At the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France, Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner achieved his first career triumph at the Le Mans circuit. The contest for second place was intense right until the finish, but it was fellow Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso who secured the 20 points, finishing ahead of Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team), who celebrated his first podium while riding a Ducati.
Stoner’s victory marked his 25th win in the MotoGP series, as he delivered a commanding performance, eventually winning by a margin exceeding 14 seconds. With this being his second win of the season, the Australian has climbed to second in the overall standings, now trailing Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) by 12 points.
The French GP witnessed a record-breaking attendance of 88,400 fans at the Le Mans circuit for today’s MotoGP race, while the three-day event attracted a total of 176,200 spectators. Fortunately, the rain stayed away, allowing the large and enthusiastic crowd to enjoy an exciting race filled with action. Towards the conclusion, the spotlight shifted to the competition between Dovizioso and Rossi. As in the previous race in Portugal, the Honda rider successfully defended against the nine-time World Champion’s advances, posting his best finish of the season. For Rossi, this marked his best result of the year and Ducati’s second podium finish.
Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda), known for his explosive starts, took the lead over Stoner for the opening lap until Stoner moved ahead on the following lap to take command of the race. Pedrosa remained close to the leader for the initial half of the 28-lap race, but eventually succumbed to Simoncelli’s challenge. On lap 17, the Italian overtook the Repsol Honda rider, leading to a controversial incident as Pedrosa attempted to reclaim second place; a touch between the two left Pedrosa with a shoulder injury, ending his race prematurely.
Following the race, it was confirmed that Pedrosa had suffered a broken right collarbone. Race officials deemed Simoncelli’s maneuver illegal, resulting in a ride-through penalty for the Cattolica-born rider. Ultimately, the 24-year-old finished in fifth place, missing out on his chance for a first-ever MotoGP podium.
Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing), marking his 150th Grand Prix start – a record for youngest rider to achieve this milestone – faced a challenging start on Sunday due to a crash during warm-up that damaged his bike and injured his finger. After briefly moving ahead of Dovizioso for a top-four position early in the race, the 2010 MotoGP World Champion struggled and fell back behind his competitors, including Simoncelli and Rossi, finishing in fourth place.
Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) matched his best result of the 2011 season with a sixth-place finish, replicating his performance from the opening race in Losail. The American was overtaken by Simoncelli, who managed to outpace him despite a ride-through penalty. Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) finished in seventh place, while Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini) had a solitary race, concluding in eighth position.
Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar) emerged victorious in a long-fought battle for ninth place, having engaged in an exciting contest with Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing), who finished tenth. Toni Elías (LCR Honda) and Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) rounded out the top twelve in 11th and 12th place, respectively. After a rocky start to his MotoGP return, Elías demonstrated signs of his former prowess, which earned him the 2010 Moto2 World Championship, climbing to 11th place in the initial stages of the race, though he encountered a major setback that left him at the back of the pack. The 28-year-old, however, managed to work his way through the field following a challenging start to the season.
Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) performed impressively by qualifying sixth on his inaugural visit to Le Mans but fell victim to a lowsider while in ninth position on lap five, leading to his first non-finish as a rookie. The day took a turn for Monster Yamaha Tech 3 during their home race, as Colin Edwards also crashed out mid-race but managed to return and earn some points.
For the French fans, it was a disappointing day as they had hoped to see Randy de Puniet (Pramac Racing) achieve his best result of the season. Unfortunately, the French Ducati rider crashed into the gravel on lap two and walked back to the pits feeling dejected. Similarly, Loris Capirossi (Pramac Racing) faced a comparable fate, crashing out near the race’s conclusion.
