The MotoGP World Championship arrives to the mythical Le Mans track, with Pedrosa, Dovizioso and Stoner looking for a new victory in MotoGP, and Marc Márquez for his first points in Moto2
After the important victory achieved by Dani Pedrosa in Portugal, the Repsol Honda Team arrives to the fourth round of the World Championship full of hope and confidence. Free from the problems he had on his left shoulder, both the Spaniard and his team mates Stoner and Dovizioso will be able to focus fully on their riding and the set-up of their bikes to gather some more valuable points for the Championship. In the Moto2 class, Marc Márquez returns to a circuit where he has already set a podium finish and a pole position, ready to get some more experience.
In the three races already held, Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner have achieved two victories and three podiums between them, confirming themselves as two of the main referents of the Championship currently led by Jorge Lorenzo. Only four points separate Pedrosa from the lead and, with renewed confidence after the significant improvement of his physical form, the Repsol rider has at last a clearer path in front of him than the one he had since he broke his clavicle more than six months ago.
For Casey Stoner, the burden of the Jerez Grand Prix –where he was hit at the beginning of the race- did not prevent him from taking the third position in the overall classification of the Championship. Eleven points behind him is Andrea Dovizioso, who after the Spanish round –where he was twelfth-, was able to recover in Portugal to finish on a well-deserved fourth position after a difficult weekend. After the two positive tests held after the Estoril race, they both reach Le Mans determined to be among the fastest.
It will be a Grand Prix where Marc Márquez will fight to get his first points of the Moto2 class. Despite being among the fastest riders in the practice sessions, he has not been able to perform in a race without any incidents. After the last tests in Estoril, the Repsol rider resumes competition with more kilometres in the intermediate category and with his lesson learned after what happened at the beginning of the Championship.
Dani Pedrosa
“It’s been the first week in a long time in which I have felt calm and confident, especially after the race we had in Portugal. It was a great release for me to feel good on the bike after the operation and makes me see things differently. After the race and Monday’s test I was very tired and sore. I spent three days resting to relax the muscles and then I continued with the physiotherapy and gently working with my trainer. Now, I look forward to getting back on the bike. Le Mans will be, as always, a difficult and busy weekend. I’ve done well overall in this circuit, I have quite a lot of confidence there, but I am yet to win in MotoGP and I would like to. It’s similar to Estoril, a stop and go track where Yamaha has been also very strong in the past. We need to take a big profit of the practice sessions to prepare a bike with good stability, traction and acceleration and be prepared for any track condition because of the weather. In this track you need to be also very focused because the race is long and it’s very important to be consistent and not make any mistakes”.
Andrea Dovizioso
“After the improvements made in the post GP test in Estoril, we arrive in Le Mans more competitive. We will use the new clutch we tested in Portugal and take advantage of the set up solutions tested there. Le Mans is a slow track and has a lot of changes of direction, unfortunately the circuit has lost part of its fascination after changes made in the past years. I have always scored good results on this track, last year we had a very good race finishing on the podium. We head to Le Mans determined to repeat it. Our target is the podium and to achieve it we need to work well from the first day”.
Casey Stoner
“In Estoril I was very happy to retain 3rd and keep some valuable points for the Championship. We’ve always had some reasonable results in LeMans but never really quite good enough. The practice sessions will be important to get the set up of the bike just right, and I feel the Honda should work well there so I’m looking forward to it”.
Marc Márquez
“After the test we had last week in Portugal, we arrive to France with more kilometres of experience that will undoubtedly be positive for the whole team, so I am really motivated and eager to start. In 125cc, the Le Mans circuit suited me well, so we will see what happens on a Moto2. The first part and the last sector of the track are really technical and, overall, it is a fairly slow track, with bends where you have to always try to lift the bike quickly to be able to accelerate. We will also need to have an eye on the weather and make the most of the time we have on track in the practice sessions in order to get the best set-up”.
