The MotoGP World Championship arrives in France for the fifth Grand Prix of the 2021 season, which will take place this weekend at the historic Bugatti circuit in Le Mans. The famous French circuit, which has been on the calendar since 2000, has so far seen Ducati reach the podium nine times, including a victory last year, taken by Danilo Petrucci, after a contested race in the wet.
During the last edition of the French Grand Prix, Jack Miller, fresh winner of the Spanish GP, was also one of the main protagonists. The Australian was fighting for the podium until a technical problem forced him to retire a few laps from the end. After his success two weeks ago, the Ducati Lenovo team rider intends to be just as competitive this weekend and is undoubtedly counting on wet asphalt to repeat his first victory in the premier category obtained in the same conditions at Assen in 2016.
Will the trigger brought by a first victory in MotoGP in the dry occur and put the Australian rider in a positive spiral, after a rather difficult start to the year?
Jack Miller (#43 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 6th (39 points): “ I’m super happy to come back to race in France this weekend! Last year, I had a good French GP. I was second in qualifying and, after a good start, I stayed in the leading group. Unfortunately, with seven laps to go, I had to retire due to a technical problem. The victory at the Spanish GP two weeks ago definitely boosted my confidence. My feeling with the bike is good, I haven't had any problems with my right forearm now that it's been operated on, so I'm confident I can have another good race this weekend. »
Tour information
Country: France
Name: Bugatti Circuit
Best race lap: Viñales (Yamaha) 1:32.309 (163,2 km/h) – 2017
Circuit record: Zarco (KTM) 1:31.185 (165.2 km/h) – 2018
Maximum speed: Bagnaia (Ducati) 319,6 km/h – 2020
Length of the circuit: 4,185 km
Race distance: 27 laps (112,995 km)
Turns: 14 (5 left, 9 right)
2020 results
Podium: 1° Petrucci (Ducati); 2° A. Márquez (Honda), 3° P. Espargaró (KTM)
Pole position: Quartararo (Yamaha) 1:31.315 (164.9 km/h)
Fastest lap: Zarco (Ducati) 1:43.301 (145.8 km/h)
Jack Miller
Motorcycle: Ducati Desmosedici GP
Race number: 43
GPs contested: 158 (103 x MotoGP, 49 x Moto3, 6 x 125 cc)
First GP: Qatar 2015 (MotoGP), Qatar 2012 (Moto3), Germany 2011 (125 cc)
Victories: 8 (2 MotoGP + 6 Moto3)
First victory: Netherlands 2016 (MotoGP), Qatar 2014 (Moto3)
Pole positions: 9 (1 MotoGP + 8 Moto3)
First pole: Argentina 2018 (MotoGP), USA 2014 (Moto3)
World titles: –
