The Fiat Yamaha Team heads to the historic circuit of Le Mans this weekend after a largely successful start to the season that has seen them take two pole positions, two wins and three podiums as a team in the first three races. Valentino Rossi arrives in France in perfect shape, leading the World Championship by a comfortable eleven points thanks to his stunning win in Jerez. Jorge Lorenzo meanwhile is targeting a return to his form of the first two races after a disappointing home race. Le Mans has traditionally been one of Yamaha’s best circuits and last year saw a clean-sweep of the podium from the Japanese manufacturer with Rossi on top, Lorenzo second and Tech 3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards in third. Rossi also won there with Yamaha in 2005 and has one other French victory to his name as well as six podiums in his illustrious career. Last year’s victory was his 90th and he celebrated by giving Angel Nieto a pillion ride, having equalled the Spanish legend’s win tally. This year sees him approaching another milestone; last weekend’s win was the 98th of his career and another win in Le Mans will see him set up an incredible possible 100th win at his home race in Mugello. Rossi and his crew are adamant after the last race that they have found the right set-up for the 2009 M1 and the new Bridgestone control tyres to allow them to fight for victory at every round and the 30-year-old Italian will be aiming to do just that this weekend. Lorenzo turned 22 the day after Jerez and the brilliant young Spaniard is hoping to celebrate in arrears this weekend, after crashing out of his home race when challenging for a podium. With one win already under his belt this season the Mallorcan has shown that he has the form to challenge the established order and he will want to banish the memories of Jerez this weekend by bouncing back to his best. Last year saw Lorenzo pull off one of the performances of the season by riding to second behind his team-mate despite two fractured ankles, which he had sustained just two weeks before in Shanghai. The French track is one of the least technical circuits on the calendar, with the first part being the most complicated where the high speed turn one, one of the fastest in MotoGP, is followed by a number of tight chicanes. The rest of the track is made up of short straights and hairpins, calling not just for balance and control under hard and repeated braking, but a neat and swift transfer from full braking to full acceleration on the exit of the corners. Valentino Rossi – “Special memories” “My memories of Le Mans last year are amazing because it was my 90th career victory and I made the lap of honour with Angel Nieto on my bike with me, because I equalled his record. Also there were three Yamaha’s on the podium, which was very special. Things are great in our team at the moment, we made a big step forward in Jerez; my bike was fantastic and it was great to win again. Le Mans is a very different track but the Yamaha is always fast there; this year a lot of things have changed but I hope we will still be quick! It’s good to have a rest between races after two together and now we will arrive in Le Mans fully relaxed and ready to work on maximum power.” Jorge Lorenzo – “Another story” “Le Mans is the next stop and the first after my crash in Jerez. I was very sad about what happened there but now it is another story, everything begins again and I must try to do things step by step. The team and I need to improve after Jerez and main target is to get back on the podium. I am fit and I like Le Mans, another historic circuit. For someone like me that loves films, Le Mans is a mythical place, close to one of the most beautiful cities in the world! I have had some difficult times there, and last year wasn’t easy because I crashed twice during the weekend, but in the end the result was good. I’ve been on the podium in each category and I will remember forever the incredible Yamaha podium of last year. It was amazing! I can see now Valentino, Colin and I enjoying the moment with all the Yamaha people smiling! I hope this year we can repeat that moment. I will also remember that podium because it’s the only one where I was on crutches!” Davide Brivio – “Targeting consistency” “Last year at Le Mans was great, Valentino won the race and we had three Yamahas on the podium. We’re coming there in good shape and once again our priority is to remain on the podium because this consistency is what’s going to be important for the championship. Of course if there’s the possibility to win we will try as well! We have great memories of the track and now we hope to make some more this year.” Daniele Romagnoli – “Moving on” “Le Mans was very good for us last year, especially considering that Jorge was not in great physical condition. Jerez was a great disappointment but now we’re keen to move on to France and hopefully we will be able to forget the bad memory from Spain! Le Mans generally suits our Yamaha very well so we hope that we can make the most of it.” Valentino Rossi : Information Age: 30 Lives: Tavullia, Italy Bike: Yamaha GP victories: 98 (72 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 213 (153 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) Pole positions: 52 (42 x MotoGP/500cc, 5 x 250cc, 5 x 125cc) World Championships: 8 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 5 x MotoGP) Jorge Lorenzo: Information Age: 21 Lives: London, UK Bike: Yamaha GP victories: 23 (2 x MotoGP, 17 x 250cc, 4 x 125cc) First GP victory: Brazil, 2003 (125cc) First GP: Jerez, Spain, 2002 (125cc) GP starts: 114 (20 x MotoGP, 48 x 250cc, 46 x 125cc) Pole positions: 31 (5 x MotoGP, 23 x 250cc, 3 x 125cc) World Championships: 2 (250cc, 2006/7) Le Mans: Record Lap V. Rossi (Yamaha) 2008, 1’34.215 Le Mans: Best Lap D. Pedrosa (Honda) 2008, 1’32.647 Grand Prix Results: Le Mans 2008 1. V.Rossi (Yamaha) 44’30.799 2. J. Lorenzo (Yamaha) +4.997 3. C. Edwards (Yamaha) +6.805 More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Bridgestone MotoGP Preview – Round 4: France, Le Mans Tuesday 12 May 2009 Tyre compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium. Rear: Soft, Medium After a sun-soaked Spanish Grand Prix, the weather is set to be much more unpredictable as MotoGP heads to France and to the Le Mans circuit for round four of the season. The first three races have provided three different winners, showing how close competition is in MotoGP’s first season with the single-tyre ruling. Given the forecast weather in France there’s every chance for Le Mans to produce a fourth. There have been two rain-affected race weekends already this season, and Le Mans is liable to be another based on weather conditions in past years. Expecting cooler track conditions and inclement weather, Bridgestone have opted for soft and medium compound front slicks, as used in Motegi and Qatar. It is the fourth consecutive appearance of the soft and medium rear Bridgestone options, having being selected for every race so far this season. In the case of rain, the soft Bridgestone wet tyres will be available. This compound was also used in Motegi on Friday afternoon and for Saturday morning’s free practice. The French Grand Prix will be run on the same weekend as it was last year, despite being a round earlier in the calendar, so an air temperature of 15 to 25 degrees Celsius and a track temperature of 20 to 35 degrees, depending on the weather, can be expected much less than the 49 degrees on-track in Jerez. In 2008 Valentino Rossi took his second victory of the season using Bridgestone tyres in a race that was rained upon at the halfway mark. It was Rossi’s 90th career win, and he’ll be even more motivated to win this year to keep himself on track to score his 100th victory at his home grand prix at Mugello at the end of May. Hiroshi Yamada – Bridgestone Motorsport Manager Motorcycle Sport Unit “We’ve now had three races of this new season with Bridgestone supporting all riders and teams as the series’ Official tyre Supplier, and in this time I am very pleased to have seen three championship leaders. Casey is only 11 points behind Valentino and Jorge and Dani are tied on points for third position, so we could see another change at the French Grand Prix. “Valentino will want to win to keep himself on-track for his 100th victory in Mugello and Casey will want to make amends for last year’s race, but Jorge and Dani are also fast at Le Mans, Colin Edwards has performed well there in the past and after his excellent fourth position in Jerez, Randy de Puniet will carry a lot of confidence into his home grand prix so I think competition at the front will be tight. We had full wet race in 2007 and last year rain fell in the middle of the race, so I hope this year we will have another exciting battle but with dry conditions!” Tohru Ubukata Bridgestone Motorsport Manager Motorcycle Race Tyre Development “The cooler climate in France means that we can run softer compounds, especially with the front Bridgestone. Le Mans has quite a stop-go nature and a number of slow corners, so the loads placed on the tyres through the corners are lower but braking stability and traction are the key areas for tyre performance. The exit of turn nine is a little different though as riders accelerate hard through a long right hander, demanding good traction from the right shoulder of the rear tyre. We have seen rain at Le Mans for the last two years so we can expect more wet weather during the weekend which, with the cooler temperatures, is why we have selected the soft compound Bridgestone wets.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: The fourth round of the World Championship, the Grand Prix de France, takes place on May 17th at the famous Le Mans circuit. An eleven point gap separates MotoGP World Champion and current premier class leader Valentino Rossi from nearest rival Casey Stoner heading to the continental showdown, with the duo in top form thus far in 2009. Fiat Yamaha rider Rossi won his first race of the year at the last round in Jerez, and is the only man with a 100% podium record still intact after the opening three races. Last year he headed an all-Yamaha top three at Le Mans, and a repeat of that result would leave him just one win shy of a century of victories an honour that he could take at his home race in Mugello. Stoner has only finished on the podium at Le Mans on one occasion, with a third place in a wet 2007 race. The Ducati Marlboro star could regain the lead of the World Championship on Sunday, depending on the results of his immediate rivals. Tied on points in third and fourth place are the Spanish duo of Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa, representing Fiat Yamaha and Repsol Honda, respectively. Lorenzo crashed out of his home race at Jerez, whilst Pedrosa took a second consecutive unexpected rostrum whilst in less-than-peak condition. Just eleven points cover positions five-thru-ten in the overall classification, With Andrea Dovizioso at the head of the ‘mini table’ and targeting a better feeling with the Honda RC212V. The Italian has a four-point advantage over Colin Edwards, competing in his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team’s home race on Sunday. Randy de Puniet follows up his fourth place at Jerez with a chance of home glory with his LCR Honda machinery, the Frenchman in a rich run of form. The remaining riders in the top ten have all won races at the Le Mans circuit across the three World Championship classes, with Marco Melandri and Chris Vermeulen previous premier class victors at the track and Loris Capirossi a victor in the lower cylinder categories. A return to one-hour practice sessions is brought in from the Grand Prix de France onwards. 250cc The 250cc World Championship has been a typically close affair so far in 2009, with three different race winners and as many series leaders from the opening trio of rounds. The current holder of the top spot is Hiroshi Aoyama, who took the win at Jerez to take over from Álvaro Bautista. Four points split the Scot Racing rider and his Mapfre Aspar rival, and the past two Grands Prix have seen the pair battle amongst each other for the victory. A further eleven points down is Héctor Barberá, winner of the first race of the year in Qatar. Pepe World’s Spanish star has yet to finish on the podium at Le Mans, where this weekend the series will take another twist. Whilst Barberá’s form has been erratic, that of Thomas Luthi has been steady, if unspectacular. The Swiss rider lies fourth in the World Championship standings, ahead of this weekend’s highest-ranked home rider Jules Cluzel, category rookie Gabor Talmacsi, Mattia Pasini and French 125cc World Champion Mike di Meglio. Reigning 250cc titlist Marco Simoncelli took his first points of the year at Jerez with a podium placing, and props up the top ten below Raffaele de Rosa. 125cc As a result of the four-lap 125cc race that opened the season in Qatar, some riders have less than a point separating them from their closest rival, and the general standings show no runaway leader heading to round four. Andrea Iannone had played his part in eking out a lead over the first two races, but at Jerez the Italian also managed to tighten up the field. The only rider to win two races so far in 2009, Iannone crashed in the early stages of the Spanish date, leaving victory to his principal challenger Bradley Smith. Le Mans has traditionally been a happy hunting ground for Smith, who trails Iannone by just one point. The Briton has twice finished on the podium at the French race. Pol Espargaró is just six points adrift of Iannone in third place, with a 1.5 point advantage over Julián Simon another crasher at the Jerez circuit. Also in the immediate hunt for the series’ top spot are Sandro Cortese, Marc Marquez and Sergio Gadea, all of whom have finished on the podium once in the first three races. More, from a press release issued by Honda: MOTORSPORT MECCA LE MANS WELCOMES MotoGP CIRCUS The motorsport Mecca of Le Mans welcomes the 2009 MotoGP World Championship this weekend, with Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso in optimistic mood after showing promising pace at Jerez two weeks ago. Round four of this year’s 17 race series, the French Grand Prix has been kind to Honda over the years, the manufacturer winning 11 of the last 15 premier-class races staged at Le Mans and Circuit Paul Ricard. Going to Le Mans, Pedrosa is Honda’s top-placed MotoGP rider, the Spaniard currently third equal on points, while Scot Honda’s Hiroshi Aoyama heads the 250 series following his stunning Jerez victory. Significant news in the lead up to this race is that the MotoGP pre-race practice schedule has been expanded, with the three 45-minute sessions increased to one-hour sessions. Practice time had been reduced for 2009 from the previous total of four hours, but riders and teams had voiced concerns that there was too little pre-race set-up time. Pedrosa has every reason to feel confident on his return to Le Mans, where he has enjoyed much previous success. A hat-trick 125 and 250 winner in 2003, 2004 and 2005, Pedrosa scored a podium finish first time out on a MotoGP bike at Le Mans in 2006 and last year started the race from pole position. He arrives in France off the back of a brilliant ride to second place in the Spanish GP, despite having missed vital preseason testing at the track due to injury. Pedrosa and his crew continue to refine the set-up of his Repsol Honda RC212V which has taken him to podium results at the last two GPs. This weekend they will aim for stability, traction and acceleration, the most crucial aspects of machine performance at a circuit characterised by heavy braking, rapid changes of direction and bursts of low-gear acceleration. Team-mate and fellow 23-year-old Dovizioso is anxious to resume battle aboard his Repsol Honda RC212V after a Spanish GP that promised so much. The Italian had an excellent pace going at Jerez but ran off the track during a charge which should have put him in with a chance of scoring a top-three finish. Dovizioso will continue his set-by-step improvement aboard his factory RC212V at Le Mans, where he always goes well the 125 winner in 2004, he scored a hat-trick of 250 podiums at the track before taking eighth in last year’s MotoGP race. Like Pedrosa, Dovi has used Honda machinery throughout his World Championship career. Also brimming with confidence this weekend is local hero Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda), who scored his best MotoGP result in more than a year at Jerez. The Frenchman’s fourth-place finish was the result of a superbly consistent pace which suggests that LCR Honda have found an excellent direction of development with their RC212V/Bridgestone package. Alex De Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini) and Toni Elias (San Carlo Honda Gresini) have both been working on improving rear-end traction at recent races. And while their results haven’t been up to expectations, both men are certain they are moving in the right direction and are looking forward to Le Mans which will allow them to usefully evaluate their latest set-up improvements. Yuki Takahashi (Scot Honda) scored his best MotoGP result so far at Jerez, proving that he is really getting to grips with his RC212V. Takahashi hopes to keep moving forward at Le Mans, where in 2006 he won his first GP victory, beating then 250 team-mate Andrea Dovizioso. Compatriot and current team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Honda) comes to Le Mans on top of the world in 250s, following his breathtaking last-corner victory at Jerez. Aoyama and his team are hoping that the RS250RW’s rider-friendly character will once again help him gain the winning edge at Le Mans, where slow corners dominate. Aoyama’s team-mate and 250 rookie Raffaele De Rosa (Scot Honda) has never been a fan of the French track, but hopes the layout will work better for him now he’s campaigning a 250. De Rosa has scored two top-six results from his first three 250 rides, suggesting that the 22-year-old is a natural for the class after several seasons racing in 125cc GPs. Le Mans is a long way from home for Shoya Tomizawa (Team CIP Honda) but the French GP is effectively the teenager’s second home GP. A newcomer to the World Championship scene, Tomizawa is now looked after by the small but enthusiastic Team CIP, based near Nimes in southern France. The last two weeks have been a period of recuperation for Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda PTT-SAG) who hurt his left ankle in a qualifying accident at Jerez. The Thai rider bravely rode out the 26-lap race to take 15th place and a single World Championship point, and has been working hard at physiotherapy ever since. Team-mate Hector Faubel (Valencia CF Honda SAG) has had an unlucky start to the 2009 season but the Spaniard believes he can turn things around at Le Mans where his Honda is known to work well through the tight turns. GP rookie Bastien Chesaux (Racing Team Germany Honda) came within two positions of scoring his first World Championship points at Jerez. That result has given the Swiss teenager some extra impetus in his efforts to break into the points in France Le Mans has hosted motorcycle Grands Prix on and off since the late 1960s. This year’s event is the venue’s 21st motorcycle GP. All but one of those GPs have been run as France’s round of the World Championship, except the 1991 Le Mans GP which was staged as the ‘Grand Prix du Vitesse’. MotoGP racers use the Le Mans 4.180km Bugatti track, a purpose-built circuit which only shares a kilometre or so of the mostly public-roads 24 hour car race circuit. The Bugatti layout features nine right hand turns and four lefts and is stop-and-go in nature, with several low-speed corners and short straights which make stable braking performance and acceleration performance primordial. Over the years the circuit has undergone numerous changes and improvements, with esses and chicane sections introduced to reduce speeds at once much-faster corners. HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) says: “After the Jerez race I’m quite happy to be going to Le Mans because this is another circuit I like and I hope we can go well there again. It’s a track where the weather is often quite unstable and this means we usually have a busy weekend because we have to be prepared to set the bike up for a wide range of weather conditions and temperatures. Still, we have 15 minutes more practice time in each session which should help us with this, and it’ll be interesting to see how our allocation of 20 tyres copes with the extra time too. Some of our rivals’ machines usually perform well at Le Mans so we need to be really focused on getting our bike to work well here. Personally, I’ve had some good results at Le Mans, including a few victories in 125 and 250, so it’s a circuit I where I have quite a lot of confidence. I hope to convert that into a good result this weekend.” Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) says: “I always look forward to racing at Le Mans and I’m determined to work really hard this weekend. I know that I have to improve and we also need to focus on getting the best out of our machine package. Dani’s recent results in Japan and Spain have given me extra motivation because he’s shown what the bike is capable of. I have always had good results at Le Mans so I’m hoping I can repeat those. The circuit is quite slow and narrow, and it has a lot of changes of direction it’s a technical track. The changes to the first chicane have robbed Le Mans of part of its fascination, which is unfortunate, but it’s still a circuit I like. The only issue here is the weather, because it rains quite often and we’ve already had enough rain this year!” Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) says: “The Jerez weekend was simply perfect for me and the squad, but we must keep our feet on the ground. The championship is very long and it won’t be easy, but it seems we are working in the right direction. I am seventh overall in the provisional standings and I will keep trying to get as many points as possible. Racing here in Le Mans is always something special and the fans are very warm with me. But I have to keep my focus and get as consistent as possible. This track is very interesting, I like all the stop-and-go braking points. My bike is quite competitive now but we will probably miss some acceleration at this track.” Alex De Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini) says: “It has been a very difficult couple of weeks for me for a variety of reasons. After making a great start to the season with sixth place in Qatar we have struggled for set-up at Motegi and Jerez and I’ve had a couple of crashes, which are never helpful. Nevertheless, I don’t feel like we are entirely to blame and I have absolute faith in myself and my team that we can get back to the pace we know we are capable of. I’m pleased we are going back to an hour for each practice session because it means we don’t have to rush so much and take unnecessary risks in practice. At Le Mans we will work hard on our race pace but also try to secure a better starting position because I think it was this, as much as anything, that damaged our chances in Spain.” Toni Elias (San Carlo Honda Gresini) says: “I was very disappointed with the level of our performance at Jerez but we cannot turn back the clock and we simply have to take whatever positives we can out of the situation. The truth is that I think we are making progress overall and whilst we still may not be able to challenge where we want to be at Le Mans, the important thing will be to continue getting closer. Le Mans is a circuit I like and it suits my style because there is a lot of hard braking, but the reality is that if we don’t find a good balance for the bike then it doesn’t matter how much I like it! I felt comfortable there with the Gresini Honda bike in 2007, even though the race didn’t go to plan, so hopefully I can get a good feeling again and it can be a positive weekend.” Yuki Takahashi (Scot Honda) says: “I love this track it is not a coincidence that I got my first 250 victory at Le Mans. However, there is something curious… In 250s, one of my best points was how to deal with the hairpins, but in MotoGP it’s an issue we have still to think about because we need to improve traction when we are accelerating out of the corners. This is very important at Le Mans because there are many slow corners, so we will be working hard on this side of machine performance.” HONDA 250cc RIDER QUOTES. Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Honda) says: “I like the layout of the circuit, which is similar to Motegi in that it has a stop-and-go character, but for some reason I never had really good results at Le Mans. Obviously I’m not happy about that and I’ll be aiming to change things this weekend. My best Le Mans result so far is fourth, back in 2006. I’ll arrive at the track as leader of the World Championship, which is a very satisfying feeling, but my plan for the championship is simply to do the best possible at every race. Then at the end, we will see how things are.” Raffaele De Rosa (Scot Honda) says: “To be honest, Le Mans is not one of my favourite tracks. Nevertheless, it really suits the Honda 250, so perhaps I will enjoy the circuit more on the 250 than I used to on the 125. I like my Honda RS250RW, and my feeling with the team is great. I still need to understand a few more things about the 250 to ride it at its maximum, but I already feel like our natural place is in the top six.” Shoya Tomizawa (Team CIP Honda) says: “I have had a very interesting races to start my first full World Championship season. The results have been okay, but the important thing is that I am learning for the future, that’s my job at the moment, to learn as much about the tracks and about GP racing as possible. Le Mans is the home race for my team so I want a good result, of course. Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda PTT-SAG) says: “Since Jerez I have been working hard at rehabilitating my left ankle daily and the injury improved considerably so I am hoping to be in good physical shape for Le Mans. But I’ve also had some bad luck this week I had an accident at home and now have stitches in my hand. I hope that this little thing won’t be a problem at Le Mans, because I will be aiming for my first podium. I’m thinking about that every day.” Hector Faubel (Valencia CF Honda SAG) says: “I am feeling quite optimistic for Le Mans, because I know that the Honda 250 works very well at this track. So far the results haven’t been what we had been hoping for but I am confident we can achieve a favourable result in France.” Bastien Chesaux (Racing Team Germany Honda) says: “The last race was really good for us. We still need to find a better set-up to help the rear tyre, but I think the rest of the bike should be perfect for Le Mans. The track is slower than Jerez, which should suit us because recently I’ve only had problems with high-speed corners. I feel really good on the bike and the team shares the same goals as me.”