2010 MotoGP--Monster Energy Grand Prix of France

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mlittle
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2010 MotoGP--Monster Energy Grand Prix of France

Post by mlittle » Fri May 21, 2010 6:57 pm

--Event: Monster Energy Grand Prix of France[rd.3 of 18]
--Where: LeMans Bugatti Circuit, LeMans, France(10 turns, 2.655-mile road course)
--When: 21-23 May 2010


Event Schedule......................
note.........all times GMT +1/+6 hrs. from US EDT
--Practice Session 1: 12:40pm, 21 May 2010
--Practice Session 2: 9:55am, 22 May 2010
--Qualifying: 1pm, 22 May 2010
--Warm Up: 9:40am, 23 May 2010
--Race, 2pm, 23 May 2010

Past Winners.........................
note...........list only includes winners from the highest MotoGP class, regardless of class(includes winners from 250cc & 350cc classes)
---Leslie Graham(GBR): 1949
---Alfredo Milani(ITA): 1951
---Jack Brett(GBR): 1952
---Geoff Duke(GBR): 1953, 1955
---Pierre Monteret(FRA): 1954
---Jacques Collot(FRA): 1958
---John Surtees(GBR): 1959, 1960
---Gary Hocking(RHO): 1961
---Jim Redman(RHO): 1962
---Hugh Anderson(NZL): 1963
---Phil Read(GBR): 1964, 1965, 1974
---Mike Hailwood(GBR): 1966
---Bill Ivy(GBR): 1967
---Giacomo Agostini(ITA): 1969, 1970, 1972, 1975
---Jarno Saarinen(FIN): 1973
---Barry Sheene(GBR): 1976, 1977, 1979
---Kenny Roberts(USA): 1978, 1980
---Marco Luchinelli(ITA): 1981
---Michel Frutschi(SUI): 1982
---Freddie Spencer(USA): 1983, 1984, 1985
---Eddie Lawson(USA): 1986, 1988, 1989
---Randy Mamola(USA): 1987
---Kevin Schwantz(USA): 1990
---Wayne Rainey(USA): 1991, 1992
---Michael Doohan(AUS): 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
---Alex Criville(SPN): 1998, 1999, 2000
---Max Biaggi(ITA): 2001
---Valentino Rossi(ITA): 2002, 2005, 2008
---Sete Gibernau(ITA): 2003, 2004
---Marco Melandri(ITA): 2006
---Chris Vermeulen(AUS): 2007
---Jorge Lorenzo(SPN): 2009

Past French Grand Prix Venues.....................
---St. Gaudens: 1949
---Albi: 1951, 1952
---Rouen: 1953, 1965
---Reims: 1954, 1955
---Pau: 1958
---Clermont-Ferrand: 1959-1964, 1966-1967, 1971, 1974
---Paul Ricard HTTT: 1973, 1975, 1977, 1980-1981, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1996-1999
---Magny Cours: 1992
---Nogaro: 1978, 1982
---LeMans Bugatti: 1969-1970, 1976, 1979, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989-1990, 1994-1995, 2000-present
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Post by mlittle » Fri May 21, 2010 6:59 pm

Image
Track Map, LeMans Bugatti Circuit
note........track distance was extended from the above listed distance to 2.655-miles since 2006
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Rossi Fastest in Friday Practice

Post by mlittle » Sat May 22, 2010 5:08 pm

Image

-----Valentino Rossi felt the benefit of some hard work on his M1 bike as he set the best time of the first practice session at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France on Friday afternoon.

The Italian and his Fiat Yamaha crew made some significant improvements to the settings of his machine during the Jerez Test almost three weeks ago, and the results were evident at Le Mans where his time of 1’34.402 placed him at the top of the timesheet in the opening session of the third round.

"I'm really happy about this practice and especially about my last lap, which was very quick,” said Rossi, who set his fast time on his 28th and final turn of the hour-long session. “During the Test after Jerez we got a better understanding of the problems we had and managed to improve our setting a lot, and that's where we've started from today. It's good to be this fast already.”

Rossi’s display came despite some lingering pain in his recovering shoulder, which he is hopeful will subside as the weekend plays out.

“Unfortunately I still have some pain in my shoulder in the two or three hard braking areas, but I hope with the adrenaline tomorrow and Sunday it will be better and won't cause a problem,” said the reigning World Champion. “Our bike is historically very good here and it feels great in the twisty parts especially, so we're hopeful for a good weekend."

Rossi’s team-mate, rival and current Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo overcame some slight electronic issues at the start of the practice by changing machines and then lapped at a consistent pace, eventually setting the third best time at just 0.140s off the Italian’s marker.

"At the start of the session we had a small problem on one bike with the electronics but we swapped to the other bike and things were okay from there,” said Lorenzo, who won last year’s race at the circuit. “Little by little I found a good pace and at the end I was able to do a lot of laps in the 1‘34s.” Concluding, Lorenzo added: “My bike feels good here - as everyone says it is always a good track for Yamaha - and although we are still struggling a bit in the acceleration I am feeling good."
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Post by mlittle » Sat May 22, 2010 5:10 pm

LeMans-Bugatti Practice Session 1 Results
from L-R: position, bike #, rider, country, team, bike manufacturer, speed/kph, time, gap & gap to 1st


1 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 285.0 1'34.402
2 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 278.7 1'34.508 0.106 / 0.106
3 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 282.5 1'34.542 0.140 / 0.034
4 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 283.9 1'34.625 0.223 / 0.083
5 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 272.4 1'34.989 0.587 / 0.364
6 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 273.3 1'35.089 0.687 / 0.100
7 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 274.1 1'35.223 0.821 / 0.134
8 11 Ben SPIES USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 288.5 1'35.291 0.889 / 0.068
9 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 267.0 1'35.450 1.048 / 0.159
10 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 286.2 1'35.643 1.241 / 0.193
11 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 276.9 1'35.685 1.283 / 0.042
12 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 273.3 1'35.959 1.557 / 0.274
13 40 Hector BARBERA SPA Paginas Amarillas Aspar Ducati 274.3 1'36.009 1.607 / 0.050
14 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 283.8 1'36.086 1.684 / 0.077
15 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Team Ducati 276.3 1'36.292 1.890 / 0.206
16 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN Interwetten Honda MotoGP Honda 276.6 1'36.798 2.396 / 0.506
17 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 269.5 1'37.525 3.123 / 0.727
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Bautista to miss LeMans

Post by mlittle » Sun May 23, 2010 2:07 pm

-----Quoting MotoGP and other sources
-----Despite his best efforts to ride through the pain barrier at this weekend’s Monster Energy Grand Prix de France at Le Mans, Álvaro Bautista will not take part in Sunday’s race.

The decision was made by the rider and team on Saturday following the second practice session, in which the MotoGP rookie suffered a slow speed high side crash. Bautista is currently in the process of recovering from a broken collarbone, on which he had surgery eight days ago, and the 25 year-old landed on his injured side in the fall this morning.

“I knew that this weekend would be difficult for me but after the operation I have tried very hard to ride here,” Bautista told motogp.com. “Yesterday (Friday) I felt a lot of pain and it was difficult to ride. Today I was very confident because Doctor (Claudio) Costa in the Clinica Mobile gave me an injection, and I thought I could be better.”

Bautista continued: “But then I crashed at the beginning of the session and landed on my left side, and now I feel a little more pain so I prefer to not ride for this race, and to recover for the next one.”

The Rizla Suzuki team will not replace Bautista with a substitute rider, leaving Loris Capirossi to carry their challenge in the third round. Bautista will return to Spain for further treatment and to recuperate, to ensure he is in better shape for the next round at Mugello in a fortnight.
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Stoner Fastest in FP2

Post by mlittle » Sun May 23, 2010 2:08 pm

Image
.............The Ducati Marlboro rider topped the timesheet in the second practice on Saturday morning ahead of Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi, in a session in which Ben Spies, Álvaro Bautista and Mika Kallio all crashed inside the opening five minutes


-----Casey Stoner took the momentum from Valentino Rossi in the second practice session at Le Mans by setting the fastest time on Saturday morning, setting a time of 1’34.209 towards the end of the hour. The Australian shaved just under two-tenths of a second off Rossi’s time from Friday, in a session that had an extremely chaotic opening period.

Álvaro Bautista, Ben Spies and Mika Kallio all crashed inside the opening five minutes, with none returning to the track for the remainder of the practice. Bautista had a slow speed high side that does not bode well for his recovering shoulder and casts doubt over his further participation. Spies fell victim to the same type of crash immediately after as the lower 26ºC track temperature caused a few problems, as it had done for some of the 125cc riders earlier.

Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider Spies was stretchered off trackside and taken to the Clinica Mobile for an examination, where bruising to his left foot was confirmed. Kallio’s left shoulder was given the same diagnosis.

After the initial drama Stoner went on to head the timesheet, with Fiat Yamaha rider and current Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo 15 thousandths of a second off his pace to set the second best time of both the session and the combined practices. World Champion Rossi set the third quickest lap of FP2 with a time of 1’34.451.

Repsol Honda duo Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso were both inside the top five times, with Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro) and Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) sixth and seventh respectively. Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech3), Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) and Aleix Espargaró (Pramac Racing) completed the top ten. There was a minor fall with no consequence for Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) towards the end, the Italian setting the 12th fastest time.
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Post by mlittle » Sun May 23, 2010 2:09 pm

LeMans Bugatti Practice Session 2


1 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 282.0 1'34.209
2 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 280.2 1'34.224 0.015 / 0.015
3 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 288.7 1'34.451 0.242 / 0.227
4 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 271.8 1'34.497 0.288 / 0.046
5 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 280.8 1'34.538 0.329 / 0.041
6 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 278.8 1'34.970 0.761 / 0.432
7 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 280.3 1'34.985 0.776 / 0.015
8 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 277.4 1'35.015 0.806 / 0.030
9 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 274.2 1'35.083 0.874 / 0.068
10 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 281.8 1'35.351 1.142 / 0.268
11 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 286.2 1'35.511 1.302 / 0.160
12 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 276.3 1'36.010 1.801 / 0.499
13 40 Hector BARBERA SPA Paginas Amarillas Aspar Ducati 279.1 1'36.048 1.839 / 0.038
14 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN Interwetten Honda MotoGP Honda 282.6 1'36.175 1.966 / 0.127
36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Team Ducati 268.3 1'42.708 8.499 / 6.533
11 Ben SPIES USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 279.9 1'42.712 8.503 / 0.004
19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 247.9 1'44.784 10.575 / 2.072
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Rossi Takes LeMans Pole

Post by mlittle » Sun May 23, 2010 2:11 pm

Image
Fiat Yamaha rider sets the fastest time in qualifying to ensure he will start Sunday’s Monster Energy Grand Prix de France from pole. Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa will complete the front row.


-----Valentino Rossi topped a frantic qualifying to take pole position for Sunday’s Monster Energy Grand Prix de France, as the final ten minutes of the Saturday session saw the top spot on the timesheet change hands a number of times as the MotoGP riders pushed hard in the Le Mans sunshine. The Italian went round in a best time of 1’33.408 on the 28th of his 30 laps to take his first pole position of the 2010 season, and secure the prime starting spot at the French circuit for the first time since 2005.

Jorge Lorenzo made it a Fiat Yamaha one-two in the session as he went round just 0.054s off Rossi’s pace on the penultimate of his 31 laps, consistently riding amongst the fastest times, whilst Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) completed the front row of the starting grid with a fine effort late on as well.

Casey Stoner had been one of those competing for pole throughout the session but the Ducati Marlboro man had to settle for the first slot on the second row, 0.416s off Rossi’s time as he felt the benefit of some changes to his front forks. The Australian’s team-mate Nicky Hayden, at just two-hundredths behind, joined him as the final rider under the 1’34” mark to register the fifth best time. LCR Honda rider Randy de Puniet will start his home GP from the second row as well after an impressive session placed him sixth.

Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso pushed himself to the front of row three with a final lap that placed him seventh in the session, and Colin Edwards of the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team and Rizla Suzuki’s Loris Capirossi were eighth and ninth fastest respectively. Completing the top ten times of the session was Aleix Espargaró, who managed a run off at Turn 7 well to stay on his Ducati of the Pramac racing team and go on to set his best time with his last lap of the session.

Ben Spies (Monster Yamaha Tech3) and Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing) were both back on track after their crashes in free practice earlier in the day, and set the 12th and 16th fastest times respectively in qualifying.
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Post by mlittle » Sun May 23, 2010 2:13 pm

Starting Grid, Monster Energy Grand Prix of France


1 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 290.6 1'33.408
2 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 283.5 1'33.462 0.054 / 0.054
3 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 279.3 1'33.573 0.165 / 0.111

4 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 288.8 1'33.824 0.416 / 0.251
5 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 284.1 1'33.845 0.437 / 0.021
6 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 290.0 1'34.074 0.666 / 0.229

7 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 280.1 1'34.204 0.796 / 0.130
8 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 276.6 1'34.304 0.896 / 0.100
9 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 281.5 1'34.306 0.898 / 0.002

10 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 281.2 1'34.514 1.106 / 0.208
11 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 286.2 1'34.523 1.115 / 0.009
12 11 Ben SPIES USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 287.5 1'34.920 1.512 / 0.397

13 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 279.3 1'34.942 1.534 / 0.022
14 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN Interwetten Honda MotoGP Honda 285.8 1'34.979 1.571 / 0.037
15 40 Hector BARBERA SPA Paginas Amarillas Aspar Ducati 278.0 1'35.323 1.915 / 0.344

16 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Team Ducati 278.5 1'35.810 2.402 / 0.487
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Lorenzo Wins at LeMans

Post by mlittle » Mon May 24, 2010 5:21 pm

Image
FIAT Yamaha Teammates Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi


----Jorge Lorenzo’s commanding win in the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France at Le Mans not only extended his lead at the top of the MotoGP World Championship to nine points on Sunday, but also delivered the 23 year-old back-to-back victories in the premier class for the first time in his career. Lorenzo rode a superb race to overcome the challenge of team-mate and title rival Valentino Rossi, eventually beating the Italian – who made it a Fiat Yamaha one-two – by a margin of 5.672s over the finish line.

"I am so happy to win for the second race in a row, it's the first time for me in MotoGP and it makes me feel very confident in myself,” enthused Lorenzo, whose practice of his race starts paid off. “Finally I made a good start, which I'm really happy about, then I easily got past Pedrosa.”

He continued: “Passing Valentino wasn't so easy because he was braking so deep and I had to be very patient, something that I might not have managed one year ago! Finally I overtook him but I didn't expect to be able to get away like that. My bike and Bridgestone tyres just felt so good and it wasn't difficult for me to keep this pace up.”

Lorenzo won the MotoGP race at the French circuit last year and was second in his premier class debut at Le Mans the year before, and he added: “I have had a good time in Le Mans since I joined Yamaha; one second place and two victories, so I think I can say I enjoy racing here in France!” There was also another interesting celebration from the Spaniard as he pulled up a chair in front of a big screen at the circuit and ate popcorn, following on from his water-based antics at the last round at Jerez.

Focusing on the fourth round at Mugello in a fortnight, a track at which he finished second last season, Lorenzo expects a tough battle to maintain his advantage at the top of the standings. “It is fantastic to be leading the Championship but there is a long way to go and now we go to Mugello, a track that I love but where my rivals are very strong,” he concluded.


Results from the 2010 Monster Energy Grand Prix of France...........
1} Jorge Lorenzo(SPN/Fiat Yamaha), 28 laps
2} Valentino Rossi(ITA(Fiat Yamaha), -5.672 sec
3} Andrea Dovizioso(ITA/Repsol Honda), -7.872 sec
4} Nicky Hayden(USA/Ducati Marlboro), -9.346 sec
5} Dani Pedrosa(SPN/Repsol Honda), -12.613 sec
6} Marco Melandri(ITA/San Carlo Honda), -21.928 sec
7} Randy de Puniet(FRA/LCR Honda), -29.288 sec
8} Hector Barbera(SPN/Aspar Ducati), -33.128 sec
9} Aleix Esparargo(SPN/Parmac Ducati), -33.493 sec
10} Marco Simoncelli(ITA/San Carlo Honda), -33.805 sec
11} Hiroshi Aoyama(JPN/Interwetten Honda), -34.346 sec
12} Colin Edwards(USA/Monster Tech 3 Yamaha), -37.123 sec
13} Mika Kallio(FIN/Pramac Ducati), -55.061 sec
NC--Loris Capirossi(ITA/Rizla Suzuki), -22 laps
NC--Ben Spies(USA/Monster Tech 3 Yamaha), -22 laps
NC--Casey Stoner(AUS/Ducati Marlboro), -26 laps
DNS--Alvaro Bautista(SPN/Rizla Suzuki)
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