Vive la France! Le Mans welcomes MotoGP for 1000th contest

MotoGP 2023

Round Five – Le Mans

Motorcycle Grand Prix racing celebrates a huge milestone at Le Mans as the world’s first motorsport World Championship hits 1000 Grands Prix.  The Championship is tight on the way in as the Tissot Sprint continues to shake up the form book – for some at least – and thrill the grandstands on Saturday.

Reigning Champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) is back in the hot seat with the points lead after a tough weekend for Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team). On pole at Le Mans last year, Bagnaia surely he arrives into the weekend this year as the favourite.

For Bastianini though, it’s another event on the sidelines. And in his place? A former Le Mans winner: Danilo Petrucci. ‘Petrux’ arrives from WorldSBK in Barcelona and will likely need a little time before getting anywhere near up to speed, but he’ll certainly be an interesting addition. It isn’t ‘that’ long since the Italian was plying his trade at the front in the premier class after all…

From the highs of the first few races, Jerez was a somewhat back down to Earth moment for Mooney VR46, but Le Mans is another bite of the cherry. Marco Bezzecchi will be aiming to get back on the podium once again – and gain back that Championship lead – and team-mate Luca Marini will want to get back into that leading postcode after both were a little AWOL in Spain.  Le Mans suits the Ducati though – as if anywhere doesn’t, to be fair – so it will be no surprise if the VR46 crew get back to big impressions this weekend.

KTM are on fire as Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) now matches Bagnaia for Sprint wins – and nearly matched him on Sunday too. His team-mate Jack Miller is right in the mix and getting better with the KTM on every outing. On the podium on both days in Jerez and fighting for both victories? The Austrian factory were true showstoppers at the Spanish Grand Prix, and with both riders also pretty magic in mixed or wet conditions, there seems little to fear from France.

If you’d said after pre-season testing that both Maverick Viñales and Aleix Espargaro would be where they are now, few would probably have believed it. It’s all gone a little downhill after such a promising start, but there is still plenty of promise there. The riders have proven their quality and so has the machine, but it doesn’t take much in the closest competition on two wheels to suddenly find yourself with a bit of a mountain to climb – and just a handful of small mistakes, a few technical glitches and a little bit of pure bad luck have proven enough.

For Jorge Martin, Jerez will probably have tasted a little bitter. Over a weekend with no bad luck and/or drama, the Spaniard wasn’t quite able to take a visit to parc ferme on Saturday or Sunday. He had his bit to say on some of the moves, but with Miller vs Binder vs Pecco in full flow, the Martinator couldn’t quite get in that mix.

On the other side of the garage it’s a whole different kettle of fish for home hero Johann Zarco. There will be a little pressure, for sure, but there will also be an electric atmosphere for the two-time Moto2 Champion. He’s been on the podium here before too, but it’s been a little more up and down so far in 2023.

After the incredible weekend he enjoyed at COTA, it was likely Alex Rins was going to leave Jerez with a little less, but it was a particularly tough one. The Americas GP wasn’t a mirage though and Rins has exactly the same quality, so now it’s time to see if he and his new bike and crew can put the pieces together a little better at Le Mans. He didn’t fare so well here on the Suzuki last year though…

For Takaaki Nakagami, Jerez was a little light in the tunnel and the Japanese rider will want to build on it. He’s taken some solid P7s here over the last few years, which is no mean feat in the field as it is.

On the Alex Marquez side of the Gresini Ducati box, the Grand Prix race in Spain wasn’t quite what the number 73 is aiming for this year with a P8, but it was at least another haul of points after a tough run. Le Mans, however, staged his first ever premier class podium in 2020 as he absolutely smashed it in the rain, so there are some good memories here.

Alex Marquez

“It’s a very different circuit compared to the ones we raced until now, it usually has plenty of grip and that means it could be a good track for us. I got my first MotoGP podium there and I normally do well here. I want to find back the right feeling after the ‘negative’ round at Jerez with an eye to the changeable weather. It could be a good circuit with many stop&go.”

The search for a step forward continues for team-mate Fabio Di Giannantonio. He’s had good speed in the lower classes in France, and he’ll hope this is the weekend it starts coming together – especially ahead of Mugello, which was a highlight of his rookie campaign.

COTA seemed like an upturn, on Sunday at least, for Fabio Quartararo. But Jerez was an adventurous one for the Frenchman. A very controversial Long Lap penalty, that crash, and then a comeback ride… but he also struggled to find speed on one lap at least, missing out on Q2 and suffering one of his worst qualifying results at one of his best venues. But this is home turf and another weekend to reset, with the packed grandstands sure to give the home hero a boost.

For Franco Morbidelli, the tougher run continues too. Argentina is now beginning to fade in the memory, but he was closer to teammate Quartararo at times in Jerez. What will Le Mans bring?

The bad luck continues for RNF, with the team already confirming that Miguel Oliveira will be sidelined in France. Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori will replace him. Meanwhile, Raul Fernandez has undergone surgery on his arm too, so arrives from his own hurdle. After a tougher start to the season than many expected for the former Moto2 record breaker, he’ll hope he can now start to rebuild and really get into that fight at the front over the coming races. First stop: getting passed fit to compete in France.

The mission remains similar for both Augusto Fernandez and Jonas Folger: chipping away at that progress. For Folger, of course, it’s also information and a useful adventure to partner his role as test rider. Fernandez’ aim is more points, and more top tens, as he pushes to get into that next postcode up the road.

It’s proving a tough season so far for Repsol Honda, but every team is only one Grand Prix away from a turnaround. Joan Mir continues to search for some progress in his adaptation, and the grid continues to search the entry list for Marc Marquez. Will his name be on there this time around?

As is often the case, Marc Marquez tops many of the stats for Le Mans, with wins, podiums and poles. And that’s without even talking about eight world titles and the pure magic he can pull out of the hat. But he said it himself: he’ll return when he’s healed. We’ll likely find out if that means the French GP pretty soon, but in the mean time we can just hope that the 1000th Grand Prix in history will feature one of the most successful riders over the 999 events that have gone before.

MotoGP Championship Points

Moto2

Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) is an established winner in Moto2, but mamma mia what a win that was in Jerez. The Brit will hope to find a little more of that magic in Le Mans, and reestablish his consistent presence on the podium.

Behind him though, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) still managed to make it a weekend in his favour, pulling equal with Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) on points at the top of the table. Their duel will likely roll on and it’s current advantage Acosta, but Arbolino did a good damage limitation exercise in Jerez considering he couldn’t quite find the pace. Le Mans sometimes sees the skies open, too…

Meanwhile, Alonso Lopez (CAG SpeedUp) continues to prove a fast, fast face at the front. He’s now homing in on Aron Canet (Pons Wegow Los40) in the standings, with Lowes not far behind.

Moto2 Championship Points

Moto3

Ivan Ortola’s (Angeluss MTA Team) roll continued in style at Jerez, with the Spaniard taking his second win, first back to back win, and first win on home turf. If there was any doubt after Texas, there’s little now: we got ourselves a contender. He’s now third overall, as both Championship leader Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and closest challenger Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI) failed to make it onto the podium last time out. But France is another bite at the cherry…

Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing), meanwhile, is quietly but surely making some inroads into the title fight too – and getting consistent with it. Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) took a top finish after a run of bad luck. And David Alonso (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar) is now a podium finisher!

Joel Kelso has had another fortnight to heal further from his early season injury and showed good speed last time out.

Moto3 Championship Points

MotoE

2023 Le Mans MotoGP Weekend Schedule
Times in AEST

2023 MotoGP Calendar