GP race

[Eirik]

How many of you had the common sense to watch today's racing? Those who didn't, really missed tons of action!

[Chancer]

I saw bits a pieces, but didn't manage to view the whole race from start to finish. I'd say I missed most of the good action too. So what were the highlights?

[Eirik]

World Champion Alex Crivillé secured both his and Honda´s first 500cc victory of the season in the 28-lap Grand Prix Polini De France in front of 65,000 sun-drenched fans at Le Mans this afternoon. Crivillé, riding the Repsol YPF Honda, fought off the considerable challenge of the Japanese Grand Prix winner Norick Abe and the impressive Italian 250cc World Champion Valentino Rossi. However, despite only finishing in sixth place, American Kenny Roberts Jr. increased his championship lead to 10 points at this fifth round of the MotoGP World Championships.

"This was an important win for me, Honda and the world championship and I´m just so happy to win my first race of the year and keep a chance of retaining my championship," said Crivillé, who moved into fourth place in the championship, but 31 points adrift of Roberts Jr. "People only remember for your last race win but we have the confidence now to mount a serious challenge for the championship."

Pole setter Max Biaggi, riding the Marlboro Yamaha, led for the opening three laps but then crashed, leaving the Telefonica Suzuki of Roberts Jr. in a comfortable lead. At the halfway stage, Roberts Jr. started to slow, feeling the the bumps and bruises from his crash the previous day in the final qualifying session around the revised 4.3-km (2.6-mi) Bugatti Le Mans circuit. Nine laps from the finish of the hectic race, both Crivillé and Abe relegated the ailing Roberts Jr. to third. Three laps later, Rossi, riding the Nastro Azzurro Honda, moved into third place while Abe took over at the front from Crivillé. Rossi, chasing his second successive podium finish, pushed Crivillé in their battle for second, but the world champion not only fought off that challenge but grabbed the lead from Abe on the last lap and held firm until the checkered flag. As it got hotter and tires started to slip and slide, Australian Garry McCoy moved into fourth place on the Gauloises Red Bull Yamaha to hold onto third place in the championship, but only two points in front of Crivillé.

Japanese rider Tohru Ukawa secured a superb victory in the 26-lap 250cc race after going off the track on the fifth lap and dropping down to sixth place. He fought his way back, riding the Shell Advance Honda, to re-take the lead 16 laps later and then fight off the combined challenge Chesterfield Tech 3 Yamaha of Shinya Nakano and local favorite Olivier Jacque. Championship leader Daijiro Katoh completed an ever greater comeback. He crashed on the first lap and remounted his Axo Gresini Honda in last place. He battled back through the field to secure an remarkable sixth place and to retain his lead in the championship by four points from Nakano. Seventeen-year-old Marco Melandri was fourth, riding the Aprilia, with 18-year-old Australian Anthony West fifth.

Japanese rider Youichi Ui won an equally dramatic 125cc race riding the Spanish Derbi machine. In a hectic last lap, Italian Mirko Giansanti grabbed his third second position of the season, with world champion and championship leader Emilio Alzamora third. The champion leads Giansanti by five points in the championship, with Ui moving into third place and Noboru Ueda dropping to fifth after crashing without injury in the early stages of the 24-lap race.