World Championship Road Race Series
Round 4: Le Mans Circuit
By
HENNY RAY ABRAMS
PHOTOS BY GOLD AND GOOSE
I.E MANS, FRANCE, MAY 25
T
he rain-shortened Grand Prix de
France at Le Mans was a memo-
rable race for any number of reasons,
not least of which was the finish.
Telefonica MoviStar Honda's Sete
Gibernau would not be denied the
win, repassing World Champion
Valentino Rossi twice on the final lap
of the first race ever run under the
new wet-weather regulations to seal
the victory in front of a crowd of
73,225 on a day of rapidly changing
weather in France. Gauloises Yamaha's Alex Barros was a close third.
"The last lap, we had a hard race
and hard battle, but gentlemanly battie," Gibernau said after beating Rossi
by .165 of a second. "And I know that
Alex [Barros] and Valentino [Rossi]
never give up, and I also never give
For the first time In MotoGP history,
the French Grand Prix was held In two
parts beca.... of rain· but was not
scored on aggregate time. Alex Barros
(4) leads Valentino Roni (445), Sete
Gibemau (15) and Noriyukl Haga (41)
on In the second portion of the race,
and the only part tIuIt counted.
up so it was going to be a hard last
lap."
The race was a shootout before the
final lap. Rain on the 16th lap brought
a halt to proceedings. Under the new
regulations for the MotoGP class,
adapted this year, the second segment of the race would be free-standing, with no consideration given to
the first leg, except in determining
grid position. The system is one that
has always been used by the AMA.
Rossi's more than three-second
lead in the first leg was wiped out by
the rain, and in the second it was the
three on the podium who quickly separated themselves from the 19
remaining riders. Tire choice was critical, with full rains the wise choice,
despite the dry lines throughout certain parts of the slippery track.
Barros led from the start and held
it across the line until the ninth when
Gibernau and Rossi both came by in
different corners. Then it was a tworider race to the end, Rossi making
When it was all said and done, Sete
Gibemau (center) had won his second
MotoGP of the season, topping Rossi
(left) and Barros (right).
n
•
vv
s
