especially with the braking. I had a different feeling at the start of the warm-up lap with the new electronic system and the bike stopped. When everything goes well with this bike then it is very easy to ride, but here set-up difficulties have made it trickier. We've spent two days trying to fix the problems but unfortunately it has not been possible for this race; we need some more time to work it out. We have organized a one-day test tomorrow so I hope that we will be able to fix the problem then. Carlos was very strong today and he has more experience than me with this bike. We are not too far behind and Mugello is going to be a brilliant fight."
Colin Edwards: (Telefonica Movistar Honda) – 5th
"I am having a few problems when the temperature goes up and I didn't have the right set-up for the race despite some fairly positive qualifying sessions. I am using the same fork I had in Superbikes in 2002 because I felt comfortable with it in preseason but we're going to have to change. At Clermont Ferrand we'll test the new fork and hopefully at Mugello, a circuit I know well, that translates into results."
Marco Melandri:(Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3) – 6th
"I'm disappointed. Today everything looked okay; the bike, tires, suspension were all good and I started well from the grid too. But I made a mistake on lap one and I knew the opening laps would be hard. I thought I could catch Max in the early stages and follow him, but then my right arm started getting stiff and I couldn't feel the throttle or the front brake so well. The bike is better but we are going to need more power for Mugello."
Alex Barros: (Repsol Honda) – 7th
"At the start of the race the light seemed to be on for a long time and when it eventually turns I have no clutch so I lost many places. I then nearly get caught in the crash on the first lap and have to concentrate to work up the field. The most difficult task was to overtake was Capirossi. I lost time trying to get past then I ride on my own for a long time with a large gap ahead. I'm obviously not pleased with the result although I'm happy to have climbed from 13th to seventh - but not for the final result. We just couldn't get the machine to work the way we wanted all weekend and the result of the race shows; the top guys were all lapping in the 34's and my best lap was 1:35.1. At this level we have to be more competitive."
Nicky Hayden: (Repsol Honda) - 11th
"I'm real disappointed. The weekend started out so good but we then found it so difficult to go forward. Everything we tried with the bike and myself didn't seem to work. We pretty much stayed the same speed all weekend while everyone else went faster. In the race I made an okay start but lost a few places on the first lap when it all got pretty tight. I guess I got a little frustrated and ran off into the dirt and spent the rest of the race trying to catch up. We've got a test here tomorrow when we have to re-group and try a few things. I feel really bad for my team - they all work so hard and I made a mistake. I guess we've gotta' look forward and learn from here."
Kenny Roberts: (Suzuki) 12th
"Like I said in practice, the team and the engineers and everybody here did the best job that we could with what we've got at the moment. We could really use the new parts and some more grip."
Kurtis Roberts: (Proton) – 15th
"Finally I got a race done. My arm's a bit sore now … it's the first time it's done that many laps. Our problem now is we can't push the bike because we don't have the grip. You can ride it to 70 percent, but if you do any more you go slower, because it starts sliding all over the place, right from the start of the race. But we finished one, and got a little bit of experience. Now we need to make the bike work better with the grip level we have right now."
LeMans Final Results:
1. Sete Gibernau (Honda)
2. Carlos Checa (Yamaha)
3. Max Biaggi (Honda)
4. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha)
5. Colin Edwards (Honda)
6. Marco Melandri (Yamaha)
7. Alex Barros (Honda)
8. Troy Bayliss (Ducati)
9. Makoto Tamada (Honda)
10. Loris Capirossi (Ducati)
11. Nicky Hayden (Honda)
12. Kenny Roberts (Suzuki)
13. Jeremy McWilliams (Aprilia)
14. Ruben Xaus (Ducati)
15. Kurtis Roberts (Proton)
MotoGP Championship Standings:
1. Sete Gibernau, 66
2. Max Biaggi, 56
3. Valentino Rossi, 51
4. Alex Barros, 38
5. Carlos Checa, 36
6. Colin Edwards, 29
7. Nicky Hayden, 27
8. Loris Capirossi, 20
9. Makoto Tamada, 15
10. Marco Melandri, 15
