Valentino Rossi - position 6th;
“Of course I’m very upset about this result because I had a very good feeling in the dry at the start. We made some good modifications to the bike, it was working very well and I thought I was going to be able to fight for the victory. Unfortunately the weather ruined it for us today! We made the pit stop and started the second part of race with hard rain tyres, because we thought it was only going to be light rain. Sadly we were wrong and when the rain got heavier my tyre was too hard for the conditions and I couldn’t push.
I was very slow from then on and didn’t have any grip from the rear. In the last five laps it was quite dangerous as it was very hard to stay upright and I think I lost five or six seconds per lap at the end. We had hoped that this would be a track at which we could gain some ground on Stoner and it’s going to be a very hard battle from here because he is very fast, not just on the straights but everywhere! I want to congratulate Chris Vermeulen today because he rode a great race, I think he’s a bit of a magician in the rain!”

Colin Edwards – position 12th;
We encountered some problems that I’ve run into before - in Australia last year when I crashed in the rain and at the Jerez test this year. It’s hard to explain, but to me it feels like it’s related to the engine braking - when we’ve got less traction from the tyres in the wet it just seems to appear. I think even yesterday’s crash was down to something similar. Basically I try to put it into the corner but the rear comes round on me and it slides. Valentino and I have quite different styles - he holds the clutch in there a lot longer whilst I just kind of dump it and today it was a big problem for me.
To be honest that wasn’t really rain racing for me, it was more like ice racing and it was impossible. At the start it was at its worst because being on a slick tyre with a damp track just exacerbated the problem. I came in early because in the circumstances I thought I’d gamble and hope it was going to chuck it down with rain, but a few laps out there on rain tyres when it wasn’t that wet wasn’t fun either. I came back in again, thinking maybe the tyre was too hard, and we tried a softer rain tyre and that was better in the end. I’m really sorry to the team and to everyone involved; I don’t like wasting my first pole and I had hoped for great things today.”

Davide Brivio - Team Director;
“Today’s race was run in very difficult conditions, which is a pity when we had high hopes for both riders. Valentino was running well but when it started to rain we chose a tyre for light rains and then, unfortunately, the rain came down very heavily and very hard and it just wasn’t the right tyre for those conditions. This is why after he changed bikes he was very good but as the rain got heavier he started to go backwards. He did well to finish the race in this situation and get some points. For Colin, we don’t really know what to say but the conditions of today and the lower temperatures made it difficult for him and it was a day to forget after his great pole position. I think in the dry he could have had a good race but this sadly wasn’t to be. He was uncomfortable with the bike and from the start he wasn’t going well. All we can do now is move on from Le Mans, put it behind us and look forward to Mugello.”

In front of the home crowd of the Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 Team, the Grand Prix of France was a truly momentous affair as Makoto Tamada and Sylvain Guintoli both scored top ten results as they finished ninth and tenth respectively raising the bar in what was another stellar performance for the team. Both Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 riders rose to the wet weather circumstances with Sylvain creating his own piece of personal history as he overtook seven times world champion Valentino Rossi to lead a MotoGP for the first time.
Unfortunately he was caught out by the worsening conditions as he tried to extend his lead causing him to crash but quickly remounted. Makoto was able to stay out a few more laps on slicks before his enforced pit-stop. He rode a steady and sensible race in the atrocious conditions that saw many other riders crashing out also attain his best result of the season so far. The scene had been set for a magnificent weekend during qualifying when Sylvain was on top of the time sheets with 10 minutes to go, finally missing the top spot by just 0.8 of a second.
This weekend has given the team a tremendous boost with the Italian Grand Prix in two weeks time but in the meantime will remain at Le Mans for two days of testing to further improve performance of the Dunlop tyres and Yamaha machines.

Makoto Tamada – position 9th;
That was a very different race. I am happy to finish but I am not overly happy because I had the potential to go faster but I have no complaint with anything as we raced in such severe conditions. We also learnt many things in this race as when it was just a little bit wet I lost too much time and it was hard to decide at what time was best to come in. When it became very wet the lap times became a lot better and I felt very comfortable and in those conditions we had a lot of grip with the Dunlop tyres. Now we are here to test for a couple of days so it is important for us to work a lot on the bad points we have when the track is not dry but not all wet. This is a good result for the team and I know now that we are making many improvements that will help us for the rest of the year.

Proving there were no problems remaining after his eventful morning, Edwards was quickly running consistently at the top of the standings as he looked to perfect the race set-up of his Yamaha. After yesterday’s issues Rossi had shown considerable improvement this morning and he too was looking to use this afternoon’s session to continue his progress towards finding the right race setting. The closing minutes of the session saw Rossi move into second behind Carlos Checa before the Italian was nudged down a place by Casey Stoner. Edwards meanwhile, having made a small mistake with his first qualifying tyre, was determined to make the most of his second and the Texan Tornado stormed into pole with a perfect final lap in a time of 1′33.616, a new pole position record for this circuit.

Colin Edwards. Position:1st Time: 1.33.616 Laps:28
“This morning’s off was a pretty big one and as I was flying through the air I was pretty sure it was going to hurt! Somehow though I landed, the bike sort of rolled over me, I stood up and realised I was ok! I honestly think that had a positive bearing on my performance this afternoon; my bike was working great but I screwed up the last section with my first qualifying tyre and so I knew it had to make or break the second time around. As I went into that final section I thought “here goes, it’s pole or crash and after this morning I’ve realised the ground doesn’t hurt so much after all!” I gave it everything I’ve got and it paid off. Yet again the Michelin qualifying tyres were brilliant and my bike worked really well with them. It’s my first pole in MotoGP so it feels good. As for the race, this place is something of a turnaround for us because we’ve actually got two race tyres that are working well. I can do 35.0s with both so it’s just a case of checking a few things tonight and making our final decision for the race. I’ve got to say a big thank you to my team because they worked flat out to rebuild my bike after this morning and that’s the one I did my lap on. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow; hopefully this is the start of a great weekend.”

Valentino Rossi. Position:4th Time:1.33.876 Laps:29
“Today was much, much better than yesterday! We changed a lot of things on the setting and straight away this morning I could ride better, although things still aren’t perfect and we definitely still need to improve more. I didn’t use my qualifying tyres so well today and I lost the front row through a small mistake, but anyway fourth isn’t so bad. Of course it would be better to be on the front row because I think, with these bikes and with everyone so close, it’s going to be a big battle tomorrow! Our biggest decision now is about the tyre for the race and I think we’ve got some work to do tonight and in warm-up. Colin is looking really strong and I’m happy for him. Now I hope we can get a good start and stay with the leaders tomorrow.”

Valentino Rossi - “ANOTHER SCORE TO SETTLE”
After burying the nightmare of tyre troubles at Shanghai one year ago with a stirring second place in China last Sunday, Valentino Rossi is looking to settle another score from a turbulent 2006 at Le Mans next weekend. Engine trouble at the French circuit robbed the Italian of what looked like a certain victory last May and he is keen to continue a much-improved start to 2007 with another significant points haul.

“I definitely have a score to settle at Le Mans after what happened last year, when I should have won the race!” says Rossi. “Anyway, everything is different now and I’m very determined and looking forward to this next race. Our Yamaha has always gone well there and until the problem of last year it was really flying. I’m very happy to go back to Europe and this next run of races is over some of my favourite tracks, where I know I’m always strong. It’s a very busy time with seven races in just over two months but it’s also a key part of the championship and I’m ready to race at 100%.”

“China was encouraging for us because our bike worked perfectly in qualifying and then also in the race, when we expected more problems. I think our bike is very, very good and although we lack a little bit of top speed this won’t be such a problem at the next few circuits as it was in China. I think we’re in good shape.”

Colin Edwards - “THIRD TIME LUCKY?”
After a brief stop at home in the USA, Colin Edwards travels to France hoping for an end to the bad luck that has dogged him for the past two rounds and taken the shine off an otherwise positive start to the 800cc era. The Texan Tornado has adapted to the demands of the new machines as well as any other rider in the field and, after being knocked off track on the first lap in Istanbul and then suffering from tyre problems at Shanghai, he is targeting Le Mans as a starting point for a run of podium finishes leading up to the summer.

“China was really gutting for me - after the way my bike worked on Saturday for qualifying I really had my hopes up and it was devastating not to be able to fulfil my potential”, says Edwards. “I honestly believe our bike is the best one out there and now I just want to get to Le Mans and prove it! We know we go well there so I’m really hoping I can get back on the podium. We didn’t have the right tyre in China but Le Mans is ‘home ground’ for Michelin and we’ve done a lot of testing there over the last couple of years, which will hopefully help.”

“This is always the busiest and most intense part of the season with no time to rest and building up to what is the biggest race of the year for me in Laguna Seca. My target is to arrive there with several podiums under my belt and in a strong position in the championship!”

Davide Brivio - “IMPOSSIBLE TO FORECAST”
The Grand Prix of France is the first of a run of six races in just eight weeks on European soil before the series heads to the United States for its final date before the summer break. It represents an intense period for the teams and Fiat Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio believes his riders are now primed to launch the kind of consistent assault on the top positions that will be crucial to mounting a serious challenge for honours at the end of the season.

“This is the start of a very important block of races that will have a huge bearing on how the championship develops before the summer break,” says Brivio. “It’s a tough schedule for the whole team because we only have three weekends without a race in two months so it’s a key part of the season and it puts everybody to the test. We said before China that we were going there to defend and then go on the attack in Europe. That is still our plan but this is an unpredictable season with a lot of strong rivals on the track so there is always a ‘but’!”

“Le Mans is a circuit that has been good to us in the past and it will be extremely interesting to compare the level of our bike with our competitors there just because it is so different to anywhere we have been so far. It doesn’t have the long, fast straights of Qatar, Turkey or China but, even so, we know our competitors will be strong. This is a strange season because the new 800 machines and the strong competition between the tyre manufacturers make it impossible to forecast what will happen in each race. Our target for Le Mans and the races that follow it are just to stay as close as we can to the top, finish regularly on the podium and take our chances to win races when they come along.”