European road trip takes MotoGP north to France
POWER ELECTRONICS riders hope to convert information from Jerez test into strong Le Mans result
After four rounds of the MotoGP World Championship the series heads to Le Mans for round five with no fewer than three race winners already off the mark. Jorge Lorenzo’s dominant victory in Jerez last time out came on the back of wins for Valentino Rossi in Qatar and Argentina and a single victory so far for the defending champion Marc Márquez in Texas. With Ducati’s two factory riders looking capable and keen to open their victory account as soon as possible, the legendary French circuit promises to host another intriguing weekend of action from the moment free practice gets underway on Friday morning.
A post-Grand Prix test for the POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar Team at Jerez will hopefully see Nicky Hayden and Eugene Laverty in more competitive shape this weekend. Over the course of countless laps at the Spanish circuit Hayden completed some important electronic developments, finding improvements in traction and under braking. Laverty finally made a breakthrough with the lack of rear grip that he had encountered during the race weekend and in previous races this season. The pair are well aware of the challenge that lays ahead at Le Mans but they are equally determined to give their best once again.
Nicky Hayden: “I am looking forward to getting to Le Mans and hopefully putting into practice some of the things we found at Jerez. The improvements we made in the test there should help us close the gap to the top. Le Mans is a tough circuit with some hard-braking zones so it will be important to find a set-up that allows us to attack those areas with confidence. We also need to work hard on the acceleration to get us out of those turns. The weather tends to be very changeable at Le Mans so let’s hope it is kind to us this weekend. From what we have seen so far this season we will have to work hard from Friday to make sure that we are competitive enough to challenge for a good grid position on Saturday.”
Eugene Laverty: “We did a great job in the test after the Grand Prix at Jerez, finding a solution to our rear grip problems there. That is a positive step as we look towards the next round in France. We have shown our pace over a single lap this season but we have been lacking consistency over race distance and we feel we found that at Jerez. I rode Le Mans during my time in 250cc but that’s a long time ago now and it will seem like another new track to me. That won’t be a problem though and I’ll be doing as much work as I can at home to be prepared. We’ll be focused from Friday on doing the best possible job and building on the positive base we found at Jerez.”