After resounding Repsol Honda success in China, the form riders of the World Championship Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) and his unstoppable rookie team-mate Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC211V), return to Europe to begin an demanding series of races at the ‘classic’ tracks. With Nicky heading the points standings by 13 points from Ducati’s Loris Capirossi, and with the mercurial Dani just two points behind the Italian, the result of this race will begin to shape the middle stages of what is proving to be a compelling World Championship. The Bugatti circuit at Le Mans is by no means a favourite of all riders in the way that say Mugello, Assen or Brno might be, but it is nevertheless a ‘name’ track with a rich recent history and it’s a racing environment capable of producing entertainingly close racing. The 4.180km track is a compact circuit and although few riders claim to enjoy riding here, they all have huge respect for it. Le Mans requires courage in parts, a delicate throttle hand in others and absolute commitment in the many heavy braking areas. The track was built in 1965, modified and shortened in 2003 and then totally resurfaced in 2004 to the general relief of most riders. Located 150 miles south-west of Paris, the Bugatti circuit at Le Mans employs some elements from the longer public roads circuit but remains modestly within its own confines. Turn one is a blisteringly fast uphill right with a following chicane that requires expert judgement to get right. Many rookie riders overshoot or brake too early allowing rivals past. Much of the rest of the track is a succession of hard braking and tight exits that put a premium on machine balance. It might not be that technical but it is a challenge. In all it comprises nine right hand turns and four lefts with two tight complexes before the flat out start/finish straight into turn one. Machine set-up requires stability on the brakes and chassis settings that allow quick turn-in but not at the expense of having to tame a wheelie-prone machine on the throttle out of the many slow turns. Many of the overtaking opportunities here are afforded under braking. Dani, who has qualified on pole and won here on a 250 for the last two years, is perhaps best qualified to talk about the track. He said, “Le Mans is very different from Shanghai. This circuit has a lot of hard acceleration, a lot of hard braking sections and a very fast, long corner at the end of the straight. Having good drive at the exit of the corners is fundamental to making a fast lap. And the gearbox has to be very well set up. It has been a tough start to the season but I’m happy with the results so far.” Nicky, who has now enjoyed eight consecutive podium finishes will be looking to improve on his sixth place here in 2005 with a win on Sunday. He said, “Since they repaved Le Mans the track’s got a lot better. I can’t say there’s one part that’s my favourite and there’s a lot of stop and go stuff nevertheless, I quite like the track. In the past I’ve gone well here but I’ve had some bad luck and haven’t had great results so I’m looking forward to going there and putting that right.” Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V), who’s had two rostrum finishes here on a 250, said, “The Bugatti circuit is characterised by a lot of hard braking and it requires a riding style that favours good braking on the entry and fine throttle control on the exit to make the most of each corner. Le Mans is notorious for hard braking. It is a really demanding layout but I actually quite like it because it can be fun to ride. It’s not one of the most technical circuits in the world but you can enjoy yourself there.” His team-mate Toni Elias (Fortuna Honda RC211V), who managed a ninth place here in 2005 in MotoGP, has won here on a 250. But he also crashed heavily here last year in testing. He said, “I’m sure when I get to that first chicane for the first time this weekend the crash that broke my right wrist will come into my mind, but that certainly won’t prevent me from giving it my very best. I’m feeling highly motivated and my team is doing a great job.” Casey Stoner (LCR Honda RC211V) continues to thrive in the premier class and the Aussie rookie is looking forward to getting to grips with his RCV here. “I’ve just missed out on podiums here on a 125 and on a 250, so we’ll see if I can go better on the RC211V. I’m really enjoying riding it.” Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V) will be aiming to continue the vastly improved form that saw him finish sixth in Shanghai after a run of poor results. He said, “I’m happy to go to Le Mans, the circuit is medium fast and I love this kind of track. In the last Grand Prix, I was finally able to effectively express my riding style. I’m finding the feeling with my Honda RC211V again and I think everything’s in place for a good race on Sunday.” Kenny Roberts (Roberts KR211V) has not enjoyed much success here, but remains as upbeat as ever about his chances with a new chassis for the latest version of his RC211V-powered machine. He said, “This series of European races will really help our development as we can respond faster to any changes we need to make. This race should be the start of a steep improvement curve for us.” Andrea Dovizioso (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) heads the points table in the 250cc class and the intense Italian who won here on a 125 in 2004 and scored a podium last year in his debut season on a 250 will be looking to hammer home an advantage here on Sunday. He said, “I’ve had a podium finish in the last four races and this shows that I’m a consistent rider. But I’m not completely satisfied as my aim is to win a 250 cc race and in Shanghai I missed it. I’ve always been fast at Le Mans. Last year I finished third after a great battle with Pedrosa and De Puniet. It’s a slow track so the gap with the Aprilias will be smaller for sure.” His team-mate Yuki Takahashi (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) is eager to race here. He said, “This circuit doesn’t feature long straights like in Shanghai, where we saw a gap with the Aprilias. It’s a slow track where we can fight on equal terms with our rivals. I’m not looking at my position in the World Championship, for me it’s important to finish the races and try to do my best.” Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW) is raring to go and Sebastian Porto (Repsol Honda RS250RW) is looking to register a huge improvement in his performance at a track he knows well. The Argentine’s best results here so far were a 10th place in 1997 and 1999. In the 125cc class new recruit Gabor Talmacsi (Humangest Honda RS125R) is currently the best of the Honda men taking the challenge to series leader Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia). But the genial Hungarian has a lot of work to do if he is to overhaul the 50 point advantage over him that Bautista currently enjoys. He said, “I’m happy because we found our competitiveness in Shanghai and now we go to Le Mans, which is a good track for Honda machines. The set-up of the bike is almost OK, we still have work to do on the suspension, which didn’t allow me to take the lines I wanted to in Shanghai, but we are in the right shape. We can go a further step ahead in France.” Reigning World Champion Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R), who has had a troubled start to his title defence believes he is now on the way to clawing back some ground on his rivals. He said, “Le Mans is not so bad for us, completely different to Shanghai. The bike is really good now and I’m confident. We had a great weekend at Le Mans last year so we hope for a good result on Sunday to forget our bad luck at Shanghai.”
Hayden And Pedrosa Assess Le Mans Circuit As They Head To French GP
Hayden And Pedrosa Assess Le Mans Circuit As They Head To French GP
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