The Bugatti circuit, at Le Mans, is the one where we recorded the most crashes last year. And for good reason, it had been 2 years since the MotoGP race had taken place in the rain. The drivers had to regain certain reflexes, and the mechanics had a lot of work. And with the difficult weather conditions forecast for this weekend, it seems that it is not this year that the number of falls will decrease...
Of the 19 MotoGP races that took place at Le Mans, 10 started in the wet or rain arrived during the race. The only years the MotoGP race at Le Mans took place in completely dry conditions are: 2004, 2010, 2011 and from 2014 to 2019.
The weather forecast for this weekend seems really bad, and that is not going to improve the crash statistics on the Bugatti circuit. Thus, last year, there were no less than 100 falls throughout the weekend on the Sarthois circuit, all categories combined. The Barcelona circuit is second in the 2020 crash rankings, but far behind, with “only” 64 crashes during the weekend. And for good reason, last year, at Le Mans, it had been 2 years since the riders in the Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP categories had ridden in the rain. In these conditions, it is difficult to heat the tires properly.
If we look at the places on the circuit where there are the most crashes, these are turns 3 and 14, these having seen no less than 30 drivers on the ground for the Dunlop chicane, where the left side of the tire is less hot, and braking on the corner undermines grip, and 15 regarding the connection, where falls often take place on the exit, with a go-around on the corner. So, to deal with more frequent falls, the teams anticipate and bring more spare parts than usual.
These 2 turns have left some great memories, whether for Joan Mir at Dunlop, who gets up immediately after her fall, or this magnificent rescue from Jakub Kornfeill at the junction in 2017.
The mechanics will have a lot to do this weekend, and the Team Managers will look closely at the spare parts budget, because the fall is terribly expensive, up to €100.000 !
Videos: MotoGP.com / Statistical data: Dorna
