Valentino Rossi of Italy won the French Grand Prix on Sunday for his 90th victory in all classes, tying Angel Nieto for second place on the all-time win list. Giacomo Agostini leads with 122 victories. “I am so happy to win two in a row,” said Rossi, who won the previous race in Shanghai, China. “We are in good shape. Yamaha did a great effort over the close season to change things round,” added Rossi, who never really challenged for the title last year. Starting the Moto GP race from the second row on the grid, Rossi exchanged daring passes with defending overall champion Casey Stoner of Australia on the sixth lap before taking the lead. Rossi quickly escaped the pack, while Dani Pedrosa accelerated past Stoner on the 10th lap. The Australian rider retired on the 20th lap because of a mechanical problem. Jorge Lorenzo staged an impressive comeback, despite two injured ankles and crashes on Friday and Saturday, to overtake Edwards on the 19th lap and Pedrosa on the next lap to finish second. Colin Edwards of the United States finished third. In the 250cc category, Alex Debon of Spain notched his first career victory. Mika Kallio of Finland came fifth, but kept his lead in the standings with 93 points. Pasini remained second with 77 points. In the 125cc class, Mike Di Meglio ended a 26-year drought for French riders at Le Mans by overtaking Bradley Smith of Britain with two laps to go and capture the lead in the overall standings.
