Grand Prix De France 2009
Grand Prix de France was a real thriller, with Le Mans experienceing four seasons in a day. The unpredictable weather turned out to be a boon for few and a bane for the others. In Saturday’s qualifying session, Spaniard Dani Pedrosa snatched his first pole position of the 2009 season, right at the end of the session. The qualifying took place on a dry track, as the morning rain gave way to afternoon sunshine. Pedrosa had fellow spaniard Jorge Lorenzo(Fiat Yamaha) and Casey Stoner(Ducati Marlboro) alongside him on the front row. Defending champion, Valentino Rossi qualified in 4th place, which was a big step forward having lapped eleventh fastest on Saturday morning practice.
The weathermen had predicted an 80% chance for rain on Sunday and they
were proved right, as the race started on a wet surface and was completed on slicks. Spanish star Jorge Lorenjo judged conditions brilliantly and found the perfect remedy for his Jerez frustrations, by clinching victory here. He took the lead on the first lap and shot away at the front, eventually winning by a 17 second margin. He was quick on both sets of tyres and was the last driver to change to slicks. Hayate Racing’s Marco Melandri had a brilliant race as he crossed the line second for his first podium since 2007. Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa hunted down his team-mate Andrea Dovizioso on the final lap, to clinch third place. Valentino Rossi had a chaotic race, which saw the world champion swap his bike three times, suffer a crash, being slapped with a ride-through penalty for speeding in the pits and eventually finishing last. Casey Stoner was fifth and Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki) sixth.
In the 250 cc series, Álvaro Bautista had won his second pole of the season. World Champion Marco Simoncelli sat behind him in the 2nd place. And it was Simoncelli who took victory on Sunday’s race. This was his second consecutive podium finish, after his pointless visits to Qatar and Japan. Héctor Faubel finished 2nd, a good 18 seconds behind, and Roberto Locatelli came home third.
The 125 cc, 16 year old Red Bull KTM rider Marc Márquez set his first career pole position, right at the end of the qualifying session. Behind the young Spaniard on the Grand Prix de France grid was another 16 year old, Scott Redding. Series leader Iannone qualified way down the order at 23rd, as a result of a crash he suffered, but he was fit to race. In the race, however, it was Julián Simón who came up trumps. He put his disappointing weekend in Jerez behind him, dealing brilliantly with the difficult conditions to take the chequered flag coming from 7th on the grid. German 15 year-old Jonas Folger rode an impressive race to finish 2nd and Sergio Gadea completed the rostrum places. Andrea Iannone remounted from a first lap crash to finish seventh.
In the MotoGP standings, as a result of his disastrous weekend, Rossi slips down to a joint second place with Stoner. Rossi, for once, got his strategy wrong and suffered a costly fifth lap crash having made an early switch onto slicks. However, this disappointment ensures that he would be doubly motivated for his home GP, in two weeks time. Jorge Lorenzo again leads the series, although just by a point. And, Pedrosa is closing-in all the time. Watch who scores over whom in this four-way battle, as the focus shifts to Mugello for the Italian Grand Prix.
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