Grand Prix de France

MotoGP 2017 Round 5

Repsol Honda Team heads to Le Mans following back-to-back double-podium finishes

Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa are en route to France for round 5 of the MotoGP World Championship after each scoring one win and one additional podium finish in the last two races.

Marc and Dani, who have moved up in the standings to third (-4 points) and fourth (-10) respectively, aim to make the best of the progresses they’ve achieved on their RC213V in order to continue at the same level during another quite unpredictable season, which so far has seen three different winners in four races.

The next challenge for the Repsol Honda pair and their team comes at the historic, stop-and-go Le Mans Circuit, which has recently been resurfaced.

At the Gran Prix de France

Dani Pedrosa has 4 wins: 1 x 125 (2003), 2 x 250 (2004 and 2005), and 1 x MGP (2013), plus an additional 3 podiums and 6 pole positions.

Marc Marquez has 2 wins: 1 x Moto2 (2011), and 1 x MGP (2014), plus an additional 2 podiums and 5 pole positions.

Marc Marquez 93

“Le Mans is particular and different from many other layouts of the Championship. It’s a really narrow, short track with a lot of stop-and-go corners. To make an example, it’s the opposite of the Montmeló circuit [Circuit de Catalunya], but still quite enjoyable. The surface is new and we’ll discover it on Friday morning. The grip should be better and that’s positive for us riders and also for the fans as it means a better show. We must wait and see how it goes there—this year it’s even more difficult to make any predictions. We just have to continue like we’ve done in the last races, working hard, with the right mentality, because the Championship is once again very close.”

Dani Pedrosa 26

“After a great weekend in Jerez we now head to Le Mans in a very positive mood. The French GP is always challenging. To begin with the weather is usually quite changeable which makes it difficult to find rhythm in the practice sessions or to plan how to improve run by run as it may be too cold or the total opposite, very hot. The track itself is very short and the smallest differences in the lap times can make a great difference in the standings. I hope the bike works well on the new asphalt. You need good acceleration and good braking, but consistency is the real key. We are working well with the team and we’ll try to maintain the same level also there”.