Pedrosa Ready for Le Mans

Honda star Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) goes into this weekend’s French Grand Prix holding second place in the 2013 MotoGP World Championship.

Pedrosa’s brilliantly gauged victory in challenging conditions at Jerez ignited his push for the 2013 MotoGP crown. The Spaniard’s 23rd premier-class victory moved him past reigning champion Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) and into second place overall. A productive post-race test at Jerez brings him to Le Mans in confident mood and determined to keep the momentum going.

Le Mans may be best known for its 24 hour motorsport events – on both two wheels and four – but it has also been an on-and-off home for the French Grand Prix since 1969. Honda has scored many victories in the circuit’s 24 hour motorcycle race and took its first premier-class Grand Prix win at the venue in 1983, with Freddie Spencer aboard the NS500 two-stroke triple. Since then Eddie Lawson (1989), Mick Doohan (1994 and 1995), Alex Criville (2000), Valentino Rossi (2002), Sete Gibernau (2003 and 2004), Marco Melandri (2006) and Casey Stoner (2011) have also taken Honda machines to premier-class success at the track.

The Le Mans Bugatti circuit, very different from the much longer 24-hour car track, returned to the GP calendar in 2000 after an absence of four years, during which time the French GP was run at Circuit Paul Ricard in Provence. Since 2000 the event has built a huge following in bike-mad France, with tens of thousands of bikers making the two-hour trip to the Sarthe region from Paris.

Le Mans underwent safety modifications before the 1999 GP, partly as a result of Alberto Puig’s injurious turn-one crash during practice for the 1995 French GP. The daunting right hander was tightened and the Musée left-hander was also modified to lower speeds. Further modifications have been carried out during subsequent years in an ongoing program of improvements.

The track’s character is very stop-and-go, with plenty of slow turns where braking and acceleration performance are primordial. Riders and their engineers therefore concentrate on honing their machines’ stability during braking, as well as improving rear-end traction for the numerous hairpin exits.

After Le Mans the MotoGP circus heads south to one of the season’s most popular events, the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello on June 2.

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa says:

“After a fantastic weekend in Jerez and a productive test on the Monday, I’m looking forward to going to Le Mans. I’ve had good results there in the past and I enjoy the circuit, so I’m hoping that the bike works well there. Practice management in Le Mans can sometimes be difficult and complicated due to the weather but I’m finding my comfort again on the bike and I’m working well with the team. I will go to France and aim to use all of my experience and remain focused for the whole weekend.”