Toby Moody slaps on the sunscreen and heads out into the paddock to find the hot stuff the rest of MotoGP missed at Le Mans this past weekend.
First-corner gamble
I lost a bet with Dani Pedrosa after I joked that he would lead the race into the first corner. In actual fact it was Valentino Rossi who made a rare leading manoeuvre off the grid after the current form of Pedrosa’s lightning starts.
Unlucky 13 for Casey
For Casey Stoner, it was a disastrous Le Mans, the Aussie falling out of a surefire podium position and dropping to 13th in the title chase. “I’ve had my crash for the season, so that’s out of the way,” the Ducati rider said after his Qatar retirement, words that must now return to haunt him. He fought back from his illness last year, but this setback might make this year’s too big an ask.
Recovery position
After the raft of Moto2 crashes, including the home town hero and leader of the race Jules Cluzel barrelling into the gravel, race director Paul Butler said, “Normally at a track we have six recovery vehicles. Maybe next time for Moto2 we’ll get 12!”
GEPA Pictures/Gold & Goose
Marc exhausted but lucky
Marc Márquez fell hard off his Red Bull Derbi on Saturday morning, so lucky not to further injure his right shoulder that he dislocated at Jerez when he was thrown from his bike after the exhaust fell off and got caught underneath the rear wheel. Seeing him in the paddock on Saturday evening, he was ice-packed up to the hilt but still resilient to show any chink in his armour.
Luc arrive au Mans
Red Bull’s Olympic gold medallist skier, Dakar victor and Le Mans driver Luc Alphand was at the track for raceday. His team will return to the 24 Hours race in three weeks’ time, but not with Luc driving as he still recovers from his injuries of 12 months ago.
Dovi’s derring-do
Andrea Dovizioso (pictured, above) is now up to third in the world championship standings after his second podium of the year. “It was very important because I wanted to confirm that the result in Qatar was not a one-off,” Dovi commented. “I wanted a good result for the team, to thank them, and also because of last year when Dani came from 10 seconds behind to overtake me on the very last lap.” That was quite understated, as many on the no. 4 side of the garage were actually over the moon!
'Someone who must remain nameless pointed out a trick of opening the boot without damaging, forcing or breaking anything…'
No rubbernecking
The biggest crash of the weekend nearly happened in the paddock after the MotoGP warm-up on Sunday morning with a load of umbrella girls all lines up for a photo shoot that caused a total log jam in the paddock. Eventually finding a way through past all of the fans who were getting the glamour shots, I admit to having a quick glimpse while not breaking stride. Only after a sharp call from my colleague Julian Ryder did I avoid falling right over the scooter of Repsol Honda’s Alberto Puig. A scooter into my legs would have hurt – a lot.
Randy’s light relief
Randy de Puniet’s Honda was taken to Paris on Wednesday night for a photocall in front of the illuminated Eiffel Tower. They arrived after midnight and set their shot up with the bike in the foreground, only to be told that they ought to hurry up, as the lights got turned off at 12.30. Cue a very hurried photo session before the switch was flicked!
Boot boys
De Puniet was also nearly left without any new team clothing, as no one could open the boot of the car containing said gear. Engineers and mechanics all got in on the act with screwdrivers and levers to try and get in. After some hours, someone who must remain nameless pointed out a trick of opening the boot without damaging, forcing or breaking anything. It pinged open in seconds, much to the relief of the LCR squad – followed by, “How the hell did you learn that trick?”
Yamaha Racing
Cartoon fun
Possibly the most amusing Twitter tweet of the weekend came from someone saying that it would be a great idea if Hector Barberá really fell in love and married a girl called… Hannah. Get it?
Scorching the tarmac
Since the return of grand prix motorcycle racing to Le Mans in 2000, it’s been rare that the weekend hasn’t been affected by rain or cold conditions. But a cloudless 32°C meant many people were going to hurt with sunburn come Monday. As Rossi (pictured above, left) said after the first day of practice, “It’s the best Le Mans I ever see.”
Showing you have balls
Normally it’s the boys who can feast their eyes on the umbrella girls at the GPs, but this time there was an unexpected treat in store for the girls, just before the hugely popular Saturday evening show that’s put on for the fans along the home straight. Two guys decided to jump the fence and, yes, you’ve guessed it, shed their clothes and ‘parade’ themselves up and down the main straight in front of full grandstands. Alas, not a single security guard volunteered to leap the pitwall and restrain them. Surely their actions might have been swifter were it girls doing the same thing?
Comments
Add a comment