What the riders said: A dream for Lorenzo

Eurosport - Mon, 18 May 13:35:00 2009

All the reaction from Le Mans where Jorge Lorenzo won the fourth race of the MotoGP season.

MOTORCYCLING jorge lorenzo le mans yamaha 2009 - 0

Jorge Lorenzo (winner): "It's like a dream. I did not expect this victory. It is a perfect weekend. It was a crazy race. With the rain tyres it was important to change at the right time. I think we changed at the right point and after that I was riding quite confidently."

Marco Melandri (2nd): "It's awesome to be here for me and I think I'm dreaming right now. It's crazy and right now I'm not sure what I did. I am so happy and I just have to say thanks to my team. It was a very tough race. I couldn't believe I could get a better result than I did in Jerez but the weather gave me a great chance."

Daniel Pedrosa (3rd): "Again, this is a fantastic podium for me because the conditions were very difficult today. On the first lap I really couldn't see where it was wet and where it was dry so my lap times at this stage were not good, but then towards the end of the race, when I had sufficient temperature in my tyres, I was able to get into a rhythm and go faster and faster."

Andrea Dovizioso (4th): I'm disappointed because we had a good race, the podium was very near and then I lost it at the very last lap. So I'm sorry for the team because they've done a very good job throughout the weekend and a podium finish would have been a fitting ending."

Casey Stoner (5th): "I'm pretty disappointed, the wet bike we started with had a big problem and I couldn't find any traction from the warm-up lap. I never felt comfortable and I was losing a lot of time, but it still wasn't dry enough to come in for slick tyres. I think if it wasn't for that we would have been able to battle for the podium today but unfortunately these things happen sometimes."

Chris Vermeulen (6th): "It was a really difficult race - which I am sure everyone else will say. When the track started to dry out I saw Rossi crash and thought that it wasn't dry enough for slicks yet, so I stayed out a bit longer - probably a couple of laps too long - and it made things a bit difficult towards the end."

Colin Edwards (7th): "I'm really disappointed because it was definitely a missed opportunity today for a podium. To only finish seventh is a bit frustrating when you look at my times in the dry. At the end of the day I rode a good second half of the race. But the first half wasn't great and that cost me."

Loris Capirossi (8th): "We changed to a slick tyre really early on in the race and it was still a bit too wet to do that. It wasn't really a mistake, more a gamble that didn't work, as I made a couple of mistakes on the damp patches and ran off."

James Toseland (9th): "I've never been in a flag-to-flag race before and it is definitely different. There's no time to lose concentration in the pits because everything is still happening so quickly. And when you go out on a damp track on slicks you can't lose focus. The team told me they were going to put 'OK' on the board as soon as the first person came in, and though nobody was coming in around me, I felt I came in at the right time."

Antonio Elias (10th): "I'm sure that was a fun race for the fans to watch with the pit stops and bike changes but it was a tough one for us! In my current physical state I couldn't have hoped for a much better result than this but we have to kick on and improve from here."

Alex De Angelis (11th): "I was taking a lot of risks to keep my pace up and then when we got more heat into the tyre I was able to set a good pace. Basically the race ended up to be better than I was expecting but we can still do much better than this so that is the target for the next race at Mugello."

Nicky Hayden (12th): "The conditions were tricky and sometimes you have races that aren't exactly what you've planned. It's actually good fun on the grid making late decisions on set-up and tyres and things, with the track being wet but the sun shining."

Yuki Takahashi (13th): "Since Jerez, I've had problems with the front fork. To fix it, we should have constant weather, and if possible dry sessions. In other words, not like at Le Mans."

Randy De Puniet (14th): "I am very disappointed for the team and for the fans because I had a very bad race today. At the beginning, on rain tyres, I was not comfortable with the front end. After that I struggled a lot and could not race as I expected."

Niccolo Canepa (15th): "A strange race. I lost a lot of time after changing bike. I took too much time to get the rhythm. Then, in the last five or six laps of the race, I was riding really well and this gives me a lot of trust for the next race at Mugello. Finally a track that I know."

Valentino Rossi (16th): "I made a mistake and crashed. Certainly it would have been better to pit two laps later, because at the point where I crashed and in two other points there was still a bit too much water. I got there slowly, but obviously not fast enough."

Eurosport

Comment 1 - 10 of 10

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  1. :) ... (takes a bow)

    From Captain Kirk, on Wed 20 May 12:15PM
  2. cheesemonger,shame on you

    From Bindle, on Wed 20 May 5:23AM
  3. Valle has shown several times now he is not a­ tactician. There was no reason for him to have changed­ his bike so early, and I can't understand why he­ rode like it was the season deciding race. He should­ stick to what he does best. Jump on the bike, and ride­ it like no-one else can. If he wanted to race for­ milestones he should have signed with Ducati this year­ and won his 100th race at his and Ducati's home­ circuit! That would have been something to remember!

    From Medic!, on Wed 20 May 2:26AM
  4. I agree that Lorenzo had a fantastic race and fairplay­ to him,he seemed flawless.Im a Rossi fan myself,and­ seriously,can you ever count him out. He is a genius

    From kevin.toomey66, on Tue 19 May 7:49PM
  5. LORENZO!!!!! show them you're the best among the­ rest! come on cousin!

    From CARLITO, on Tue 19 May 11:41AM
  6. Casey Stoner shoves beetroot up his bottom

    From Captain Kirk, on Tue 19 May 10:29AM
  7. C'mon kids. Play nice.....

    From Medic!, on Tue 19 May 10:25AM
  8. VALE will always be the best GO VALE

    From Katrina O, on Mon 18 May 10:13PM
  9. king casey is best,is always the best!forza,king­ casey...

    From the terminator, on Mon 18 May 9:34PM
  10. Valentino Rossi is the best, is always the best! Forza,­ Vale...

    From zehtrindade, on Mon 18 May 6:14PM
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