This weekend, the MotoGP World Championships return with another meeting for the Repsol riders: The French Grand Prix. An event at which Dani Pedrosa, following on from the last Grand Prix in Spain, will be looking to further improve on his performance with the aim of climbing another step on the podium. His team-mate, Andrea Dovizioso, with problems in Jerez, is hoping to regain the potential shown over the last few months to again position himself amongst the front runners, a position which Marc Márquez, with his shoulder almost recovered, will also be aiming for, except in the 125cc class.
Holder of the best lap time of the official test sessions on the last two visits to the mythical French circuit, Dani Pedrosa could not match in the race the high expectations he had for the circuit which is the venue for the famous 24 hour race. Fourth in 2008 and third in 2009, the aim of the Repsol rider for this season is to again battle for victory, which eluded him at the last Grand Prix by hardly half a lap. Pedrosa will get back to work with the objective of continuing with the meticulous work of development of his Honda RC212V, which at the last race allowed him to perform at such a high level.
His team-mate in the Repsol Honda Team, Andrea Dovizioso, arrives at the French circuit hopeful, a venue at which, in contrast to the Jerez Circuit, he has always been comfortable. Dovizioso will be battling to regain his form demonstrated both in pre-season testing and the first championship event, in Qatar, where he finished on the podium. It was precisely a year ago that the third position got away from him on this track in the last lap of the race, taken by Pedrosa, and the Italian rider is confident in his ability to make the most of the new improvements to his motorbike to do battle with the fastest.
In the 125cc class, the two weeks of rest have been very good for Marc Márquez to allow him to recover from his fall in Jerez. The Repsol rider, who dislocated his right shoulder in an unfortunate fall at the start of the race, was able to rest completely for a whole week and then begin ten days of rehabilitation, which has allowed him to arrive at the French circuit with confidence. Even though he is not in fully fit, Marc Márquez will again be one to watch in the pack, in which he will have to fight more than ever to again do battle with the leaders.
Dani Pedrosa
“After the Jerez race I’m looking forward to arriving in Le Mans and continuing with our recent progress. We were able to complete a good weekend in Spain, being fast from the first practice and building up to the best set-up possible for the race. This is the pattern we have to achieve again in France. Le Mans is one of those circuits where you need to be prepared for any track conditions because the weather can play a big part during the weekend. In fact, last year’s wet-dry race was a good example of this. So it will be very important to make maximum use of the practice sessions and be ready to set the bike up for a wide range of weather conditions and temperatures. Le Mans will also be my 150th Grand Prix in the World Championship, and I would really like to mark this with another great result there”.
Andrea Dovizioso
“I’m looking forward to racing at Le Mans this weekend. It’s a circuit that I like and where I always tend to get good results so I’m confident for this race. After the improvements we found during the Monday test in Jerez, I think we will be very competitive. In fact we will use the new chassis we tested in Jerez and I’m very positive about our potential. Le Mans is a slow racetrack. It looks easy on paper but in reality it’s quite a tricky place to interpret, and riding at maximum pace is a good challenge. There are many variations of camber and elevation changes that make things difficult – and this is what I like about it. Last year I fought for the podium and I lost out on the very last lap so my motivation is high for this race. I’m confident we can fight with the front riders this year”.
Marc Márquez
“I’ve been in recovery for the past week and a half, after the mandatory rest which I had after Jerez and, although I’m not arriving at the French Grand Prix at one hundred percent, I will be able to compete at a good level. I’ve still got a bit more recovery time and on Friday, when I get on the bike, I will have enough strength and mobility to compete. I like the Le Mans Circuit and the Spanish riders have always ridden well there. It is different from Jerez and Qatar because the track is very narrow, it has a lot of hard braking sections and slow turns. Something that could complicate matters is the rain which is always unpredictable. Both times I have been there, I rode quite well but at both races I had bad luck and was involved in falls which were not my fault. I’m sure that this year I’ll have better luck and so we’ll try to have a good weekend”.
