Five in a row for Marquez – Victory for Miller

MotoGP 2014 – Round Five – Le Mans – Race Reports, Notes & Quotes

MotoGP: Brilliant Marquez makes it five in a row

MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) produced another masterclass at Le Mans to win from pole again, with Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) and Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini) also on the podium.

Marquez produced a fantastic fightback after an early mistake to lead by a second on lap 16 having been 10th on lap one. Rossi demonstrated his competitiveness again to lead for several laps in the first half of the race but ultimately could not hold off the rampant Marquez.

Whilst Rossi achieved his tenth premier class podium at Le Mans and his 150th in the top category, Marquez became the first rider to win five successive premier class races from pole since Mick Doohan in 1997.

Meanwhile, it was Bautista’s first podium since 2012 and a great reward for the determination he has shown since his three DNFs at the start of the season.

An excellent ride from rookie Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech3) saw him hold off Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) for fourth. Pedrosa appeared to be riding in significant discomfort after recent arm pump surgery.

Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) finished three seconds behind Pedrosa in the unfamiliar territory of sixth for the 2010 and 2012 MotoGP World Champion.

Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP) recovered from his recent arm operation for seventh, with Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), Aleix Espargaro (NGM Forward Racing) and Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech3) also in the top ten.

Nicky Hayden (Drive M7 Aspar) crashed on the first lap after contact with Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing), only for the Italian to go down shortly afterwards. Hector Barbera (Avintia Racing) was also an early crasher, though none of those three were seriously affected by the incidents.

RelatedPosts

Liberty Media’s bid for MotoGP faces extra EU hurdle and delays

December 20, 2024

Augusto Fernández officially confirmed as Yamaha MotoGP Test rider

December 18, 2024

MotoGP Race Classification -(28 laps = 117.18 Km)

1. Marc MARQUEZ / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 44’03.925 / 159.5 /
2. Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / YAMAHA / 44’05.411 / 159.4 / 1.486
3. Alvaro BAUTISTA / SPA / GO&FUN Honda Gresini / HONDA / 44’07.069 / 159.3 / 3.144
4. Pol ESPARGARO / SPA / Monster Yamaha Tech 3 / YAMAHA / 44’07.642 / 159.3 / 3.717
5. Dani PEDROSA / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / HONDA / 44’08.002 / 159.3 / 4.077
6. Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / YAMAHA / 44’11.013 / 159.1 / 7.088
7. Stefan BRADL / GER / LCR Honda MotoGP / HONDA / 44’15.452 / 158.8 / 11.527
8. Andrea DOVIZIOSO / ITA / Ducati Team / DUCATI / 44’26.028 / 158.2 / 22.103
9. Aleix ESPARGARO / SPA / NGM Forward Racing / FORWARD YAMAHA / 44’26.551 / 158.1 / 22.626
10. Bradley SMITH / GBR / Monster Yamaha Tech 3 / YAMAHA / 44’27.033 / 158.1 / 23.108
11. Cal CRUTCHLOW / GBR / Ducati Team / DUCATI / 44’29.705 / 158.0 / 25.780
12. Scott REDDING / GBR / GO&FUN Honda Gresini / HONDA / 44’43.448 / 157.2 / 39.523
13. Yonny HERNANDEZ / COL / Energy T.I. Pramac Racing / DUCATI / 44’46.469 / 157.0 / 42.544
14. Hiroshi AOYAMA / JPN / Drive M7 Aspar / HONDA / 44’46.661 / 157.0 / 42.736
15. Karel ABRAHAM / CZE / Cardion AB Motoracing / HONDA / 45’00.569 / 156.2 / 56.644
16. Michael LAVERTY / GBR / Paul Bird Motorsport / PBM / 45’18.048 / 155.2 / 1’14.123
17. Colin EDWARDS / USA / NGM Forward Racing / FORWARD YAMAHA / 45’23.648 / 154.8 / 1’19.723
18. Broc PARKES / AUS / Paul Bird Motorsport / PBM / 45’34.859 / 154.2 / 1’30.934
19. Mike DI MEGLIO / FRA / Avintia Racing / AVINTIA / 45’38.446 / 154.0 / 1’34.521

• Pole Position: Marc MARQUEZ 1’32.042 163.6 Km/h
• Fastest Lap (New record): Marc MARQUEZ 1’33.548 161.0 Km/h Lap 8
• Old Circuit Record Lap: Dani PEDROSA 1’33.617 160.9 Km/h 2011
• Circuit Best Lap: Marc MARQUEZ 1’32.042 163.6 Km/h 2014

MotoGP Championship Standings

1. Marc Marquez 93 ESP 125 Repsol Honda Team HONDA
2. Dani Pedrosa 26 ESP 83 Repsol Honda Team HONDA
3. Valentino Rossi 46 ITA 81 Yamaha Factory YAMAHA
4. Andrea Dovizioso 4 ITA 53 Ducati Team DUCATI
5. Jorge Lorenzo 99 ESP 45 Yamaha Factory Racing YAMAHA
6. Stefan Bradl 6 GER 39 LCR Honda MotoGP HONDA
7. Pol Espargaro 44 ESP 38 Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA
8. Aleix Espargaro 41 ESP 37 NGM Mobile Forward Racing YAMAHA
9. Bradley Smith 38 GBR 34 Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA
10. Alvaro Bautista 19 ESP 26 Go & Fun Honda Gresini HONDA
11. Andrea Iannone 29 ITA 25 Pramac Racing DUCATI
12. Nicky Hayden 69 USA 23 Drive M7 Aspar HONDA
13. Hiroshi Aoyama 7 JPN 21 Drive M7 Aspar HONDA
14. Scott Redding 45 GBR 18 Go & Fun Honda Gresini HONDA
15. Yonny Hernandez 68 COL 16 Pramac Racing DUCATI
16. Cal Crutchlow 35 GBR 15 Ducati Team DUCATI
17. Karel Abraham 17 CZE 9 Cardion AB Motoracing HONDA
18. Colin Edwards 5 USA 7 NGM Mobile Forward Racing YAMAHA
19. Hector Barbera 8 ESP 2 Avintia Racing MotoGP FTR-KAWASAKI
20. Danilo Petrucci 9 ITA 2 IodaRacing Project IODA-SUTER
21. Broc Parkes 23 AUS 1 Paul Bird Motorsport PBM
22. Michael Laverty 70 GBR 0 Paul Bird Motorsport ART & PBM
23. Mike Di Meglio 63 FRA 0 Avintia Racing MotoGP FTR-KAWASAKI
24. 24 Michele Pirro 51 ITA 0 Ducati Team DUCATI

Moto2: Second successive win for in form Kallio

Victory in the Moto2™ Monster Energy Grand Prix de France race was clinched by Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team) at Le Mans, with Simone Corsi (NGM Forward Racing) and Esteve Rabat (Marc VDS Racing Team) following the Finn across the finish line.

Kallio rode calmly from fourth on the grid, hunting down provisional race leader Corsi for the victory and taking over at the front with eight laps to go. Corsi eventually finished a second behind the winner, holding off a late challenge from championship leader Rabat – who had to settle for third.

Young Spanish rookies Maverick Viñales (Pons HP 40) and Luis Salom (Pons HP 40) were both in the podium chase as they gathered more Moto2 experience, eventually finishing fourth and fifth respectively. Another 2014 intermediate class debutant Jonas Folger (AGR Team) was sixth, having started on pole.

Dominique Aegerter (Technomag carXpert), Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2), Sam Lowes (Speed Up) and Franco Morbidelli (Italtrans Racing Team) were top ten finishers.

Axel Pons (AGR Team), Alex De Angelis (Tasca Racing Moto2), Tetsuta Nagashima (Teluru Team JiR Webike), Julian Simon (Italtrans Racing Team) and Xavier Simeon (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) were all crashers, whilst home riders Louis Rossi (SAG Team) and Johann Zarco (AirAsia Caterham Moto Racing) also crashed in front of the home fans.

Ricard Cardus (Tech 3) and Mattia Pasini (NGM Forward Racing) crashed out together early on, with Pasini unhappy with Cardus’ role in the accident.

Moto2 Race – (26 laps = 108.81 Km)

1. Mika KALLIO / FIN / Marc VDS Racing Team / KALEX / 42’41.696 / 152.9 /
2. Simone CORSI / ITA / NGM Forward Racing / KALEX / 42’42.711 / 152.8 / 1.015
3. Esteve RABAT / SPA / Marc VDS Racing Team / KALEX / 42’42.999 / 152.8 / 1.303
4. Maverick VIÑALES / SPA / Pons HP 40 / KALEX / 42’43.883 / 152.7 / 2.187
5. Luis SALOM / SPA / Pons HP 40 / KALEX / 42’45.315 / 152.6 / 3.619
6. Jonas FOLGER / GER / AGR Team / KALEX / 42’45.614 / 152.6 / 3.918
7. Dominique AEGERTER / SWI / Technomag carXpert / SUTER / 42’54.020 / 152.1 / 12.324
8. Thomas LUTHI / SWI / Interwetten Paddock Moto2 / SUTER / 42’57.248 / 151.9 / 15.552
9. Sam LOWES / GBR / Speed Up / SPEED UP / 42’59.323 / 151.8 / 17.627
10. Franco MORBIDELLI / ITA / Italtrans Racing Team / KALEX / 43’10.400 / 151.2 / 28.704
11. Marcel SCHROTTER / GER / Tech 3 / TECH 3 / 43’15.289 / 150.9 / 33.593
12. Sandro CORTESE / GER / Dynavolt Intact GP / KALEX / 43’17.854 / 150.7 / 36.158
13. Randy KRUMMENACHER / SWI / IodaRacing Project / SUTER / 43’17.923 / 150.7 / 36.227
14. Anthony WEST / AUS / QMMF Racing Team / SPEED UP / 43’18.243 / 150.7 / 36.547
15. Hafizh SYAHRIN / MAL / Petronas Raceline Malaysia / KALEX / 43’18.368 / 150.7 / 36.672
16. Takaaki NAKAGAMI / JPN / IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia / KALEX / 43’18.936 / 150.7 / 37.240
17. Jordi TORRES / SPA / Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 / SUTER / 43’19.268 / 150.7 / 37.572
18. Lucas MAHIAS / FRA / Promoto Sport / TRANSFIORMERS / 43’26.296 / 150.2 / 44.600
19. Gino REA / GBR / AGT REA Racing / SUTER / 43’30.007 / 150.0 / 48.311
20. Lorenzo BALDASSARRI / ITA / Gresini Moto2 / SUTER / 43’30.350 / 150.0 / 48.654

• Pole Position: Jonas FOLGER 1’37.619 154.3 Km/h
• Fastest Lap (New record): Maverick VIÑALES 1’37.882 153.9 Km/h Lap 18
• Old Circuit Record Lap: Marc MARQUEZ 1’38.533 152.9 Km/h 2011
• Circuit Best Lap: Jonas FOLGER 1’37.619 154.3 Km/h 2014

Moto2 Championship

1 RABAT 99, 2 KALLIO 92, 3 VIÑALES 62, 4 AEGERTER 58, 5 CORSI 53, 6 LUTHI 40, 7 SALOM 39, 8 FOLGER 31, 9 SIMEON 29, 10 CORTESE 29, 11 WEST 27, 12 LOWES 25, 13 DE ANGELIS 18, 14 TORRES 18, 15 SCHROTTER 17, 16 CARDUS 13, 17 KRUMMENACHER 10, 18 MORBIDELLI 9, 19 ZARCO 8, 20 ROSSI 6.

Moto: Miller strikes back with classy victory

In perfect conditions at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo) took victory in another exciting Moto3™ contest, with Alex Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Isaac Viñales (Calvo Team) joining him on the Le Mans podium.

Another brilliant race saw eight riders in podium contention on the last lap with Miller holding off a challenge from pole man Efren Vazquez (SAXOPRINT RTG) in the final stages to secure his third win of the year.

Rins led by almost two seconds at one point but was eventually pulled back for second, with Viñales riding bravely to achieve his first ever Grand Prix podium result.

Francesco Bagnaia (SKY Racing Team VR46) and Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) were both in the top five, both within 0.5s of the podium.

Vazquez had also led the race at various points and was unhappy to finish sixth when a first ever victory looked possible.

Enea Bastianini (Junior Team Go&FUN Moto3), John McPhee (SAXOPRINT RTG), Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold) and Jakub Kornfeil (Calvo Team) completed the top ten.

Juanfran Guevara (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3), Karel Hanika (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Jules Danilo (Ambrogio Racing) and Niccolo Antonelli (Junior Team GO&FUN) all crashed out in the early laps, whilst there were also DNFs for Alessandro Tonucci (CIP Mahindra) and Niklas Ajo (Avant Tecno Husqvarna Ajo).

The winner of the last two rounds Romano Fenati (SKY Racing Team VR46) retired with electronics issues towards the end of the race.

Arthur Sissis – 17th –  “I’m not satisfied. My start was pretty bad, and when you are so far back on the grid that makes it even worse. I struggled to pass some slower riders, and once I got by I could do my own pace … but by then the next group was too far ahead. I need to qualify better.”

Moto3 Race Classification – (24 laps = 100.44 Km)

1. Jack MILLER / AUS / Red Bull KTM Ajo / KTM / 41’30.582 / 145.1 /
2. Alex RINS / SPA / Estrella Galicia 0,0 / HONDA / 41’30.677 / 145.1 / 0.095
3. Isaac VIÑALES / SPA / Calvo Team / KTM / 41’30.812 / 145.1 / 0.230
4. Francesco BAGNAIA / ITA / SKY Racing Team  VR46 / KTM / 41’31.069 / 145.1 / 0.487
5. Alex MARQUEZ / SPA / Estrella Galicia 0,0 / HONDA / 41’31.513 / 145.1 / 0.931
6. Efren VAZQUEZ / SPA / SaxoPrint-RTG / HONDA / 41’31.522 / 145.1 / 0.940
7. Enea BASTIANINI / ITA / Junior Team GO&FUN Moto3 / KTM / 41’31.608 / 145.1 / 1.026
8. John MCPHEE / GBR / SaxoPrint-RTG / HONDA / 41’31.803 / 145.1 / 1.221
9. Alexis MASBOU / FRA / Ongetta-Rivacold / HONDA / 41’32.157 / 145.0 / 1.575
10. Jakub KORNFEIL / CZE / Calvo Team / KTM / 41’32.755 / 145.0 / 2.173
11. Zulfahmi KHAIRUDDIN / MAL / Ongetta-AirAsia / HONDA / 41’42.422 / 144.4 / 11.840
12. Miguel OLIVEIRA / POR / Mahindra Racing / MAHINDRA / 41’45.086 / 144.3 / 14.504
13. Danny KENT / GBR / Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo / HUSQVARNA / 41’45.226 / 144.3 / 14.644
14. Brad BINDER / RSA / Ambrogio Racing / MAHINDRA / 41’45.552 / 144.3 / 14.970
15. Philipp OETTL / GER / Interwetten Paddock Moto3 / KALEX KTM / 41’52.808 / 143.8 / 22.226
16. Hafiq AZMI / MAL / SIC-AJO / KTM / 41’53.523 / 143.8 / 22.941
17. Arthur SISSIS / AUS / Mahindra Racing / MAHINDRA / 42’04.866 / 143.2 / 34.284
18. Luca GRÜNWALD / GER / Kiefer Racing / KALEX KTM / 42’07.077 / 143.0 / 36.495
19. Bryan SCHOUTEN / NED / CIP / MAHINDRA / 42’07.192 / 143.0 / 36.610
20. Livio LOI / BEL / Marc VDS Racing Team / KALEX KTM / 42’07.881 / 143.0 / 37.299

• Pole Position: Efren VAZQUEZ 1’42.491 146.9 Km/h
• Fastest Lap (New record): Francesco BAGNAIA 1’42.636 146.7 Km/h Lap 13
• Old Circuit Record Lap: Maverick VIÑALES 1’43.916 144.9 Km/h 2013
• Circuit Best Lap: Efren VAZQUEZ 1’42.491 146.9 Km/h 2014

Moto 3 Championship

1 MILLER 104, 2 FENATI 74, 3 VAZQUEZ 72, 4 RINS 71, 5 MARQUEZ 60, 6 VIÑALES 44, 7 KORNFEIL 37, 8 BAGNAIA 36, 9 MASBOU 35, 10 KENT 26, 11 BASTIANINI 25, 12 MCPHEE 23, 13 OLIVEIRA 20, 14 LOI 17, 15 AJO 16, 16 GUEVARA 9, 17 HANIKA 8, 18 ANTONELLI 7, 19 KHAIRUDDIN 6, 20 BINDER 5.

HRC Report

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) continued his astonishing run of historic MotoGP victories with a stunning win at sunny Le Mans this afternoon. The 21-year-old reigning MotoGP World Champion won the French Grand Prix with a comfortable margin ahead of former champion Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), despite running off the track on the first lap, which forced him to fight back from tenth place.

Alvaro Bautista (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini RC213V) made it two Hondas on the podium with a storming ride to third that helped erase memories of a difficult start to his season. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) and Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) – both recovering from post-Jerez surgery to fix arm-pump problems – finished in fifth and sixth positions

Marquez started from pole position – as he has done at every race so far this year – but he lost out in the long drag to Le Mans’ high-speed turn one. This was no real worry for the youngster who knew that he and his RC213V had the pace to run at the front. But at the tight Garage Vert double right-hander he ran right off the track when Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) ran slightly wide just ahead of him. That dropped Marquez a further four places.

His comeback was spectacular. Showing remarkable cool, he was soon the fastest man on track, passing Pedrosa, Bautista and Bradley Smith (Yamaha) in short order. On lap seven he rode right round the outside of early leader Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) and established a new lap record as he set off in pursuit of the top three: Bradl, Pol Espargaro (Yamaha) and Rossi.

He took Bradl and Espargaro on consecutive laps at Turn Two, then rapidly closed the gap on leader Rossi, who made things easy for his young rival by running wide at the Esses Bleu just before half-distance, allowing Marquez into the lead for the first time. From there he fully controlled the race, stretching his lead to 3.4 seconds at the start of the last lap, which he ended by cruising across the finish line, 1.4 seconds in front of his childhood hero.

Marquez now has a perfect score of 125 points from the opening five races, the first time any rider has managed this since Giacomo Agostini in 1971, a different era of racing when Ago enjoyed a huge machinery advantage over his mostly privateer rivals. And he broke another record today, becoming the youngest rider to score five premier-class victories.

Bautista, who scored his first points of the year at Jerez after crashing out of the first three races, was delighted with third place, which he grabbed from Espargaro with ten laps to go.

Pedrosa fought a long duel with old rival Lorenzo, eventually leaving his compatriot behind and then closing right up on Espargaro in the final laps, despite issues with front-end grip. Without that concern he would undoubtedly have been closer to the front.

Bradl wasn’t happy with his seventh-place finish. The former Moto2 World Champion ran second for the first two laps and was confident of a strong ride following pre-race changes to his rear suspension, aimed at improving edge grip. In fact the modification had the opposite effect, robbing the German of grip and allowing several riders to pass him.

Scott Redding (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini RCV1000R) was the top finisher aboard Honda’s new production racer, the RCV1000R. It was another impressive display from the young rookie, who won last year’s Moto2 race at Le Mans, after a set-up change that allowed him to push deeper into the corners.

Hiroshi Aoyama (Drive 7 Aspar Honda RCV1000R) was happy enough with his weekend, but like many riders his performance suffered slightly in today’s warmer temperatures. Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing Honda RCV1000R) was happy to score the last point.

Nicky Hayden (Drive 7 Aspar Honda RCV1000R) was the fastest RCV1000R rider in yesterday’s qualifying sessions but his race lasted only a few seconds before he crashed out when Andrea Iannone (Ducati) collided with him on the exit of the third corner.

Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team, Kalex) won his second consecutive victory in the Honda-powered Moto2 race in fine style. Whereas he led from pole position to chequered flag without being challenged at Jerez, he had to work extra hard for this win, which reduced the points gap to team-mate and title leader Tito Rabat (Marc VDS Racing Team, Kalex).  Rabat himself finished a close third behind Simone Corsi (NGM Forward Racing, Forward Kalex) after fighting through from a slow start.

Starting from the second row, Kallio led in the early stages after seizing the lead from pole-starter Jonas Folger (AGR Team, Kalex) at La Chapelle on the first lap. He soon came under pressure from Corsi, who swept into first position on lap three. Aware that he could not make the break out front, Kallio was happy to sit behind Corsi for the next 15 laps, saving himself and his tyres for a final push with six laps to go when he retook the lead at the Dunlop chicane. Riding faultlessly, he kept the five riders contesting second place well behind him and crossed the finish line more than a second ahead.

Corsi was chased over the line by Rabat, Maverick Vinales (Pons HP 40, Kalex), Luis Salom (Pons HP 40, Kalex) and Folger, the five of them separated by less than three seconds at the finish.

Dominique Aegerter (Technomag carXpert, Suter), Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock, Suter), reigning World Supersport Champion Sam Lowes (Speed Up, Speed Up) and Franco Morbidelli (Italtrans Racing Team, Kalex) completed the top ten

Efren Vazquez (SaxoPrint-RTG Honda NSF250R) came within four corners of his first Moto3 win today, only to be knocked back to sixth place following a collision with race winner Jack Miller (KTM).

The race was a real thriller, with the top positions changing multiple times each lap as riders slipstreamed each other on Le Mans’ two long straights, then battled it out in the corners. Starting from pole position, Vazquez was in the fight from the very beginning until he lost several positions following a collision during the mid-stages of the race. He regrouped brilliantly and steadily moved back to the front, taking the lead again with three laps to go, thanks to the impressive speed of his NSF250R.

With more than half a dozen riders in the lead group, the last lap was sure to get busy and it did as Vazquez and Miller swapped the lead on several occasions. Vazquez made his bid for victory entering the final Esses Bleu where the Spaniard and the Australian made contact, pushing Vazquez completely off line.

That made Alex Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda NSF250RW) Honda’s top finisher in second place, less than a tenth behind Miller. Rins had led much of the race and at one point looked like escaping from the pack, but he was caught by his pursuers and just lost out in the last-lap skirmish. His team-mate Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda NSF250RW) also showed strongly in the lead group and finished a very close fourth, less than half a second behind Isaac Vinales (KTM).

Two places behind Vazquez came his team-mate John McPhee (SaxoPrint-RTG Honda NSF250R), having another great ride. Fourth-fastest in qualifying, local star Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold Honda NSF250R) finished ninth, just ahead of Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Ongetta-AirAsia Honda NSF250R).

The MotoGP circus now travels south to Italy, where the championship will reach one-third distance with the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello on June 1.

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: race winner – “I am really happy with this win, which was different to the other victories. I made a mistake at the start; maybe I was too relaxed off the line, then when Jorge passed me I had to take a wide line otherwise we would have touched and as a result, many riders overtook me. However, from that moment on I began a really good comeback and it was a lot of fun, ending in my fifth consecutive victory. Although it might look easy to people, we are working extremely hard and this is the reward for the whole team!”

Alvaro Bautista, Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini: 3rd – “I’m so happy to be on the podium, especially since it’s more than one year since I’ve had this feeling. After the three crashes we had in the first three races and the practice troubles we had at Austin and in Argentina, we began to work well again at Jerez. Here I felt so good on the bike from FP1, so we’ve been competitive all weekend. Marc was on another level today, but I could stay with others, always trying to keep my rhythm. My thanks to the team – this result gives us a lot of confidence.”

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 5th – “It was a very difficult race to manage, because I didn’t get a bad start but I had Iannone and Smith coming through very strong on the opening corner; they split the group and even pushed a rider off-track. However, this wasn’t the main problem, I had an issue with the front tyre preventing me from making my way up the order. Every time that I tried to be more aggressive I had a lack of grip and it took many laps for me to move forward. It’s a shame, because I didn’t find a set-up that allowed me to ride comfortably and we didn’t have a good race. I think I can go a lot faster here than what we saw today.”

Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP: 7th – “Honestly I am not so happy today because seventh position is not what we expected. Maybe the problem is the change we made from the warm-up to the race to the rear suspension, trying to find more edge grip. Definitively we went in the wrong direction because at the beginning on a new tyre I was pretty fast, but after six or seven laps I was not able to use my rear tyre out of the corners. I tried to regain something on braking but then I found my limit on the front, so Espargaro and Bautista passed me. For the rest of the race I could not find my pace and I managed to finish seventh. I am looking forward to the Mugello GP because that’s one of my favourite tracks and we can go for more there.”

Scott Redding, Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini: 12th – “Overall I’m pretty pleased with the result today. On Friday I was struggling with the bike and the crash when I lost the front knocked my confidence a little. But the team and our suspension guys worked hard to improve the bike and, in FP4 on Saturday, the feeling was much better. This gave me the confidence in the front end I’d been missing and I was able to push harder as a result. My aim was to finish in the points and as the first Honda RCV1000R home today, and we achieved that, so I’m pretty happy. We started on a low on Friday, but we ended on a high today and you can’t ask for much more than that.”

Hiroshi Aoyama, Drive 7 Aspar Honda: 14th – “Today was a tough race but luckily after starting from 17th on the grid we came through to take a couple of points in 14th. The plan for the race was to put together a fast and consistent pace, especially in the first laps, and we have improved in comparison to recent races, so I am happy about that. Unfortunately the higher temperatures today compared to yesterday worked against us and with the soft tyre the feeling wasn’t the same as the rest of the weekend. My pace wasn’t as fast as I wanted at the end of the race but we will try to improve again at Mugello in two weeks.”

Karel Abraham, Cardion AB Motoracing: 15th – “I took one point but certainly it wasn’t a good race for me. I must express my thanks to the team, because the bike worked perfectly. I tried to push one hundred per cent, but simply it wasn’t enough to get a better result. In the very end of the race I climb to 15th position only because Colin Edwards was out of fuel and crossed the finish line with a dead engine. It would be more fun beating him regularly in the race.”

Nicky Hayden, Drive 7 Aspar Honda: DNF – “The team have worked really hard all weekend and we have made some progress as a result, even in the warm-up this morning. So it is a shame that the weekend ended like this, with a crash that wasn’t my fault. Looking at the data it was probably my best start of the season so far but as we went through the chicane I could feel another rider touch my handlebar and I couldn’t do anything to avoid the crash. It is a shame for the team and for me but sometimes these things happen in racing. Luckily I am okay and we just have to look ahead to the next round.”

Yamaha Report 

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider Valentino Rossi has taken his second consecutive second place finish in the 2014 MotoGP Championship at the Le Mans circuit in France for the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France.

The Doctor enjoyed one of the most exciting races of the season so far having fought from his fifth place grid position start to lead the race in the early laps. Quickly into third position, Rossi was then able to hunt down and out-manoeuvre rivals Stefan Bradl and then race leader Andrea Dovizioso to take the lead with 25 laps remaining. The nine-time world champion rode to the limit and had increased the lead to nearly a second before chasing rider Marc Marquez began to close in. With 16 laps to go Rossi ran wide into the last chicane, allowing Marquez past. He tucked in behind and was able to keep a gap to third place to the line, taking his third podium finish of the year with second place.

Teammate Jorge Lorenzo endured a tough Le Mans race. Starting from sixth on the grid, he was firmly placed in the hectic mid-pack for the opening lap in seventh position. The double premier class world champion was able to make passes on first Alvaro Bautista and then fellow Yamaha rider Bradley Smith to secure fifth position with 24 laps to run. He then spent some laps switching between fifth and sixth as he was first passed by Marquez, then recovered ground by Dovizioso before allowing Bautista back past again. A fifth place looked possible as he passed Bradl with 13 laps remaining but it was not to be as Dani Pedrosa was able to make a move four laps later, relegating him to sixth at the line.

Rossi’s third podium of the year adds 20 points to his score, putting him on 81 points, now just two behind Pedrosa in second. Lorenzo takes ten points, keeping him in fifth on 45 points, eight behind Dovizioso in third.

Rookie Pol Espargaro completed an exceptional weekend at the Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team’s home Grand Prix in Le Mans by finishing in 4th position and clinching his most competitive points scoring finish in his first ever MotoGP season. The highly attended premier class competed in front of a crowd of over 88,000 enthusiastic supporters today with brilliantly sunny weather providing perfect conditions.

The reigning Moto2 World Champion qualified on the front row of the grid in 2nd and as the lights turned to green, he took a phenomenal start to cross the line inside the leading pack for the first lap. The 22-year-old Catalan set into a formidable and consistent race pace to match the experienced leading riders before brilliantly surging through to 2nd, joining the battle at the front. He then became embroiled in a fierce fight with Stefan Bradl but saw off the Honda rider to expertly maintain the third position during the latter stages of the 28-lap sprint. Eventually the Spanish rookie who is only in his fifth MotoGP race aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1 crossed the line in a well-deserved 4th. Espargaro’s superb performance was tantalisingly close to Alvaro Bautista in third who was only half a second in front. The competitive result has seen Espargaro elevated to 7th in the world championship standings and improving the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team’s best finish of the season so far.

Bradley Smith hoped to battle for the accolade of the leading satellite bike at the tight and twisting French circuit today yet struggled with some slight grip issues again and met the chequered flag in 10th position. Having qualified at the front of the fourth row, Smith undertook a storming start to impressively climb up to 5th by the second lap. He ran a steady rhythm and attempted to make further advances up the field to the top four riders but unfortunately got shuffled back to 8th. At the latter stages of the race, Smith became involved in a battle with Dovizioso and Espargaro, with the outcome being 10th at the finish line. The 23-year-old Britain’s hard work permitted him to collect six valuable championship points, which aided the Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team to reach 3rd place in the team standings with 72 points.

The French GP saw the Spanish rider of the NGM Forward Racing as first open on the historic track of Le Mans.

Aleix Espargaro, who starting from the 8th spot on the grip, lost some positions and he finally finished 9th. The Spaniard struggled during the whole weekend for some electronics issue and today it was important for him to get as many points as possible. With today’s result Espargaro is now 8th in the Championship.

It was an unlucky race for Colin Edwards, who suffered for the third time in a row because of a fuel issue and was obliged to slow down dramatically and finally finished 17th . The team takes the responsibility for what happened and renews the commitment to develop some new parts that will be available already from the next race at Mugello.

Valentino Rossi – 2nd | +1.486 | 28 Laps “For sure I’m very happy about the race and the result. I made a very good start and when I saw Dovi and Bradl in front I knew I could go faster than them so I overtook. I got in front and tried as hard as possible but it was more difficult with the front today, maybe because the asphalt was hot. Anyway I tried the maximum and my pace was not so bad. I was waiting for Marc or Jorge and Dani to arrive, when Marc arrived I tried to push a lot to stay on the 1’34.0 to make the work difficult for him but in the crucial moment of the race I made a mistake in braking. I braked a little bit too deep and went wide. It’s a great pity as it was too easy for Marc. If not we could have fought a little bit because today I was not so bad, difficult to beat but for sure more fun. I hoped he would wait for me but… he didn’t! We’ll have to try again next week in Mugello, I want to do a good weekend and try to fight with him another time. I’m happy because my target is to be competitive, to stay with the front and fight with them. At this moment I’m not able to win a race but I am always there and I’m enjoying it very much.”

Jorge Lorenzo – 6th | +7.088 | 28 Laps – “Well, I expected much more of both qualifying and the race because the pace I had shown throughout the different sessions was good. The start was not so bad but I could not overtake any rider in the early laps and it left me riding with not such a good pace, I tried but no luck. I am convinced that our opportunity will arrive soon because we are working well and more and more times we are ahead during the grand prix. Now I’m just thinking about preparing the next race in Mugello.”

Massimo Meregalli – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team Director – “That was a really impressive race for Vale even though Marquez won. He made a really good start, worked hard for the lead and just made a little mistake when Marquez was on him. This podium is the result of good work all weekend; the mechanics, engineers and of course Vale put together a good package to achieve it. It is unfortunate that Jorge was unable to finish higher than he did, he also worked hard with his team in all practices and the package looked good for the race following the final warm up this morning. Now we look to Mugello, our first “home” race of the year. It’s a big race for Vale in front of his home crowd and also a big race for Jorge as he has won there for the last few years.”

Pol Espargaro – 4th – “This weekend has actually been like a small dream. I was sure we improved after the test in Jerez but I would have never expected to be that competitive. Already after the qualifying I thought things couldn’t get better but luckily I was also able to perform well over the whole race distance. Nevertheless it was hard to believe that I found myself in third position halfway through the race, but at this stage I started to be more confident about a top5 finish and when I heard the noise of Dani’s engine as he was catching up during the last laps, I just kept my head down aiming to take the fourth position over the line. I want to say a big thank you to the team because they did an amazing job guiding me without pressure to adapt as quickly as possible to this incredible category, but of course we have still so many things to learn and I’m already excited to get back on the bike in Mugello. However, this result is a huge boost for our confidence and I’m happy and proud to give the team’s French fans something to cheer for.”

Bradley Smith – 10th – “I made a great start and managed to go around the outside of the first corner and recover several positions. But already by turn three I knew that my lack of side grip would probably affect my race. I have been struggling all weekend with grip issues so we decided to take a gamble for the setup of the rear tyre. Unfortunately, we still weren’t able to completely get rid of it. Also having modified the bike massively it took me quite a while to adjust myself to the changes. However, I still gave it my all during qualifying and the race, but all weekend we have not been as strong as we hoped to be. I am still pleased that I finished the race, collecting valuable points and look forward to Mugello, which is one of my favourite tracks where I hope to get higher up the field.”

Aleix Espargaro – 9th – “I’m quite satisfied but I expected to a better result on this track. We struggled a lot during the whole weekend and today the priority was to get as many points as possible. We will keep on working for the next two races that are very important for us: Mugello and Catalunya, where we want to be competitive and get a good result”.

Colin Edwards – 17th – “It was a difficult weekend: I’m still struggling to make this bike turn. Today I had reduced the gap and caught Aoyama and Hernandez when I start having problems with the electronics. In the last laps I realized that I had problems with the fuel and at the last lap I was almost obliged to stop due to a fuel issue and let the riders behind me pass. We need to keep on working and I look forward to the Italian GP where we will test new parts.”

Ducati Report

The two Ducati Team riders – Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow – finished the French Grand Prix, round 5 of the 2014 MotoGP World Championship, in eighth and eleventh place respectively.

Dovizioso, who started from the front row of the grid in third place, provided some early excitement by leading the first three laps, before losing out during lap 4. Over the next few laps, he then lost a few more places and slipped down to ninth, but six laps from the end regained one position when he won the scrap for eighth with Aleix Espargarò. After the Le Mans race, the Italian rider still lies fourth in the overall championship standings.

Cal Crutchlow finally managed to make it to the chequered flag for the second time this season. After qualifying in twelfth place, the British rider lost some positions in the initial stages and was unable to make much progress during the race, eventually finishing eleventh.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 8th – “At least I tried! I made a great start and tried to pull away as much as possible, but after a few laps I could see that I would never have a chance to fight with the frontrunners. It’s a pity, but for the moment our gap is still too big, and even if we grit our teeth, we can’t make any strategies or push hard in certain moments of the race. Even after my third quickest time in qualifying yesterday I knew that today was going to be difficult. Now we have to think of our home race at Mugello, where we’ll try and get a good result.”

Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team #35) – 11th – “Today it was important first and foremost to finish a race, and for me that’s good seeing as how my 2014 season has been so far. I got a great start and felt really good on the bike, but there was a crash on the first lap and I got hit really hard by Hernandez by accident, which gave me a dead leg, and I lost a few places. I also made a few mistakes in the race but it’s clear that for the moment it’s difficult for Ducati to aim for anything higher in the results. A big thanks to my team, who are working really hard for us to become competitive, even though the result is not what we hoped for.”

Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager) – “Both qualifying yesterday with Dovizioso on the front row in third, and his great start and the early laps in the lead today are clearly positive aspects. For sure however the middle part of the race was the most critical for us, and it confirms that we still have a lot of work to do. Now we are going to Mugello, which is Ducati’s home race, and we’ll try our hardest to give all of our fans a good result.”

Bridgestone Report 

• Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Extra-Soft, Soft & Medium; Rear: Extra-soft, Soft & Medium (Asymmetric)
• Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main) & Hard (Alternative)
• Weather:  Dry. Ambient 24-25°C; Track 43-46°C (Bridgestone measurement)

Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez continued his relentless push for a second MotoGP™ World Championship as the Spaniard won his fifth race in a row with victory at the French Grand Prix at Le Mans.

Starting from pole position, Marquez had a poor start and as the riders completed their first lap, found himself in tenth position. The reigning champion then increased his pace and made his way through the field, setting a new Circuit Record Lap time of 1’33.548 on lap eight, and then taking the race lead on lap twelve. Marquez’s constant pace led him to victory over Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi, who claimed his third second-place finish of the year. Taking third place was GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista, who rode brilliantly to claim his first podium since the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix.

The track temperature today reached its highest level of the race weekend, with a figure of 46°C recorded in the final stages of the race. Race tyre choice amongst the riders was similar to that from yesterday’s Free Practice 4 session, with the soft compound front and rear slicks proving to be most popular. Only one rider selected the medium compound front slick for the race, the other twenty-one riders selected the soft compound front. Fourteen of the twenty-two starters opted for the soft compound rear slick, while eight riders selected the extra-soft rear that was available only to the Ducati and Open-class entrants. Despite the warmer than usual temperatures at Le Mans, tyre performance during race was excellent, with today’s French Grand Prix having the highest average speed ever recorded at this circuit.

Marquez’s latest victory sees his lead in the championship over his teammate Dani Pedrosa increase to forty-three points. Rossi remains in third place in the rider standings, but now sits just two points behind Pedrosa after five rounds.

Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department – “It’s been a while since we had a completely dry race weekend at Le Mans, and the constant fine weather gave riders plenty of time to find a setup to get the best performance out of the tyres. The pace this year was a big step forward from last year, but the riders also commented that the warm-up performance and safety of our tyres at Le Mans has also improved, so I am pleased with this result. New Circuit Best Lap, Race Lap and overall race time records were set this weekend at Le Mans. This is a very positive outcome for Bridgestone and shows that our revised tyre allocation for this circuit worked well for the riders.”

Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda – Race Winner – “I enjoyed today quite a lot, particularly the early part of the race. Maybe I was too calm in the early laps, I knew my rhythm was good so maybe I had too much confidence. Then when Lorenzo overtook me, I started to go quick and overtaking many riders which I enjoyed. When I was in second place I saw Rossi in front so I pushed 100% and when I reached Valentino I thought it would be a fight to pass him, but he made a mistake which allowed me to get through. I’m really happy for my fifth victory in a row, and I want to enjoy this moment as even though it looked easy, it was difficult go get the win.”