So Round 4 of the 2013 Moto GP saw a very wet and miserable race take place at Le Mans Circuit in France, but the action out on the track was far from being a damp squid!
After a highly eventful qualifying which saw major offs for many including Pedrosa, Marquez and Crutchlow the stage was set for a fantastic race (as usual) with Marquez taking pole position with Yamaha’s Lorenzo and Ducati’s Dovizioso taking their places on the front row along side him.
The weather was however no friend to any of the riders and rain during the start of the race ensured that the track was a wet and slippy playground for the big race. The good thing about the rain however, as Crutchlow demonstrated to perfection, is that a wet track does give a bit more of a level playing field for all riders which meant that Cal and his Yamaha satellite bike were more than able to compete with the factory bikes out there.
After a pretty shaky start for Cal – understandable however after Saturday’s off which meant he was out there riding with a chipped shin bone – he managed to sweetly pass Rossi on lap 14 to get himself up in to 3rd place before easing his way pass Dovizioso to land him a podium finish in 2nd place, with Pedrosa taking the highest honours and Marquez finishing in 3rd.
It was a wonderful sight to see Cal cross the finish line evidently over the moon with his podium place finish and it was also great to see the Yamaha satellite bike nestled between the two factory Honda’s back in the winners area – it was like seeing a an English rose between two Spanish thorns!
Cal really is week-in, week-out showing his racing credentials and I am sure I am not alone when I say that this man is highly under-rated and even more highly under-valued. I bet the rest of the field are highly relieved that Cal is riding the satellite bike as put him on factory bike and he would certainly be challenging for podium finishes every race come wind, rain or shine.
Pedrosa’s second win on the bounce puts him nicely in the lead of the riders standings and certainly does confirm that he is a confident all-weather rider who is going to be very hard to beat this year. Marquez’s third place finish does however leave him well in contention and the 16-points he collected from Le Mans will be I’m sure an excellent reward for him in a race which saw him have a terrible start and more than a few hairy moments.
So the standings after Round 4 are as follows:
- Dani Pedrosa – 83 points
- Marc Marquez – 77 points
- Jorge Lorenzo – 66 points
- Cal Crutchlow – 55 points
Fellow Britsih rider Bradley Smith also definitely deserves a big shout-out for his excellent 9th place finish just behind Rossi. His ride in Le Mans will surely be hugely encouraging for the Moto GP new-comer who is still getting to grips with the GP bike in the sun, never mind the rain and with Scott Redding’s awesome win in Moto 2 the future certainly looks bright for British motorsport.
So it’s is off to Mugello, Italy in two-weeks time for a race which will see the Doctor not only return to home ground but hopefully to winning ways too – well we can dream can’t we!
