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2007-05-21 Rider impressions after rainy Le Mans MotoGP race
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 Race at Le Mans brought so many excitements, pleasant for some of riders, but also unpleasant for many of them. Rapidly changing track conditions, many different riders in front, many crashes - all this made French Grand Prix most exciting race of MotoGP season so far. Read rider thoughts about this race.
Chris Vermeulen - race winner
I’m absolutely over the moon! I am really happy for myself, my crew and everyone involved in the team. We’d had a difficult weekend coming into the race as not everything quite went to plan - but we were getting quicker and quicker and I’m sure if it had been dry today we would have improved more. The conditions were slippery to start with and it was difficult to know how hard to push. Some guys came past me and then a lap or so later they crashed! It started to rain quite heavy and I decided to come in and change my bike. I came back out and just stuck my head down and tried to get the tyres up to heat up as quick as possible. The bike felt really good in the rain, but as it got heavier it made it hard to hold the bike in top gear down the straight - there was so much water it was just spinning the rear! Tom O’Kane – my Crew Chief - and the rest of the guys gave me a really good wet bike today as we hadn’t done much wet testing with the new 800. The tyre choice was spot-on and the bike was certainly good enough to win on!
Marco Melandri - 2nd
It was an amazing race. From the start it was very difficult on slick tyres and many riders who are not normally in the top were really pushing. I didn’t push then. When it started raining hard I didn’t know when best to come into the pit and change to wet tyres because half the track was wet and half not so bad. When I caught Chris (Vermeulen) I didn’t want to pass him and decided to wait. But I have short legs and could not get my knee down onto the track to control the front and had a couple of big slides, one in sixth gear. So I decided to let Chris go.
Casey Stoner - 3rd
I was surprised to stay upright really! I thought it was going to be difficult to finish because a lot of people were slipping off for what looked like no reason. In the first part of the race it was light rain and there were a lot of people going fast but a couple of corners later they'd be on the ground, so you weren't too sure how hard to push. We got through that part, got on the wet-weather tyres at the right time and from there just tried to play it smart. I felt like we did that today, we did everything right. I went back to eighth or ninth or something - I couldn't really see my pit board with all the rain - then at the end we managed to pull back up to a podium position and bring it home. The Ducati and the Bridgestones seemed to work really good in the wet, considering we haven't had time to get used to them in the rain. I did have a few issues with rear grip, so I hope it's wet tomorrow so can do some more wet testing.
Dani Pedrosa - 4th
Well I’m really happy with the result because this was a very hard race and we came through strongly. We learned a lot from the previous wet race in Australia last year and this time the change of bikes was very quick which meant I could keep ahead of the riders who were behind me as I came into the pits. My team did a great job so thank you to them. Although it’s only fourth place I’m very happy today because I needed a good result like this in the wet and it gives me a lot of confidence.
Alex Hofmann – 5th
I’m very happy and satisfied, because after two bad days, today it felt very good. The race was very animated today, after few laps it started to rain and I decided to come back and change by bike even if the other riders still continued; clearly it was the right decision. Suddenly I found a good race pace and I was confident with the bike and Bridgestone tyres, I couldn’t expect anything better! It is my best result in MotoGP and I hope to continue like today. I would like to say thanks to my Team because they worked very well.
Valentino Rossi - 6th
Of course I'm very upset about this result because I had a very good feeling in the dry at the start. We made some good modifications to the bike, it was working very well and I thought I was going to be able to fight for the victory. Unfortunately the weather ruined it for us today! We made the pit stop and started the second part of race with hard rain tyres, because we thought it was only going to be light rain. Sadly we were wrong and when the rain got heavier my tyre was too hard for the conditions and I couldn't push.
I was very slow from then on and didn't have any grip from the rear. In the last five laps it was quite dangerous as it was very hard to stay upright and I think I lost five or six seconds per lap at the end. We had hoped that this would be a track at which we could gain some ground on Stoner and it's going to be a very hard battle from here because he is very fast, not just on the straights but everywhere! I want to congratulate Chris Vermeulen today because he rode a great race, I think he's a bit of a magician in the rain!
John Hopkins - 7th
Firstly I want to say well done to Chris and well done to Suzuki for standing on top of the podium. It is certainly an achievement to stand on the podium two races in a row; hopefully we can carry that streak on together. As for the race we chose one of the hardest slick rear tyres that we had, so I had to take it easy to get it up to temperature. Once it was there and I had confidence in it I was able to go from 12th to first in a short space of time. Everything was going fine until it started raining harder. I think we made the right decision when to come in to change the bike. I tried to get used to riding in the wet and it all seemed to be going alright, but we had some minor adjustment problems that hindered us a bit. At the end of the day I kept it on two wheels and finished the race with some good points. We will take the positives from this weekend and although I am disappointed to finish where I did after all the hard work we put in in the dry, it’s now time to move onto a lot of tracks that I enjoy and continue this podium streak for Rizla Suzuki!
Loris Capirossi - 8th
I'm very sad because I had the chance of a good result in the rain. I changed bikes at the best moment, swapping over a lap before the others and I found myself up front with Chris [Vermeulen, the race winner] but I soon realised something was wrong because the bike was very difficult to ride. The engine mapping wasn't right, the team had made a mistake. It's a real shame and even if I understand that this kind of thing happens I'm obviously not happy. I had to defend myself as best as I could and it wasn't easy because I risked falling every time I braked. Now we just have to look forward to the next race.
Makoto Tamada - 9th
That was a very different race. I am happy to finish but I am not overly happy because I had the potential to go faster but I have no complaint with anything as we raced in such severe conditions. We also learnt many things in this race as when it was just a little bit wet I lost too much time and it was hard to decide at what time was best to come in. When it became very wet the lap times became a lot better and I felt very comfortable and in those conditions we had a lot of grip with the Dunlop tyres. Now we are here to test for a couple of days so it is important for us to work a lot on the bad points we have when the track is not dry but not all wet. This is a good result for the team and I know now that we are making many improvements that will help us for the rest of the year.
Sylvain Guintoli - 10th:
That was a pretty funny race but I am extremely happy with the entire weekend. This is something special for me to do what I did in front of my home crowd with my good qualifying and the race. I got a very bad start as I wheelied off the line. I felt very confident passing everybody as I was trying to find a rhythm and the next thing I know I am in front with no one to chase. When I was in front for that one lap I didn't think about it, I just went for it. I was very surprised when the rear came around and made me crash as it didn't seem that wet. If I hadn't crashed I would have stayed out for a few more laps as it was not really wet enough to change bike. 10th is my best result so I have to be very happy even with a crash but the entire weekend has been brilliant. We can take a lot out of this weekend as we got rid of any doubts about how competitive we can be. I am now very confident with the bike and my riding and I am looking forward to Mugello to continue my progress.
Fonsi Nieto, 11th
Conditions couldn't really have been worse for my MotoGP debut than they were today; it was possibly the most difficult race of my life, but as an experience it was definitely worth it. Today was also my 100th Grand Prix start; so to finish the race with five championship points was a nice present. The rain started while we were sat on the grid, and it was at this point that I decided to take is steady to make sure I finished the race, and hopefully in the points. This is what the team asked me to do and I did it. The experience of going into the pits to switch bikes was pretty unique, although I was a little bit nervous because I didn't want to make any mistakes. I made sure I kept a safety margin from the start of the race as my first target was to learn as much as I could, by completing as many laps as possible and bringing the bike home. We achieved this objective. The welcome I received from everyone in the team has been amazing, and they have made me feel at home from the start. I would like to thank them for all they have done for me this weekend.
Colin Edwards - 12th
We encountered some problems that I've run into before - in Australia last year when I crashed in the rain and at the Jerez test this year. It's hard to explain, but to me it feels like it's related to the engine braking - when we've got less traction from the tyres in the wet it just seems to appear. I think even yesterday's crash was down to something similar. Basically I try to put it into the corner but the rear comes round on me and it slides. Valentino and I have quite different styles - he holds the clutch in there a lot longer whilst I just kind of dump it and today it was a big problem for me. To be honest that wasn't really rain racing for me, it was more like ice racing and it was impossible. At the start it was at its worst because being on a slick tyre with a damp track just exacerbated the problem. I came in early because in the circumstances I thought I'd gamble and hope it was going to chuck it down with rain, but a few laps out there on rain tyres when it wasn't that wet wasn't fun either. I came back in again, thinking maybe the tyre was too hard, and we tried a softer rain tyre and that was better in the end. I'm really sorry to the team and to everyone involved; I don't like wasting my first pole and I had hoped for great things today.
Randy de Puniet - DNF
I am so disappointed and I'm sorry for my crew, the team, Kawasaki and Bridgestone as they have all worked so hard. The race was declared wet from the start, but I think we all opted to start on slick tyres because the rain was not so heavy, just a few spots, and you can never be sure what will happen in these conditions. Once again I had some problems from the start and I lost some places in the run to the first corner, though I was feeling confident on the bike and I was quickly able to fight myself through the field and take the lead. And then the rain started to fall harder and I was about to come in to switch bikes when I crashed. Maybe I was too fast, I don't know, but the result was that the rear came round on me at the Esses Bleus and down I went. It's a shame because running at the front of the field in my home Grand Prix was a fantastic feeling. But, I learnt an important lesson today and I hope that I will have the opportunity to lead a race again this season, when I might handle things differently. We showed today that we're in good shape and now we must look to securing a good result in the next race at Mugello.
Nicky Hayden - DNF
That’s a shame for sure. We had a pretty solid fourth place there with just a couple of laps to go and the bike was feeling pretty good in the wet. But then as soon as I touched the brake at the end of the back straight it folded on me. I hadn’t even started back-shifting yet and before I knew it I was just picking up speed as I hit the ground – it was a rough ride. It sucks, but it seems like no bones are broken and that’s a good thing, though I’ve damaged some cartilage in my ribcage.
Carlos Checa - DNF
It was a difficult day in these conditions. I was comfortable early in the race and going into the chicane with a group of riders I saw Valentino (Rossi) on the outside and then Barros cut the gas early. I tried to avoid them by going inside but I arrived a little bit too fast and was not able to stop the bike and turn and lost the front. It is a shame, we had a very competitive package today.
Shinya Nakano - DNF
In the early part of the race it was difficult as the rain was starting to fall making it difficult to ride fast with the slick tyre, then I was hoping for more rain! When the rain really came down the team did a great job of getting me into the pits at the right time. Our pace was pretty good and I was overtaking a few riders, and then I was trying to catch the guys in front of me. I could see them, so maybe that meant I pushed too much. Eventually I lost the front going into one of the chicanes and I went down.
Kenny Roberts - DNF
The track was a little wet before the start. So we took a gamble and opted to run rain tyres hoping to get an advantage when the rain got harder. But the ran didn’t come soon enough and any advantage we would have got from the other riders going into the pits for wet tyres disappeared lap by lap. When the rain came I was in no position to benefit. Then on the last lap we had an engine problem and had to stop, so we scored no points.
Toni Elias - DNF
Within the first lap of the race conditions were difficult. When the rain started to get heavier I was trying to work out when best to go to the pit box for wet tyres. Then, suddenly, without any warning the bike went down. It was quite a heavy fall and my back is very painful. I went to the doctor for an x-ray and luckily nothing is broken. I am very disappointed because I haven’t scored points in the last two races.
Alex Barros – DNF
I’m very displeased with today because with the set up we found during the last two days we were very good, as everybody could see from my race start. Unfortunately because of the weather conditions I had to come back into the box to change by bike and from that moment everything became more difficult for me. Immediately I was conscious that I didn’t have the right feeling and I rode without confidence, but at the same time I tried to finish the race in a good position; maybe I tried too much, because on the last lap, when I knew that I could overtake Hopkins, I pushed too much and I fell down because of aquaplaning on the front. I’m only aching a bit, but I hope to be at 100% after this week and have a good race in Mugello.
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