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MotoGP

Lorenzo takes title lead after French MotoGP win

Yamaha riders dominated the French MotoGP in Le Mans on Sunday as Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi finished in top two places. Suzuki too had a memorable outing as its rider Maverick Vinales finished third giving the Japanese manufacturer its first podium finish since 2008 Czech GP.

Jorge Lorenzo (centre), Valentino Rossi (left) and Maverick Vinales celebrate on the podium after the French MotoGP in Le Mans on Sunday.
Jorge Lorenzo (centre), Valentino Rossi (left) and Maverick Vinales celebrate on the podium after the French MotoGP in Le Mans on Sunday. JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER/AFP
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Pole sitter Lorenzo stormed into the lead as he made a perfect start to the race. The two Ducati riders Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone jumped into second and third places ahead of Honda’s Marc Marques who started second on the grid. Rossi who started the race from seventh place, managed to gain a place at the end of the first lap.

However, it was clear that the factory Yamaha bikes were showing better pace than the rest as Rossi closed the gap on Marques and the two Ducati riders. What followed later was a series of crashes involving top riders.

First to crash was Iannone who fell on lap four. He was followed by Cal Crutchlow, who incidentally suffered his fourth crash in five races this season. Iannone’s fall meant Dovizioso and Marquez formed the chasing pack behind Lorenzo with Rossi rapidly closing in.

Rossi overtook both Dovizioso and Marquez on lap 13 to make it a three-way battle for second place. Meanwhile, Lorenzo kept stretching his lead and was virtually uncatchable.

Just when it appeared that the battle for second place will go down to the wire, Dovizioso and Marquez crashed simultaneously with both riders losing their front.

Suzuki’s Vinales closed the gap on Rossi but it wasn’t enough for the debutant to overtake the nine time world champion. Nevertheless, a podium finish is a huge achievement for Suzuki which returned to MotoGP after a three-year gap.

Honda’s Dani Pedrosa finished fourth ahead of Pol and Aleix Espargaro.

With this win, the defending champion has now taken the lead in championship standings ahead of Marquez. Rossi is third, 12 points adrift.

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