Record equalling Rossi leads a Yamaha 1-2-3
Valentino Rossi equalled Angel Nieto's record of 90 Grand Prix wins yesterday, when he took the chequered flag for the French Grand Prix at Le Mans. Rossi took first place from Casey Stoner on the seventh lap of the 28 lap race and eventually pulled out a ten second lead. Jorge Lorenzo put a great performance in to finish second, considering his injuries, and Colin Edwards finished off the Yamaha trio by taking third place.
Lorenzo dropped to tenth after starting from fifth on the grid, however he took three riders in one lap to make it up to sixth place on lap nine. He bridged the gap to fifth when he took Chris Vermeulen, then passed Edwards for fourth. Third place man Stoner suffered a mechanical failure that dropped him down the order on lap 21, promoting Lorenzo who then overtook Pedrosa for second.
The race was hit by rain and was put under white flag conditions on lap 16 for only the second time since it's introduction. However, only two riders (Melandri and Stoner) stopped to change bikes. This did not help them as they finished 15th and 16th respectively.
On the slowing down lap, Rossi was driven around the track on his bike by Angel Nieto. Nice touch.
