And it’s the END OF THE RACE! Jorge Lorenzo wins – and how! He led this race completely from the front with pole, fastest lap and now the win after taking a massive lead in the opening seconds of the MotoGP of Le Mans.
Lorenzo now leads the championship standings as well.
Teammate Valentino Rossi finishes in 2nd, after qualifying in 7th.
Great news for Maverick Vinales of Suzuki, who has his career first podium, finishing in third behind Rossi.
Jorge Lorenzo is running away with the race and it’s the FINAL LAP! Rossi can’t catch Lorenzo now, and the Spaniard is about to take his fifth win at Le Mans.
Maverick Vinales of Suzuki moves up to podium contention and he’s being chased by Dani Pedrosa! Lorenzo meanwhile is on the cusp of his 42nd MotoGP win.
1
Tito Rabat of Estrella Garcia was among the eight drivers who have crashed out, a number of whom were on the harder option Michelin front tyre. Are tyres letting a significant part of the grid down today?
Scary crash - and it’s Museum Corner that catches someone out again. This time it’s Monster Yamaha Tech’s Bradley Smith, who looks a bit shocked following that crash.
A crash for P2 AND P3 with Marc Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso both crashing at nearly exactly the same spot – is this MotoGP or synchronised swimming?
That’s it for both of them, then, but Marquez is trying his best to get back on track; he’s currently in 15th. Meanwhile, Lorenzo is not only leading the race but the championship standings as well! Rossi is now in P2, with Maverick Vinales of Suzuki in third.
P3 is now Valentino Rossi! He was baying for Marc Marquez – and he catches him! He gets him ahead of the Dunlop chicane and is now chasing Andrea Dovizioso....and he gets him! Rossi is now P2 behind teammate Lorenzo.
This is a Rossi trademark; qualifying midway on the grid appears to give Rossi extra motivation – and now he’s moved up into P2 to chase the reigning world champion! Lorenzo still has a big enough lead, however, with Dovizioso quite close behind Rossi.
Marc Marquez is closing in on P2 and Andrea Dovizioso – and there are still 18 laps to go! The Spanish double world champion has been on the podium every race so far – can he make it 5 from 5?
Meanwhile, Cal Crutchlow has seen 4 crashes in 5 races, so 2016 has been a disappointing season for him.
It’s a real fight between Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso for P2 – the two Ducatis – and it's now over for Andrea Iannone who loses control of the front of his bike. That’s the end of his race, so the front row now looks like Lorenzo, Dovizioso and Marquez.
Cal Crutchlow of LCR-Honda is also out.
Scott Redding of Pramac Ducati has lost his engine, say the team, and so ends his race. Andrea Iannone isn't done yet, though – he’s back out on track but at the back of the grid, running in 17th.
Jorge Lorenzo on his third lap and has set fastest time so far. He’s running away with the lead with the two Andreas – Dovizioso and Iannone – of Ducati right behind him in P2 and P3. There’s an intense battle for P4 between longtime rivals Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez. Really strong from the two Ducatis at the moment, but Repsol Honda won’t be very happy.
AND THEY’RE OFF! Lorenzo takes an absolute flier and runs away with an even bigger lead. Marc Marquez has dropped down to 5th right now but Andrea Iannone is still in the running. Pol Espargaro and Valentino Rossi are locked in a battle as the Italian is scrambling to move up the grid from 7th - and now 6th!
Lorenzo has a 0.5s lead over Andrea Dovizioso and it’s a steady one!
5:30 pm IST: Drivers are on their warm-up lap! Lorenzo is not only the polesitter but the strongest contender here. Currently second in the championship standings, can he catch up his compatriot and rival Marc Marquez? He’s 17 points behind the double world champion.
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo is on pole for the MotoGP of Le Mans, the 5th race on the 2016 MotoGP Calendar. He is the reigning MotoGP World Champion, winning the title in 2015 after a two-year reign for Repsol Honda driver Marc Marquez.
Marquez and Ducati’s Andrea Iannone round up the front row, in second and third respectively. Lorenzo’s teammate Valentino Rossi qualified on the third row, in seventh position.
It was announced earlier this month that 2016 would be Lorenzo’s last year with Yamaha; he will be moving next year to Ducati, although it is as yet unclear who his teammate will be.
Marquez currently leads the championship standings after having finished every race of the season so far on the podium, two of which were wins – at the Grands Prix of Argentina and America. Lorenzo and teammate Valentino Rossi each have a win this season to their credit, although both have also retired once each during the season.
In what seems to be a repeat of the 2015 season, the title race appears to be a three-way fight between Marquez, Lorenzo and Rossi despite it being very early into the season.
The Grand Prix of Le Mans is the home race for Ducati rider Loris Baz, who retired from the first two races and has yet to have a points finish.
Despite Marquez leading the drivers’ standings, it is Movistar Yamaha MotoGP who lead the constructors’ championships with 123 points; Repsol Honda, represented by Marc Marquez and teammate Dani Pedrosa are a single point behind with 122.
Pedrosa has had a single podium so far this year, finishing in third at the Grand Prix of Argentina and with fairly high points finishes in Qatar and Spain. Missing out on a podium at those two races and unable to finish at the MotoGP of the Americas after an accident, the Spaniard will look to fight to prove himself after ending the 2015 season on a high note.
Oddly, none of the front row starters were on top in Final Practice, with Ducati’s Andrea Iannone setting the fastest time in FP3; Lorenzo would, however, end up shattering a track record to set the fastest time at the circuit to take pole position.
Lorenzo has won at the Le Mans circuit four times in the past in the premier category – 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2015, and had one win in the 250cc class here.
With 2015 bringing about a renewed competition between Lorenzo and teammate Valentino Rossi, the race could see some aggression on track. The 6-time MotoGP title winner, despite having had a much longer career than Lorenzo, has only won three past races at Le Mans; after having won the Grand Prix of Spain by a significant lead, the Italian, nicknamed the Doctor, will have both momentum and motivation going into the MotoGP of Le Mans.
