Returning to Europe after the visit to China, the MotoGP fraternity gathered at the famous Le Mans circuit in the Sarthe region of France on Thursday, ahead of this weekend’s fifth GP of the year. Following races at Losail, Jerez, Estoril and Shanghai the season is rapidly gathering pace; the Alice Grand Prix de France will be the first of six European rounds in less than two months, and already there have been four different winners in the opening four rounds. Greeting the riders and their teams as the paddock took shape on Thursday were weather conditions that give little clue as to their development, with overcast skies and pleasant temperatures in the morning giving way to bright afternoon sunshine as things warmed up. Rain may be forecast for Friday and Saturday, but it is hoped the wet conditions will have passed by race day on Sunday. LCR Honda held a press-packed party in the centre of Paris at the glamorous Etoile nightclub on Wednesday night, with rider Randy de Puniet presenting a special one-off livery featuring the red, white and blue colours of the French flag. Competing in his home race at Le Mans this weekend the Frenchman met the media again today at the pre-Grand Prix press conference. Fielding the questions alongside De Puniet were his compatriot Sylvain Guintoli (Alice Team), standings leader Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda), Shanghai winner Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha) and last year’s Le Mans victor Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki). Rossi is looking forward to the French contest, following his Chinese success, and commented, “Historically the Yamaha is always very fast at Le Mans and with tight corners agility is important. We need to quickly understand what level our tyres will be at on this surface and the weather here is always a factor. Today it is very good, but the forecast for the weekend is not fantastic so we are hoping for good conditions.” Meanwhile, Pedrosa added, “Well it has been a good track for us in the past, so we want to do just as well this time. Last year it was tricky because it was dry and wet, so we have to see what kind of conditions we get. In the last four races it has looked like a very open championship and we need to keep our rhythm up in the coming rounds.”