MotoGP 2015 Monster Energy GP of France: Lorenzo domination at Le Mans Circuit

In 2014 the buzz in the MotoGP paddock was how Marc Marquez was going to run away with the championship. Notching up four consecutive wins to start his 2014 campaign, the Repsol Honda was dominant from the onset. Fast forward to 2015, and we see Marquez nowhere near as dominant. Actually, the phenom seems to be struggling. Yamaha and Ducati found their mojo and are heading the championship tables. Valentino Rossi is leading the charge for Yamaha while for Ducati, it is Andrea Dovizioso.

For the fifth race of the year, we see the riders bring their steeds to the Le Mans circuit in France. The 4.185-km track features long straights and fast corners, making this track one of the most technical in the MotoGP calendar.

Marc Marquez took his very first career pole at this circuit, and in qualifying, the Spaniard showed his mastery over the layout by taking P1 ahead of Andrea Dovizioso in the Ducati, and Jorge Lorenzo on board the Movistar Yamaha rounded up the first row. Carl Crutchlow, Andrea Iannone, and Bradley Smith were comfortably in the second row. Championship leader Valentino Rossi headed the third row, ahead of Dani Pedrosa in the other Repsol Honda and Danilo Petrucci, racing for Pramac Racing.

As the lights went out to start of the race, Valentino Rossi got a quick start and jumped a few places before even reaching turn one. Poleman Marquez got swallowed up as he tried, vainly, to lead the field into the sweeping right hander of turn 1. Marc went wide in the next corner, giving his rivals the opening they were looking for to jump the defending champion. They squeezed Marquez out and eventually the Repsol Honda rider had to settle for fourth. This was not the start the phenom was looking for.

Out in front, Lorenzo muscled his way past Dovizioso to take lead. The Yamaha was just too powerful. Jorge managed to post a lap time of 1:33.005 at the end of the first lap. This gave him a few seconds’ lead over his closest rival Andrea Dovizioso in the Ducati.

Rossi, on the other hand, found himself fighting it out for P4 with the reigning world champ. On the second lap, Vale saw an opening. He took Marquez in turn 9 by going inside and holding off the fight back from Marc. He then proceeded to dispatch with the Spaniard and went about hunting down both Ducatis. Two laps later, he already had Iannone in his sights. Vale took his time and kept on the tail of the Ducati until lap nine. Rossi was wheel-to-wheel with his fellow Italian, biding his time like the consummate rider that he is. On lap 10, Rossi lined up to pass Iannone and made the move stick. Rossi was now up to third behind Dovizioso and race leader Lorenzo. But the multiple world champ was not done yet. He still had another Ducati in front of him. Vale kept the pressure on and at turn 13 of the 12th lap, Rossi passed Dovizioso for P2 to the delight of the Rossi faithful.

Sensing the urgency to his teammate’s challenge, Lorenzo, who was dominant from the start, kept on extending his lead. He registered a 1.8-second lead to second place man Rossi. Jorge was not to be denied, as he wanted the win more than anything else. And it showed in his composure by his keeping Vale at bay.

Meanwhile, down the standings, Marquez was dicing it out with Smith and Iannone for P4. Marc rode with composure, knowing full well that a mistake could spell disaster for his 2015 campaign. Marquez already had a huge deficit in the points tally, and a DNF could spell disaster in his title defense.

Lap 22 saw Iannone run wide and causing Smith to stand on the brakes and avoid a collision. This was the oportunity Marc was looking for. He easily passed Smith but Iannone was another story. The Italian, who suffered a dislocated shoulder a few days earlier, gamely took on the challenge and fought it out with Marquez. Andrea didn’t just hand the position over. He made sure that Marc worked for it. The Ducati seemingly had more straight line power, while the Honda was more agile and faster in the corners. It took Marquez a full lap of racing before he could claim the position.

Marquez was eager to fight Dovizioso for P3 but ran out of laps before he could mount a challenge.

Out in front, Lorenzo went about extending his lead. The 2010 and 2012 champ didn’t put a foot wrong. The gap was 3.8 seconds to Rossi as they crossed the finish line. This was Jorge’s race. The Spaniard was not to be denied.

With his win, Lorenzo now moves up the championship standings. A15-point deficit stands between him and championship points leader Valentino Rossi. Andrea Dovizioso takes third, 19 points adrift of Rossi but more importantly, four points from Lorenzo. Marquez has a 33 point gap to overcome if he wants to retain his title.

MotoGP now heads over to Mugello in Italy. This is Ducati’s backyard, and more importantly, the crowd will be cheering for local boy Valentino Rossi. The doctor will still be the main draw, and gauging from his recent performance, it is a race not to be missed.