Valentino Rossi arrives for the fifth meeting of the MotoGP season in France with the place held by Marc Márquez in the championship before Jerez. Or the fourth, nine lengths from the leader. Does this mean that on the evening of the race at Le Mans, the Doctor will lead the general classification like the official Honda currently? There is still a long way to go…
After the leader of the Yamaha troops, Valentino Rossi, successfully completed the tests in Jerez which took place the day after a Spanish Grand Prix marked by a top 5, it is now heading to Sarthe for the nine-time world champion still in search of a tenth coronation . And the Italian will aim for his third podium of the season on the Bugatti circuit.
During his long and successful career, Red achieved many excellent results in the French Grand Prix. The Doctor has three victories at Le Mans (2002, 2005 and 2008), six second places (2003, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016) and four third places (2000, 2001, 2011 and 2018).
« The Jerez test gave us a lot of positives and we will also try some components during the test sessions in France“, declared the teammate of Maverick Vinales. " Le Mans is a circuit that I really like, and the Yamaha has always been competitive there under normal circumstances. My goal is to work meticulously from day one and to ramp up as quickly as possible”.
« We maintained a strong pace in the race last year and finished third“, remembers the Italian veteran, now 40 years old. “ I hope that the conditions in France remain stable throughout the race weekend, which would be a fundamental prerequisite for us to reach our full potential. I want to get back on the podium and for that, my team and I will do our best”.
Alas, maybe it's good the rain who will accompany the protagonists of the Grands Prix this weekend…
Massimo Meregalli : “We have been very busy after the Spanish Grand Prix, because we want to be in top shape for the French Grand Prix. We made some small improvements during the Jerez test, and we will give them another chance this weekend to see if they give us an advantage. We know that the Bugatti circuit at Le Mans is generally a good track for us, so we want to make the most of this weekend and get the best results possible. We know that Maverick and Vale are both fast here, so we aim to be competitive in every session of the race weekend and have both our drivers fighting at the front.”
