Le Mans MotoGP: Top 5 quotes after race
Yamaha MotoGP's Maverick Viñales delivered a stunning performance at the Grand Prix de France, taking his third victory of the season and the 500th Grand Prix win for Yamaha
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
| Cla | # | Driver | Bike | Time | Gap | km/h | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 |  Maverick Viñales |
Yamaha | 43'29.793 | 161.6 | 25 | |
| "Keeping up with Johann in the early laps of the race was hard, he was really fast and with the full tank we were not so strong as him. He was exiting from the corners really good and really fast. Then his tyre started to drop a little bit and our tyre started to work good on the rear, and lap by lap I was feeling better. Until the end, in the last lap, I gave everything I had here in the French GP and, honestly, I'm so happy and so pleased. The team was working on an incredible level this weekend, I hope we can continue like that. For sure the tyres were working really good here, we hope we can work like this also in Mugello." | |||||||
| 2 | 5 |  Johann Zarco |
Yamaha | 43'32.927 | 3.134 | 161.4 | 20 |
| "The result feels so good and there are many words that I could use, but today has been just great. The conditions were perfect for me in the race with the soft tyre and it was fantastic that I was able to run the pace that I did and to also lead a GP again. I had one flashback of Qatar in my mind, yet, everything was better here than there! Vińales passed me on the 7th lap and from that moment I was just happy to stay with him, and he was fast, but I think that this was the key for me to getting the podium. Rossi was also strong, but it’s a bit complicated to fight in Le Mans because the track is tight, so I was thinking that even though 3rd at the time was fantastic, if they fight like that, maybe something will happen and I can get a better position, and this came true. My result is super and it was so much fun today. The crowd made a lot of noise and there was positive energy. I didn’t feel it at the time, but now I realise that they brought me to the top and now I need to enjoy this moment. I’m a rookie and I am not looking at the Championship and the most important thing is to finish races and collect points, and today I got 20, which is fantastic. I am living in the present and enjoying every round, so if this 2nd place gives me a good advantage in the standing, then I will take it." | |||||||
| 3 | 26 | Dani Pedrosa |
Honda | 43'37.510 | 7.717 | 161.1 | 16 |
| “I’m super happy about this podium because I knew it would be quite tough to manage the race well starting from the fifth row on the grid. The thought of getting through that first chicane at the back of the pack meant a lot of pressure. It was a demanding mental exercise to try and be fast but not crash, being aggressive but calm! But in the end I got a good start, entered the first corner quite well, and quickly settled into a good rhythm. I recovered some positions and also touched with Cal along the way. I’m sorry for that but really it wasn’t intentional. I had just moved past Dovi and wasn’t going to pass Cal in that corner, but he made a little mistake that opened the line slightly, so I got trough on the inside and we touched. I’m happy nothing really happened there. After Marc crashed, I kept pushing but I was two seconds behind the Yamahas. I was starting to feel some chattering, and I decided to stay calm as I didn’t want to make a mistake. I think we had a good race and a very good result for the Championship. It’s just a shame that this weekend we couldn’t do well in qualifying, but we’re working with the team very well and the feeling with the bike is improving little by little. We just have to continue on this path for the next races.” | |||||||
| 4 | 4 |  Andrea Dovizioso |
Ducati | 43'41.016 | 11.223 | 160.9 | 13 |
| “In the end today’s fourth place was a good result, and maybe I could even have tried to fight for the podium with Pedrosa, but I can’t be fully satisfied. We probably took home the best result possible because towards the mid-race point I had to slow my pace: as I was pushing hard in several points of the track I was losing strength in my right forearm and I wasn’t able to keep up the same intensity for the whole race. In the final stages my pace was quite good and I managed to lap quite easily in the low 1’33s and stay ahead of Crutchlow until the flag.” | |||||||
| 5 | 35 |  Cal Crutchlow |
Honda | 43'43.312 | 13.519 | 160.8 | 11 |
| "I was struggling today to turn the bike with the harder front tyre, it was really difficult and I was losing a lot of time in the mid-turn. But I felt quite good in the braking zone and I'm happy enough to finish in the top five. At least we finished and that was important after not doing so in the last race. My target today was the top six and we finished in the top five, so I'm pleased enough. At Mugello I'll be aiming for the top six again, although there are a lot of guys riding fast at the moment, and I'm hoping the new tyre might suit me a bit better." | |||||||
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Crutchlow: Yamaha MotoGP bike “needs less power” despite rider demands
Crutchlow in "severe pain" after heavy Thailand MotoGP practice crash
Why Yamaha's MotoGP rivals should fear Crutchlow's return
Quartararo: Marquez's Honda exit "woke a lot of people up" at Yamaha
Marquez: Age a key factor in Quartararo's new Yamaha MotoGP deal
Why Yamaha has just six months to safeguard Quartararo's future
FIA still chasing answers over bizarre Shanghai F1 grass fires
How a Shanghai to Sheffield journey paved the way for China’s F1 hero
Hamilton expects to lose positions if F1 China sprint is dry
Verstappen 'deserves' fourth in China F1 sprint qualifying with wet struggles
Can anyone stop "changed" Bagnaia as Ducati tightens its grip on MotoGP?
The signs that MotoGP's Japanese powerhouses are changing
The other Suzuki signing that could transform Honda's MotoGP form
How the MotoGP paddock has offered refuge to Suzuki's former team
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments