Valentino Rossi (Italy) won the French Grand Prix today taking his 90th victory in all classes, tying Angel Nieto for second place on the all-time list (The legendary Giacomo Agostini leads overall with 122 victories. )
Rossii moved into the Moto GP overall lead. He said "To tie Nieto is like a dream," "I didn't expect to be so fast, but we made some modifications after the warm-up and the bike worked well. "I haven't won two races in a row since 2006. That means we are back in business."
Starting from the second row on the grid, Rossi exchanged some fantastic passes with defending overall champion Casey Stoner (Australia) on the sixth lap before taking the lead.
Once in the lead Rossi quickly escaped the pack, while Dani Pedrosa accelerated past Stoner on the 10th lap. The Australian rider retired on the 20th lap because of a mechanical problem. Jorge Lorenzo staged an impressive comeback, despite two injured ankles and crashes on Friday and Saturday, to overtake Edwards on the 19th lap and Pedrosa on the next lap to finish second. Colin Edwards of the United States finished third. Rossi leads with 97 points after five rounds. Pedrosa and Lorenzo are next with 94.
In the 250cc category, Alex Debon of Spain notched his first career victory. Mika Kallio of Finland came fifth, but kept his lead in the standings with 93 points. Pasini remained second with 77 points.
In the 125cc class, Mike Di Meglio ended a 26-year drought for French riders at Le Mans by overtaking Bradley Smith of Britain with two laps to go and capture the lead in the overall standings. Di Meglio leads with 74 points, eight clear of Nicolas Terol of Spain, who finished third.
The next round will be held on June 1 in Mugello, Italy.
FRENCH GRAND PRIX RESULTS LE MANS, France
Results Sunday 18/05/08 from the French Grand Prix at the 4.185-kilometer (2.597-mile) circuit
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Moto GP
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1. Valentino Rossi, Italy, Yamaha, 44 minutes, 30.799 seconds.
2. Jorge Lorenzo, Spain, Yamaha, 44:35.796.
3. Colin Edwards, United States, Yamaha, 44:37.604.
4. Dani Pedrosa, Spain, Honda, 44:40.956.
5. Chris Vermeulen, Australia, Suzuki, 44:52.561.
6. Andre Dovizioso, Italy, Honda, 44:53.194.
7. Loris Capirossi, Italy, Suzuki, 44:58.605.
8. Nicky Hayden, United States, Honda, 44:58.794.
9. Randy De Puniet, France, Honda, 45:00.143.
10. Shinya Nakano, Japan, Honda, 45:01.621.
Overall Standings (after 5 of 15 races):
1. Valentino Rossi, Italy, 97 points.
2. Dani Pedrosa, Spain, 94.
2. Jorge Lorenzo, Spain, 94.
4. Casey Stoner, Australia, 56.
5. Colin Edwards, United States, 47.
6. Loris Capirossi, Italy, 42.
7. Nicky Hayden, United States, 37.
8. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy, 36.
9. James Toseland, Britain, 33.
10. Shinya Nakano, Japan, 28.
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250cc
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1. Alex Debon, Spain, Lotus Aprilia, 47 minutes, 27.406 seconds.
2. Marco Simoncelli, Italy, Gilera, 47:32.222.
3. Mattia Pasini, Italy, Aprilia, 47:32.404.
4. Yuki Takahashi, Japan, Honda, 47:33.176.
5. Mika Kallio, Finland, KTM, 47:33.603.
6. Manuel Poggiali, San Marino, Aprilia, 47:33.880.
7. Hiroshi Aoyama, Japan, KTM, 47:42.315.
8. Julian Simon, Spain, Repsol KTM, 47:44.932.
9. Aleix Espargo, Spain, Aprilia, 48:00.331.
10. Hector Faubel, Spain, Aprilia, 48:04.125.
Overall Standings (after 5 of 14 races):
1. Mika Kallio, Finland, 93 points.
2. Mattia Pasini, Italy, 77.
3. Alex Debon, Spain, 59.
3. Yuki Takahashi, Japan, 59.
5. Hector Barbera, Spain, 53.
5. Hiroshi Aoyama, Japan, 53.
5. Marco Simoncelli, Italy, 53.
8. Alvaro Bautista, Spain, 41.
9. Aleix Espargaro, Spain, 33.
10. Julian Simon, Spain, 31.
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125cc
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1. Mike De Meglio, France, Derbi, 8 minutes, 10.046 seconds.
2. Bradley Smith, Britain, Aprilia, 8:10.711.
3. Nicolas Terol, Spain, Aprilia, 8:11.449.
4. Pol Espargo, Spain, Derbi, 8:16.358.
5. Andrea Iannone, Italy, Aprilia, 8:19.064.
6. Stefan Bradl, Germany, Aprilia, 8:19.930.
7. Joan Olive, Spain, Derbi, 8:21.736.
8. Lorenzo Zanetti, Italy, KTM, 8:22.601.
9. Raffaele de Rosa, Italy, KTM, 8:25.485.
10. Sandro Cortese, Germany, Aprilia, 8:28.044.
Overall Standings (after 5 of 14 races)
1. Mike Di Meglio, France, 74 points.
2. Nicolas Terol, Spain, 66.
3. Simone Corsi, Italy, 61.
4. Joan Olive, Spain, 59.
5. Stefan Bradl, Germany, 58.
6. Andrea Iannone, Italy, 43.
7. Pol Espargaro, Spain, 39.
8. Bradley Smith, Britain, 36.
9. Sergio Gadea, Spain, 32.
10. Gabor Talmacsi, Hungary, 30.
Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton on becoming Formula One World Champion 2008.
After a rollercoaster season of F1 races, steward's enquiries, appeals and a few crazy moments. The F1 Driver's Championship comes to the final race today at Interlagos in Brazil.
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo is keen for the FIA to change the rules regarding team orders in Formula One.
Fernando Alonso won the Japanese Grand Prix. After driving a perfect race to follow up on his win in Singapore.
