|
Page 1 of 5 All the teams' wrap-up from MotoGP in France
From Rizla Suzuki Press
Fighting fifth in France for Vermeulen, strong seventh for
Capirossi
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer Chris Vermeulen celebrated his best result so far
this season by finishing in an impressive fifth position at Le Mans in France
today, with team-mate Loris Capirossi crossing the line in an equally strong
seventh place.
Vermeulen started from eighth on the grid and made up a couple of places on
the first lap. He then set three personal-best laps in succession as he moved
into fifth place, and the Australian was in touch with the leaders as light rain
started to fall on the 4’185m circuit. Track officials waved the white flags to
signify that pit-lane was open if the riders wanted to change to their wet
weather bikes, but Vermeulen - like most riders – chose to stay out and
consolidate his position. He had a couple of narrow escapes as the track surface
got very slippery from the rain, but he brought the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R home
safely to score valuable championship points for himself and the team.
Capirossi made a strong start from the fourth row of the grid and was up to
seventh by the end of lap two. He was involved in a race long battle with a
large group of riders, which also resulted in one of them pushing Capirossi off
the track and on to the grass. The experienced Italian lost some places but
battled back to take a hard, but well earned nine championship points.
Today’s race started in bright sunshine with track temperatures at 26ºC, as
the light drizzle fell the temperatures cooled off, but this didn’t dampen the
spirits of over 74,000 fans at trackside who were treated to a comprehensive
victory by Valentino Rossi – a win that puts him joint second, with Angel Nieto,
in the all-time list of Grand Prix victories by a rider.
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will now stay in at Le Mans for a further day of testing,
before moving on to Capirossi’s home GP at Mugello in Italy on Sunday
1st June.
Chris Vermeulen:
“Well that was alright – I guess! I’m happy with the weekend, we made some
progress and we finally got some good points on the board. I am a little
disappointed with fifth because I was really hoping I’d have a bit more pace to
be able to fight with the front guys. I felt I was just that little bit behind
and just couldn’t close the gap. We are testing here tomorrow so hopefully we
can try and improve a few more things on the bike, and make more steps in
Mugello.
“I want to say a big thanks to my crew, they’ve worked out all the issues we
had from China and the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R worked great all weekend and we had no
problems at all.”
Loris Capirossi:
“It has been really hard for me all weekend; we just couldn’t go as quick as
we wanted to. We made some changes yesterday and went a bit better, but today we
struggled in warm-up. In the race we didn’t get the result we are looking for
and seventh is not our target, but we scored some good points and we must wait
for it to be our moment to go quick! I was pushed onto the grass by another
rider and maybe I could have had a better result, but that is racing and he has
come and apologised so that’s all good. Our potential is not too bad, but we
still need to discover something new so we can go a bit quicker.”
Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“The Rizla Suzuki MotoGP team has made some steps here at Le Mans, and has
backed those up with a good solid result and a committed performance from both
riders today. Chris has really found his rhythm this weekend and in the first
part of the race fought his way through superbly, from his eighth position
start, into fifth. He was pushing to catch the lead group and maintaining a very
close gap every lap, but just couldn’t close it down to join the fight. When the
rain came he nearly crashed twice and he took the right decision to bring the
bike home for his best finish – so far – this season.
“Loris is disappointed with seventh, but it has been a tough weekend for him
and he shouldn’t be. He showed again today that he really wants it and will
fight just as hard for seventh as he will for first. We are convinced that as we
improve the bike and we get everything to a better level, that fighting spirit
will allow him to target the podium finishes that he wants so much.
“After a difficult Shanghai I’d like to say well done to the team for their
efforts this weekend, and let’s hope this is the first step back to where we all
want to be, and that’s battling at the front!”
LORENZO DEFIES THE ODDS TO HELP YAMAHA REIGN IN FRANCE
Fiat Yamaha Team rider Jorge Lorenzo once again stunned
onlookers by riding to second place in Le Mans today with two fractured ankles.
The 21-year-old rookie has found it increasingly difficult to ride through the
pain during the course of the weekend but today he found his rhythm and was able
to take his fourth podium in five races. It was a Yamaha whitewash in France as
Valentino Rossi took his 90th career victory, equalling Angel Nieto with the
second highest number of wins in the sport’s history, and Yamaha Tech 3 rider
Colin Edwards rode a strong race to finish third.
Lorenzo’s race was a
carbon copy of China as he dropped back through the field at the start,
struggling off the line and unable to find his rhythm in the early stages. He
had lost five places from fifth on the grid at the end of lap one but on lap
eight he suddenly found the feeling with the bike and began to make headway,
passing three riders in one lap and setting off after Chris Vermeulen, who was
some distance ahead. It took the Michelin-shod rider seven laps to reel in the
Australian and then another five to pass Edwards, before he leap-frogged both
Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner on lap 21 to move into second. Some spots of rain
caused a flurry of activity in the pits as the mechanics readied the second
bikes with rain settings, but the sun reappeared and Lorenzo eventually crossed
the line just under five seconds adrift of his team-mate.
Rossi’s victory
sees him take the championship lead with 97 points but Lorenzo is just three
points adrift, equal with Dani Pedrosa on 94 points but ahead in the standings
by way of his more recent podium. Lorenzo will now fly straight back to
Barcelona for more treatment on his ankles before the next race in Italy on June
1st.
Lorenzo:
“Firstly I want to say congratulations to Yamaha because it’s
fantastic to have three on the podium and it demonstrates how strong our bike
is. After the weekend I have had, with the crashes and so much pain, I can’t
believe I’m here! All last night I worried about this race because I really
thought it might be too hard. It was a dream to finish sixth or seventh,
especially when I could only manage 11th in the warm-up. I knew I had to try
however and on the grid one of my mechanics reminded me that my rivals were just
the same ones as in Portugal; this was a good motivation! I had some problems at
the start and it’s clear that we need to work on these, but after a while I
found my rhythm and once again I was able to make my way through the field and
pass some riders. I think the rain helped me for the first time in my life
because everyone was a little bit slower for a few laps, but second is
unbelievable and I think I look a bit happier this afternoon! Now we have to
work as hard as possible to heal my injuries and improve my physical condition,
so that we can be back to our best in Mugello."
ROSSI
REACHES 90 WINS WITH PEERLESS DISPLAY TO HEAD ALL-YAMAHA
PODIUM
Valentino Rossi made another historic step in his incredible
career today when he took his 90th career victory in Le Mans, equalling the
record set by the great Angel Nieto, to move into second in the all-time winners
list behind Giacomo Agostini. It was an outstanding display from the Fiat Yamaha
Team rider and he celebrated in fine style when Nieto joined him on his
slow-down lap, the Spaniard taking charge of the bike with Rossi riding pillion
behind him.
It was a superb day for Yamaha in general as Jorge Lorenzo
once again defied his injuries to ride into an astonishing second place behind
his team-mate and Tech 3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards joined the pair on the
podium in third place.
Rossi had an average start and was tailing the
lead group in fifth at the end of lap one. It was soon clear how well his
Yamaha-Bridgestone package was working however and he picked off first Nicky
Hayden then Edwards and Dani Pedrosa to move into second behind Casey Stoner,
before passing him too on lap eight. From then on Rossi was too strong for the
chasing pack, stretching his lead lap after lap until some spots of rain forced
him to slow slightly in the last third of the race. The sun soon came back out
however, allowing the riders to continue without changing bikes and the Italian
to cross the line 4.997 seconds in front to take his first back-to-back victory
since 2006.
The 29-year-old’s 90th win moves him two points clear at the
top of the championship with 97 points, whilst Lorenzo and Pedrosa are just
behind him with 94 points each. Rossi will now stay here for two days of testing
to ready himself for his home race at Mugello in Italy in two week’s time, when
he will be looking for his 7th consecutive win at the track.
Rossi:
“To arrive at 90 wins like this and equal Angel’s record is a
dream for me. 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 tyres worked brilliantly from start to finish. When is started to
rain a little bit I thought “oh no!’ and so I steadied a bit and tried to ride
very sweetly; I had such a good rhythm and I really didn’t want to have to
change bikes. Luckily the rain soon stopped and I was able to continue in the
same way. It’s great for Yamaha to have the first three and I want to
congratulate Jorge especially for doing such a good job in his condition. Thanks
to everybody in the team; the job that Yamaha has done in three months is
incredible. I enjoyed myself so much today, the atmosphere in our garage is
perfect and now we will make two important days of testing, try to improve even
more and then head to Mugello!”
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 Next > End >>
|
