Vermeulen powered his Rizla Suzuki to the lead as the rain began to fall at Le Mans, and despite a concerted challenge from Marco Melandri in his Gresini Honda, he held sway to take his first MotoGP event by over 12 seconds.

The Queenslander, who took his debut podium in the wet at Phillip Island last year, qualified 12th on the grid, but an excellent pit stop, put him in a winning position, and the skill of the 24-year-old did the rest in pouring rain.

In a marquee day for Australian riders, Casey Stoner finished third, extending his championship lead over Valentino Rossi to 21 points. It's the first time since 1995 that two Australians have finished on the podium.

Rossi made several uncharacteristic errors in the race, and finished sixth, with Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa (fourth) and Pramac d'Antin Ducati's Alex Hoffman (fifth) passing the seven-time world champion in the final few laps.

Reigning world champion Nicky Hayden was sitting in fourth but crashed out on the penultimate lap in spectacular style.

It was a race which changed as quickly as the French weather. Pole sitter Colin Edwards went backwards from the start and locals Toni Elias and Sylvain Guintoli had led early, but both crashed out as the wet conditions took their toll.

In the wash up of the pit stops, John Hopkins, Vermeulen's teammate, found himself in front, with Vermeulen well-placed in fourth. But the Australian's tyres had an extra lap of heat in them, and in the space on a lap, he had shot to the front.

Hopkins' chances disappeared after he made a mistake, but Vermeulen was determined not to squander his chance. As they approached lapped traffic, Melandri closed within a second, but he couldn't find a way past. As the road opened up in front of him, Vermeulen stormed away to win easily.

It was Suzuki's first win in the premier class since 2000, while the 25 championship points have moved Vermeulen up to fifth.

Stoner also produced an excellent ride. He was seventh after the pit stops, but bided his time picking his way past his rivals. He battled with Rossi for several laps before the Italian made a mistake and he grabbed another podium position and is now firmly on target for the world championship. Sportal

How they finished:

In Italian: Diluvio, vince Vermeulen, Disastro Rossi: è sesto

Pioggia protagonista del GP di Francia: l'australiano della Suzuki è il migliore davanti a Melandri e a Casey che rafforza la testa della classifica. Quarto Pedrosa, il pesarese lontano dai primi.

Chris Vermeulen ha vinto il GP di Francia classe MotoGP. In una gara condizionata dalla pioggia l'australiano della Suzuki ha preceduto Marco Melandri (Honda) e il leader iridato Casey Stoner (Ducati). Quarto posto per Daniel Pedrosa, quinto per Alex Hofmann, solo sesto per Valentino Rossi.

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