Boris reflects on Valentino Rossi's Waterloo at Le Mans

Valentino Rossi discovers Waterloo at Le Mans

2017 MotoGP content on MCNews.com.au brought to you by Honda Genuine

With Boris Mihailovic

The hearts of Rossi fans the world over broke like porcelain just a few corners from the end of the French MotoGP and their tears filled an ocean.

I’m still in mourning.

The Doctor had this. I was watching the MotoGP at Foxsports studios with Chris Vermuelen (who was celebrating the 10^th anniversary of his MotoGP win at Le Mans) and Kevin Magee. They were also of the view the Doctor had this. This was an unusual call for Chris, who is not a Rossi fan, but otherwise knows his way around the sport. Magee, who is a Rossi fan, muttered some stuff about maybe Pedrosa winning it, but I knew he really wanted Rossi to win and was being contrary. And the practice time-sheets all said the same thing. Come race-time, Rossi will be the man to beat.

In the lead-up to the race, there was drama aplenty.

Jack Miller had miraculously survived a spectacular high-speed crash in Practice relatively unscathed. And apart from having to spend the night before the race with his leg covered in ice so he could get the swollen limb into his leathers, he was injected with pain-killers and good to go on race-day.

Jack had also rubbed Jorge Lorenzo the wrong way the day before the race. And Lorenzo wasn’t really stable, having run dead-last in one of the practice sessions.

It was a discussion about tyres. Vinales, Lorenzo and Baz were the only riders who wanted their Michelins to have the sidewalls they liked. Miller observed to Lorenzo that opinions were like arseholes and that everybody had one, and that Lorenzo should maybe keep his opinion to himself.

Was the five-time world champion gonna take that kind sass from the Aussie upstart? Not even a little bit. So he told the press he didn’t think Miller should be telling a five-time world champion to stick things in his bottom, and went on to qualify 16^th, five places behind Miller.

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Scott Redding has impressed in practice, but all eyes were on Zarco. It was his time to shine, and that’s pretty much what he did after qualifying in third on the grid behind Rossi and Vinales, who was on pole. Crutchlow was just behind the Frenchman, Marquez sat in fifth and the ever-hopeful Dovzioso was propped in sixth.

None of that mattered to me. The Doctor had this. He had been consistently fast in practice, which was a hodge-podge of damp track and changeable conditions. Race day was glorious sunshine. So he had this.

Valentino Rossi was playful for the camera in qualifying

I knew Zarco could not beat him. I knew Marquez would struggle to keep up. But I was concerned Vinales was far too talented to let the Doctor just walk away with this one.

Vinales leads Zarco, Rossi and Marquez at Le Mans

So I was cheering myself hoarse when Rossi edged into the lead with six laps to go. He had ridden brilliantly, wreathed in cunning and determination, sat in third for most of the race and had ruthlessly hunted down Zarco and ultimately Vinales. Victory was assured. Yamaha’s 500^th MotoGP conquest would, quite fittingly, be taken by Rossi.

Except nothing in MotoGP is ever certain.

Marquez, who started well, despite being overtaken by Rossi at the start of the race and relegated to fourth, struggled to match the pace of the front-runners and eventually crashed out. Which was probably just as well, because Pedrosa would have passed him eventually.

The Frenchman sprinted to the front of the pack, put his head down and started cranking out the laps. He was pursued by Vinales and Rossi, but despite his best efforts and the patriotic urgings of his home-crowd, he just wasn’t able to put any serious space on the factory Yamahas.

Behind the leading pack, Dani Pedrosa reminded Cal Crutchlow what racing could be like if they were both ten years younger and racing in British Superbikes. He duffed up Cal in a ruthless pass, which might have sent the prima donnas elsewhere in the field squealing to Race Direction, but Cal just shrugged it off as “racing”.

MotoGP riders streak under the Dunlop bridge at Le Mans

Lorenzo was slowly working his way through the back of the field, and he eventually finished in sixth, 11 seconds shy of Crutchlow in fifth. But at least he got to pass Jonas Folger, Jack Miller and Loris Baz on the way – riders he’s getting to know better and better with each race this season.

Up the front, the good stuff only started in the closing stages of the race. Rossi finally relegated Zarco to third, but the Frenchman, buoyed by the screaming home crowd, fought back. It’s in the rules that a Frenchman is not allowed to win at Le Mans, so it was all in vain anyway. Rossi tried a little harder, made his pass stick on the following lap, and then set off after Vinales.

It was obvious he was faster than his younger team-mate. And bit by bit, the Doctor edged closer and closer until three laps from the end of the race, Vinales suddenly found himself in second as Rossi passed him on Turn Three.

A brilliant duel ensued – the contest we had all been waiting for – and it was Rossi who made the error. He ran wide under brakes, and allowed Vinales through. But even then he caught him quickly and was about to hand the young Spaniard second place when he slid out, and ended up walking through the gravel as Magee and I exchanged looks of disappointment.

Rossi ended up playing in the gravel for the cameras

It was a very costly error for Rossi, who came into Le Mans leading the championship, but not by very much. He certainly could have used a win here, or even a podium. Instead, he got a DNF. Whether this will ultimately cost him the championship remains to be seen, but it is a big hit in terms of points.