'Fantastic' last lap falls to 'no mistakes' Rossi.

A superb head-to-head confrontation between the two best motorcycle riders on the planet saw world champion Valentino Rossi take a knife-edge victory over Sete Gibernau in Sunday's French Grand Prix at Le Mans.

The Italian had to dig to the very bottom of his considerable resources to fight off the challenge of his bitter rival in a 28 lap main event that had the 75,000 strong crowd at fever pitch throughout. At the finish they were separated by just 0.3secs after each set their fastest lap on the very last lap of the race.

Both riders made poor starts in the dry conditions that had a hint of rain in the air and instead it was Rossi's Gauloises Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards who led the way from the Repsol Honda of Nicky Hayden. "I made my life more complicated by messing up the start," admitted Rossi afterwards.

Indeed, both Rossi and Gibernau were well down the order in sixth and seventh at the end of lap one, but by lap four Rossi was up to fourth, but Gibernau was going backwards - a mistake dropping him down to eighth.

"It took me a while to get used to the bike and the tyre, but I didn't lose my head or my confidence and gave it everything to get to the front," explained Sete.

Meanwhile The Doctor took third from Loris Capirossi on lap six, and second from Hayden four laps later, putting him directly behind race leader Edwards. Rossi then seemed content to hold station and see how the race progressed - but Gibernau had different ideas.

For it was at that stage that Sete began his remorseless charge to the front, setting an early fastest lap on lap nine and moving up to fifth, then delivering another fastest lap on the fifteenth tour and - just as Edwards and Rossi began to pull clear of Hayden - Gibernau snatched third from the American.

Almost before Rossi had recognised the threat his pit crew were trying to communicate to him, Gibernau was on right his rear wheel - seriously compromising Vale's options to pass Edwards.

"I stayed behind (Edwards) for a while because his rhythm was good and nobody was catching up, but then Gibernau arrived very fast from behind so I decided to try and overtake and push to the maximum," recalled Rossi.

But a rash move on Edwards resulted in the Italian running wide and losing second to Gibernau. Rossi would soon retake the position and, with eight laps to go, both slipped past the Texan on the same corner - reducing the lead battle to a straight two-way fight.

"It was incredibly tough because I needed an opportunity to rest and allow the tyre to cool down but I couldn't," revealed Gibernau. "When I saw Rossi pass Edwards I went with him."

Gibernau threw everything he had at Rossi to try and win his third French Grand Prix in a row, but the six-times world champion held a slim 0.2secs advantage as the final lap began. Both then delivered their fastest lap of the race, but Gibernau crucially made a small mistake while Rossi was faultless. That decided the grand prix.

"I had a clear idea of where I was going to pass him, but I made a mistake on the corner before and it was impossible," revealed Gibernau, who was clearly fighting wheel spin in the closing stages.

"It was a fantastic last lap - the fastest of the race - and I made no mistakes," enthused Rossi. "Gibernau rode a fantastic race and I knew he was coming and I knew it would come down to that last lap.

"We were lucky that it didn't rain and we were able to put on a fantastic show. It was a difficult and long but great race. I took pole position, the fastest lap and the victory and Colin was also on the podium, so it has been a perfect weekend for us," beamed the Italian. "The bike was very precise and I was able to get the power down well so this looks good for the coming races.

"We continue our work here tomorrow. I'm not sure what I have to test but I'm very happy to stay if we can make even more progress. I'm looking forward to Mugello and hope to see lots of Italian fans there," concluded Rossi who, after his third win of the season, has now opened up a 3-point lead over Marco Melandri, who finished fourth on Sunday.

"Today we've returned to where we should be, fighting to win races," reflected Gibernau after his second runner-up position of the season. "I'm particularly satisfied because we've had a lot of problems in qualifying. Without the help of Michelin and the incredible job done by my team, this result was unthinkable."

Sete has now advanced to third in the world championships standings, five-points behind team-mate Melandri.