The circuit is one of the most compact on the calendar, with a couple of fast sections, but several looping turns and tight corners. The Garage Vert double right had been shortened since 2007. Lorenzo started off the race weekend at a disadvantage, thanks to the ankle injuries he carried over from the Chinese GP meeting. In manoeuvring the Fiat Yamaha, Jorge found that the ankle problems meant he put more strain on his arms and shoulders. To make matters worse he had another practice crash, and an off-track moment in qualifying.

The Spanish class rookie would start from fifth position, but so far is still the best qualifier of the season. Lorenzo was joined up front by his three fellow Yamaha riders, and by four fellow Michelin tyre users. Repsol Honda’s pair, Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden, were two on the French rubber. Dani took the first non-Yamaha pole position of the year, with his team-mate in sixth place. Tech 3 Yamaha riders Colin Edwards and James Toseland were well placed on their Michelins, in second and seventh respectively, with times very close.

The other Yamaha man was Fiat team leader Rossi, in fourth place, and second of the Bridgestone users behind Ducati man Casey Stoner, third. Toseland was joined on row three by the lead riders from the Suzuki and Kawasaki squads. Eighth was held by the 2007 race winner Chris Vermeulen, in the blue; ninth went to his former team-mate John Hopkins, in the green. The third Honda was that of JiR Team Scot rider Andrea Dovizioso, in tenth.

Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) was in P11, followed by Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda), Shin’ya Nakano (Gresini Honda), Toní Elías (Alice Ducati), Alex de Angelis (Gresini), Sylvain Guintoli (Alice), Marco Melandri (Marlboro Ducati) and Anthony West (Kawasaki). For works rider Melandri, team-mate to reigning champion Stoner, it was back to the rear of the grid after his encouraging race in China. He wasn’t popular with Edwards, who he managed to block in qualifying, and who otherwise had a shot at another pole.

In 2007, the French GP had been run in very wet weather. Today’s race would go ahead in changeable conditions, bright but cloudy at the start, and dry. Pedrosa was the leader off the grid, but Stoner powered ahead quickly, this pair from Edwards, Toseland, Rossi, Vermeulen and Capirossi. The start-finish straight bends to the right at Courbe Dunlop, and then it’s straight onto the brakes for the left-right Chicane Dunlop. Dovizioso ran off track here, but cut across the escape road and rejoined. Melandri stalled on the grid and was very late to get going.

Pedrosa looked aggressive behind leader Stoner, getting close the second time into Dunlop chicane. Meanwhile, Toseland had lost out to both Rossi and Vermeulen, with Valentino also moving up to fourth at the expense of Hayden, and tagging on behind Edwards. Even early on the first four were easing away from the rest, with Hayden now leading Vermeulen, Capirossi, Hopkins, Toseland, Dovizioso, Lorenzo, Elías, Nakano, de Puniet, de Angelis, Guintoli and West.

The first casualty of the day came at the Virage de la Chapelle, a looping right after the Dunlop section. Ninth man Toseland was being challenged by fellow rookie Dovizioso, with the Italian moving past on the left. Andrea cut across to the right and clashed with the front of the Yamaha, breaking the front of the fairing and causing James to crash. The 22-year-old continued unaffected.

Pedrosa continued hounding Stoner, and looked like he might be quicker. Courbe du Musée is a long left-hander, after Chapelle, entered downhill on the brakes. Dani got on the inside of the Ducati, but went wide, losing the place and his momentum. Rossi was third by now, and took advantage of Pedrosa into the following Virage du Garage Vert. Dani responded along the back straight, but then Valentino passed him again into the right-left Virage des ‘S’ Bleus, after the back chicane.

Stoner led a close group, with Rossi on the attack and then Pedrosa and Edwards. The race would be between these four. Dani went inside Valentino through Courbe Dunlop, creeping ahead, but later braking meant that the Yamaha rider stayed in second. At Garage Vert, Rossi took Stoner’s lead on the inside at the first apex, but he ran just wide enough for the Ducati to squeeze back inside at the second. Rossi’s successful pass came when he was close to his rival out of Chapelle, and could therefore brake on the inside for Musée and take over.

The existing lap record holder, Rossi now put in some new fastest laps and was soon opening up a lead. Before long this would grow to three seconds, and it left Stoner, Pedrosa and Edwards contesting second. For Dani to go after Valentino, he needed to clear Casey. The ‘S’ Bleus section is a right then immediate left bend. The Honda man went round the outside in the second part, where he could take the inside for the next right-handed corner and complete the pass. Vermeulen had already passed Hayden, and was getting away from the former champion and starting to close on those ahead.

With Rossi apparently in control, the focus switched to those contesting second. Pedrosa had a marginal gap over Stoner, who now felt the pressure of Edwards’ attentions. The Tech 3 rider had a go at passing at Musée, but went wide in the process. Meanwhile Vermeulen was getting ever closer in fifth, but there was a new factor also arriving. Lorenzo struggled through the pain barrier and had managed to advance from eleventh early on.

Lorenzo had gained from the Toseland-Dovizioso incident, and in fact he would later go past Hopkins, Capirossi and Hayden in quick succession. Moving clear in sixth, he would catch Vermeulen, go to his inside for Courbe Dunlop, and be ahead braking into the chicane. This put the 21-year-old fifth by half-distance. Behind Vermeulen it was now Hopkins, from Dovizioso, Capirossi, Hayden (after an off-track moment at Garage Vert), Nakano, de Puniet, de Angelis and Elías.

At this stage, with Rossi ahead by almost four seconds, the skies had grown dull. With a minimal amount of rain now falling, in some places more obviously than others, white flags were waved to show the riders that they could now pit to change bikes if it became necessary. Grip levels were changing, but ‘the Doctor’ continued to maintain a useful advantage.

The gaps in the second group carried on fluctuating. Pedrosa still led Stoner, but Edwards would lose fourth to Lorenzo. The Spaniard went to the inside on the brakes for the first part of the left-right Chemin Aux Boeufs chicane, at the end of the back straight. Just before this, Hopkins had gone out when his seventh-placed Kawasaki dumped its broken chain; and meanwhile the man at the back, Melandri, was about to pit and gamble on the change to his wet weather Ducati.

Rossi continued to lead, and in fact the weather would soon brighten again, and dry conditions prevail. As the lead grew, fourth man Stoner hit trouble. Along the main straight, Lorenzo and Edwards powered ahead as the Ducati suffered a technical glitch. Casey had a whole lap to do to get to the pits, where he could take his other bike even if the conditions were wrong for it. He ended up having to push in, and was a long way behind when he got back on track.

Now the second place race was between Pedrosa, Lorenzo and Edwards. Jorge pushed onto the inside of Dani for Musée to get by, and a while later Edwards also got past at the Dunlop chicane. Rossi’s advantage had passed the ten-second mark, but for the final few laps he could afford to back off and still take the win, making it a personal two in a row for the first time since June 2006. Lorenzo stretched away for second, with Edwards and Pedrosa also split by the time of the flag.

Dovizioso had fought off Capirossi and was close behind fifth man Vermeulen at the finish. Capirossi and Hayden were next, then French rider de Puniet, who had raced with and defeated the Gresini Honda duo of de Angelis and then Nakano. The first Ducati finisher was Elías, who had also made some late progress to split the Hondas, with de Angelis followed home by Guintoli and West. The works Ducatis were last of all, with Melandri a lap down, and Stoner two laps down. Only Hopkins and Toseland had gone out.

Valentino Rossi’s celebration lap picked out another landmark in his career. This was the 23rd MotoGP race with 800cc bikes. Rossi has won six of these races, second only to Casey Stoner. Together with wins in other capacity classes, he now moves up to ninety Grand Prix victories. The leader for wins is Giacomo Agostini, on 122. In reaching ninety, Rossi drew level with second place Angel Nieto, a regular winner in the 125cc and smaller capacity classes. And it was Angel himself that joined Valentino for the celebration lap, riding the Yamaha with Rossi behind him waving a ‘90 + 90’ flag. Rossi also passed 2500 points in the top class.

Jorge Lorenzo, meanwhile, was happy with second given the shape he was in. After dismounting, all he could do was to sit down or hobble about on crutches. In moving up to 94 points, Lorenzo broke the top class GP record for a rookie after five races, which had been 88 for Max Biaggi in 1998. With Dani Pedrosa only taking fourth, behind the Yamaha one-two-three, it meant a switch around among the standings leaders. Colin Edwards also moved forward, with his best race since his second at Donington last year.

The momentum is now with Valentino Rossi and his Bridgestone-shod Yamaha. But if Casey Stoner’s fortunes turn around, Rossi will have three rivals to fight off for the championship, with the Australian and two Spaniards. Next time out he races at home in Italy, with the Mugello circuit having played host to eight of his GP wins, including for the last six years in a row. Rossi will be tough to beat, but there will be one more man on track trying to do so. Six-time GP winner Tadayuki Okada will make a return testing Honda’s pneumatic valve engine, but will it be Yamaha’s day again?

Standings after five races: Rossi 97; Pedrosa and Lorenzo 94; Stoner 56; Edwards 47; Capirossi 42; Hayden 37; Dovizioso 36; Toseland 33; Nakano 28; Hopkins 26; Vermeulen 25.
Yamaha 115; Honda 94; Ducati 61; Suzuki 45; Kawasaki 28.

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