MotoGP 2002 - Round 4 - Le Mans

Starting from pole on the closest qualifying grid ever, with just 2.215 seconds covering all 20 riders, Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda Team RCV211V) won his third race out of four so far this season at Le Mans today. He timed his charge into the lead from third place to perfection as the rain-hit race was stopped two laps later. Tohru Ukawa (Repsol Honda Team RCV211V) finished second after making much of the running, with Max Biaggi (Yamaha) third.

A 70,000 crowd watched Rossi take an early lead before Ukawa moved past him on lap nine as rain began to fall, Biaggi also going past at the same time. Biaggi then moved ahead to lead briefly before Ukawa moved inside him two laps later on the revised 4.180km track, 125m shorter than last year. Drizzle continued to fall on the new part of the circuit and grip levels became unpredictable. Lap times dropped by a second to around the 1m 38.5s mark, then the light rain eased and the pace crept up again.

Rossi re-took Biaggi on lap 19 before stalking Ukawa and then diving underneath him at the Chemin de Boeuf left/right chicane two laps later. A few laps later the race was red flagged when the rain intensified, giving Rossi his first-ever win at Le Mans, but the Italian would have been happier had he won under more usual circumstances.

"A race like this is difficult," said Rossi. "Much more difficult than normal. It's 25 points for me, but it's just as easy not to finish the race at all in these conditions. There was rain on the new part of the track. On some laps there was more rain, sometimes less, it was difficult and I was very lucky. I was conserving my tyres as it was not possible to go at 100 per cent all the time. The rain was at its worst when the race was stopped, so yes, I have 25 points - but it was not an ideal way to finish a race."

Second-placed Ukawa was less fortunate. He was running a strong second when the flags came out and felt he could have made a bid for the win. "That was really difficult," he said. "I could have done with more laps and maybe things could have been different, but when the weather is like this, even that might not have helped me. I tried my best and I did OK."

Loris Capirossi (West Honda Pons NSR500) started form his lowest grid position (seventh) since the German Grand Prix last year and finished seventh after running as high as fifth in the early stages. "It was a difficult day," he said. "They were very strange conditions. I put on a harder tyre for the race expecting it to run cooler but it ran hotter. But I have to be reasonably happy because I'm still third in the championship."

After a difficult time in qualifying Alex Barros (West Honda Pons NSR500) came from the fourth row of the grid to finish eighth, but felt he performed well below his best. "Not so good," said the Brazilian. "Compared to the other two-strokes I was well down and just didn't feel good. I just want to forget this race and look ahead to Mugello."

Daijiro Kato (Fortuna Honda Gresini NSR500) had made a charge into fourth place and was right on the leading group's tail when he crashed without injury at the Dunlop Bridge chicane in the difficult conditions. "I didn't get a very good start," he said. "But I soon got into a good rhythm and caught the leading group. But then my rear tyre let go and I'm not sure it was the rain that caused it."

Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Kanemoto Racing Honda NSR500) finished 15th after opting for soft compound race tyres. "I really blew it today," said the Dutchman. "The rear tyre I chose was too soft. I felt it was the best way to go, but I was wrong. Once I was back in 15th place I could make no impression on the guys in front of me."

Tetsuya Harada (Pramac Honda NSR500) ran off track and as he rejoined the circuit he hit Yamaha duo Shinya Nakano and Olivier Jacque. He pitted for repairs, rejoined the race, but retired after 11 laps. "It's a shame," he said. "I felt very comfortable and I could have had a good finish. But we are improving all the time and that's the important thing."

Honda riders now fill the top three places in the MotoGP World Championship standings: Rossi on 95 points, Ukawa second with 61 and Capirossi third with 45.

The 250 race was decided on the last two laps when Marco Melandri (Aprilia) swapped places four times with Fonsi Nieto (Aprilia) but failed to make a pass stick when it counted. Nieto kept him out in the final turns to win his second consecutive victory. Flying Frenchman Randy De Puniet (Aprilia) was a popular third place finisher with the big home crowd.

Robby Rolfo (Fortuna Honda Gresini NSR250) rode typically hard to stay in touch with the leaders but could only manage fifth place. "The problems we had yesterday were still there," said the Italian who holds a strong second place in the championship behind Nieto. "The team worked long and hard but we were still slightly short of speed on the straights. I made a little mistake and got squeezed at the start and then got caught in traffic at the first corner. I just couldn't make up the ground. My lap times were almost OK, but not quite good enough to make up the gap to the leaders."

Emilio Alzamora (Fortuna Honda Gresini NSR250) was seventh and glad of the points. "I should have done better," he said. "But I'm happy because I earned the points I need, that's the important thing. The team worked really well and from the warm-up my bike was competitive."

Haruchika Aoki (Arie Molenaar Racing Honda RS250R/W) was forced off the track by Tony Elias (Aprilia) while lying eighth and had to retire from the race.

The 125s provided typically frantic entertainment with Lucio Cecchinello (Aprilia) taking a win from Manuel Poggiali (Gilera) with Daniel Pedrosa (Telefonica Movistar Jr Team Honda RS125R) finishing a strong third after leading the race in the early laps from a front row start.

"It was very difficult," said Pedrosa. "Especially after some riders made mistakes and allowed Cecchinello and Poggiali to escape. Poggiali was very hard to catch and I also had to defend my position because Azuma was so close."

Masao Azuma (Liégeois Competition Honda RS125R) eventually finished fifth after a race-long battle with local hope Arnaud Vincent (Aprilia). "Vincent was fast," said Azuma. "And of course he was even faster because he's a French guy in France. I could only pass him on the brakes and I overdid it a couple of times, especially once at the chicane. I enjoyed it but it was a hard race."

Rookie Mika Kallio (Red Devil Honda RS125R) rode another strong race to finish eighth after starting from the sixth row of the grid and Andrea Dovizioso (CE BA Corse Honda RS125R) was ninth after running seventh with the leading bunch of nine riders for most of the race.

Vincent now leads the World Championship on 78 points, with Poggiali second on 61, Cecchinello on 57 and Pedrosa fourth with 53.

The next event on the Grand Prix calendar is the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello on June 2.

HONDA TEAM QUOTES:
MotoGP:
Valentino Rossi, Repsol Honda, 1st: "Races like this are very difficult. In some parts of the track is rain, in some parts sun. The conditions are very unpredictable. I was lucky to finish. I made a good start but had a little problem with he tyres so I attacked and made some fast laps and go to first position. The rain then comes and we stop the race. Sure, it's not the best way to win a race but it's still 25 points and is good for the championship. I am happy to win at Le Mans at last."

Tohru Ukawa, Repsol Honda, 2nd: "Valentino put his hand up. When the rain comes we stop. I made a great start beating the two Yamaha's off the line and followed Valentino for nine laps. He made a mistake and I led for 10 laps. The bike felt great, much better than in practice. We made adjustments to the suspension and I had much greater feeling in the race. I should be happy with second position but I'm not really. I have won one race this season and I know I can win more. The gap is getting larger between Valentino and me. I now look forward to Mugello where I want to go one better."

Noriaki Nakata, Repsol Honda Team Manager: "I am very happy. The team is working well and we are very proud to have won every race this year on the RC211V. The bike lays first and second in the championship with Valentino and Tohru, and Honda is leading the constructor's championship and Repsol Honda is leading the team competition. We are not complacent. There are 12 races to go and other teams are making rapid progress. We will work hard to stay ahead."

Loris Capirossi, West Honda Pons, 7th: "It was a difficult day, very strange. I put in a harder tyre expecting it to run cooler but it ran hotter. But I have to be reasonably happy because I'm still third in the championship."

Alex Barros, West Honda Pons, 8th: "Not so good. I had the same problem in the race that I had in the warm-up, no acceleration and no power. Also, compared to the other 2-strokes I had a big, big problem, it felt very bad. The 2-strokes just flew by me. I didn't feel good on the bike. I just want to forget this GP. Now we go to Mugello, where I won last year. At least I have a positive feeling about that track."

Jurgen van den Goorbergh, Kanemoto Honda, 15th: "I chose too soft a compound rear tyre and it destroyed itself. After qualifying I felt it was the best but I was wrong. I really blew it today. Once I was in 15th place I could make no impression on the guys in font of me. I could hold them but not catch them. The front tyre performed the best it has all season. But with the rear it was a question of whether I would have finished the race. I'm very disappointed with my choice of set-up."

Team owner - manager Erv Kanemoto said of the team's set-up decision: "The way things went on Friday we thought we could find an ideal set-up for the machine for a good weekend. But the weather on Saturday forced us to make changes and we also lost some time to a gearshift problem. We had a few options for the race but the one we ran Jurgen felt would be best for him. The settings and tyres we used on Friday would probably have been a better choice. On the positive side we learned a lot this weekend, particularly about this type of track surface."

Daijiro Kato, Fortuna Honda Gresini, crashed: "I didn't start very well but in a very short time I found a really good rhythm and I felt the result was in the air, it was a pity hat I crashed but I didn't have any damage. I didn't crash because of the rain, I was going really fast because I could catch the leading riders when the rear tyre of my bike lost grip."

Fausto Gresini: "The races are like this: anything can happen, at any time. I'm satisfied because also today Daijiro gave a demonstration of how good a rider he is and able to run at the same times as the best riders. I don't think that was a fault of the rain, I'm sure that Kato was going very fast to attack the leading three riders. In Mugello I think he will merit a big result."

250cc:
Roberto Rolfo, Fortuna Honda Gresini, 5th: "It was difficult to do better than this fifth place. Because, from the start I was in the middle of a lot of riders and I could not get out. The lead group had gone and I could not recover more ground. It was a strange weekend, my bike was not perfect, and it didn't give me the maximum possible. Now, with my team, we will analyse the data: in Mugello I want to arrive at the front. Anyway the championship classification comforts me."

Emilio Alzamora, Fortuna Honda Gresini, 7th: "I'm sorry about the race because I should have done better but I'm happy because I earned points that I need for the championship classification. This is the thing that is most important for me. The team worked really well and from the warm-up my bike was really competitive. At Mugello I have to be absolutely in front, also from practice, to defend my third place in the points standings."

Fausto Gresini: "I should say that today we didn't have a lot of damage, but if I look at the classification I'm happy. We must work and do something new for Mugello. Especially to start nearer the front, it's not possible ever to recover from such lowly positions as today."

125cc:
Dani Pedrosa, Telefonica MoviStar Honda, 3rd: "I said yesterday it was going to be a complicated race, because at corners with hard braking, together is always the chance for people to make very aggressive overtaking moves. It makes the races quite a lottery. I made a good start, and found I was at the front - but then I almost crashed and I lost the lead. When de Angelis fell in front of me, that put me a little bit out of touch, and I had to ride to the maximum to catch up again to Cecchinello and Poggiali. I was just able to catch them in the last lap, but that was the most I could do. In the final bends, I concentrated on keeping the door closed especially for Azuma, who tends in the end to make passes that upset everything! He tried to overtake me in the entry to the second-last corner, but it didn't work."

Joan Olive: "What can I say - except what a pity. I made a good start, and I knew I could keep the pace and stay with the leading group. Then in the middle stages of the race, the front wheel tucked under, and I fell. I don't know exactly what happened with Sanna, because he was behind me, then suddenly I saw he was also down. I lost a good opportunity to score some valuable points."

Masao Azuma, Tribe by Breil Honda, 5th: "That was a hard race. I was in a good position when De Angelis crashed in front of me, I had to shut off to miss him and it cost me a lot of time. But the bike was running well, tyres chassis everything. I just needed a little more top speed because I was having to outbrake people to get back with the leaders. I got to fourth and tried to get Pedrosa on he last corner. I did but almost hit Poggialli. I went onto the rumble strip and lost fourth to Vincent. Still, that's the best the bike has run for three races so I'm pleased wit that."

Mika Kallio, Red Devil Honda, 8th: "I got a reasonable start and was running well but crash ahead of me put gravel on the track and that cost me time. But I just tried my best and worked my way forward. I'm pleased with the result, considering my grid position. The bike was great. Chassis, suspension, tyres and he engine. I have good top speed but need a little more acceleration to be with the lead group."

Andrea Dovizioso, Scott Racing Honda, 9th: "I got a bad start but I was very good in the first few laps and could catch the lead guys. Unfortunately with five laps to go another rider tried to outbrake me and we both ran wide and lost touch with the group ahead of us."