PREVIEW – FRENCH GRAND PRIX - LE MANS 21/05/2006
CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM QUEST RETURNS TO EUROPE
The Camel Yamaha Team get back to European territory this
weekend as they look to bring their MotoGP World Championship
points quest back on track in France, following a disappointing
run of races on unfamiliar shores. The legendary Le Mans circuit,
which has intermittently played home to the MotoGP World Championship
since 1969, has been a fixture on the calendar for the last
six seasons and this year plays host to the fifth round of
an incredible campaign that has already seen four different
winners.
Reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi is one of those -
his sole victory so far coming in the second round at Qatar
– but he is aiming to put an end to the parity this
weekend as he aims to recover from a largely disappointing
run of early season results. A first-corner crash at Jerez
and technical problems in the last two rounds at Istanbul
and Shanghai mean the Italian lies 32 points adrift of current
leader Nicky Hayden (Honda), but the most pressing issue for
Rossi is to finally overcome the problems that have restricted
development of the 2006 version YZR-M1 machine so far.
The 4,180m track holds happy memories for the Camel Yamaha
Team, with Rossi having taken pole position and the lap record
on his way to victory last season, when he was joined on the
podium by his team-mate Colin Edwards. A repeat result is
the target for both riders this Sunday, with Edwards having
recorded his first top-three finish of the season just days
ago in China, when he also extended his run of points-scoring
finishes to 25 – a number only previously achieved by
Grand Prix legends Mick Doohan, Wayne Gardner, Eddie Lawson
and Valentino Rossi.
VALENTINO ROSSI: A CRITICAL TIME
MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi knows that the time
is right to turn around his early misfortune and start picking
up serious points in his bid to defend motorcycling’s
premier-class crown for the fifth successive season. The Italian
currently lies sixth in the general standings but he is well
aware that a change in fortune can spark a good run of results
over the next few weeks and dramatically improve his situation.
“Sunday was the second time in the first four races
that we’ve scored virtually zero points and on both
occasions it hasn’t been our fault,” reflects
Rossi. “Luck has definitely not been on our side but
the most important thing now is to sort our problems out as
soon as possible because we have a run of important races
coming up – starting at Le Mans. The next four or five
rounds in Europe are the ‘main course’ of the
season and it is a critical time for us.
“We have got some new things to try at Le Mans so hopefully
they can help us find a good base set-up but still have enough
room for improvement to keep the pace with our rivals over
the weekend. We are up against good riders on good machinery
and we have to be at our maximum level to be able to beat
them. I am already a few points behind the leader but the
championship is very long, I have a lot of confidence in my
team and we have time to put things right.
“Le Mans is not one of my favourite tracks but last
year it was very good for us. I took pole position, the fastest
lap of the race on the final lap and the victory and Colin
was also on the podium, so it was a perfect weekend for us.
We hope this weekend can be the same.”
COLIN EDWARDS: REPEAT PODIUM THE TARGET
Colin Edwards has his sights firmly set on consecutive podium
finishes following his first top-three result in nine months
at China on Sunday. Edwards also scored his maiden rostrum
of 2005 in round four, which took place at Le Mans one year
ago, when he led the race for several laps before eventually
conceding positions to Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau.
The Texan is hoping that can be a good omen for a repeat success
this time around.
“I seem to like round four of the season and I was
really pleased it came good for me again in China,”
smiled Edwards. “Last year’s podium at Le Mans
was the kick-start to a decent run of results for me so I
hope that can prove to be the case this time around. It’s
no secret that we’ve been having problems with the bike
but we’re working hard and if we’re capable of
winning races and taking podiums when we’re in trouble
then just think what we can do when everything is running
smoothly!
“I don’t mind Le Mans as a circuit too much –
it’s a real ‘stop and go’ track, as everybody
says, with hard braking, tight corners and hard acceleration.
We’ll have some work to do with the set-up of the bike
but this track was good for us last year so hopefully it can
prove a little bit easier to adapt to and not as critical
in terms of the problems we’ve had at the last few circuits.”
VALENTINO ROSSI: INFORMATION
Age: 27
Lives: London, UK
Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1
GP victories: 80 (54 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia,
1996 (125cc) GP starts: 161 (101 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc,
30 x 125cc) Pole positions: 40 World Championships –
7 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 4
x MotoGP)
COLIN EDWARDS: INFORMATION
Age: 32
Lives: Conroe, Texas
Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1
First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP)
GP starts: 53 x MotoGP
World Championships - 2 World Superbike
DAVIDE BRIVIO: KEEPING OUR HEADS DOWN
Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio is looking forward
to the relative normality of life on the road as the MotoGP
World Championship returns for a seven-week spell on European
shores. After a gruelling start to the season including flyaway
trips to Qatar, Turkey and China, the team’s trucks
– home to their travelling workshops and offices - will
roll into Le Mans this week to provide a focal point for the
hard work to begin.
“After such a difficult start, which nonetheless has
given us one win with Valentino and Colin’s recent podium,
I hope the next few weeks in Europe will be like a new beginning
to the season for us.” says Brivio. “The races
coming up are crucial but all we can do is keep our heads
down and continue to work hard on solving the problems we
have found this year. There is clearly a lot of room for improvement
but we know from the performances of Valentino and Colin already
this season that the bike has real potential, so we are excited
about finally seeing it performing to its maximum. Hopefully
that can be at Le Mans.
“The engineers at Yamaha have been working very hard
to make sure that is the case and Valentino will have a new
chassis available from the first practice session on Friday.
We will compare it with the current one and will decide later
if we will use it or not. We will also remain there for a
test on Monday to continue with our development. Last year
we had a very good weekend at Le Mans, which finished with
both of our riders on the podium, so it would be nice to repeat
that result! If we can shake off the bad luck that has been
following us around the world recently then we have plenty
of reason to be confident.”
TECHNICALLY SPEAKING: LE MANS ACCORDING TO JEREMY
BURGESS
Le Mans is an archetypal stop-go track, with the added complication
of one of the highest speed turns on the calendar, just after
the short start-finish straight. There are several hairpins
and chicanes, calling not just for balance and control under
hard and repeated braking, but a neat and swift transfer from
full braking to full acceleration on the exit of the corners.
With nine right-handers and only four lefts, the track is
also particularly hard on one side of the tyres, but according
to Valentino Rossi’s Chief Mechanic Jeremy Burgess there
are no hidden secrets to the track in terms of machine set-up.
“Le Mans as a circuit is probably the least technical
on the whole calendar – it doesn’t really have
any stand-out features or characteristics that set it out
from the rest, certainly not in a positive way,” says
Burgess. “You need good acceleration out of the slow
corners, which is why we struggled there on our first visit
with the M1 in 2004 because we were trying out new engines
before tackling the true horsepower tracks like Barcelona,
Mugello and Assen.
“Last year we had a fully-developed bike so we were
able to make the minor adjustments that this circuit requires
and both Valentino and Colin were fast. Clearly with so much
hard braking you need firmer fork settings and spring rates
on the front, and then a slightly softer spring on the rear
so that the rider can hold his line on the exit. That’s
it really – there are no secrets to Le Mans!”
CIRCUIT INFORMATION
Pole Position left
Length: 4180 m
Width: 13 m
Right corners: 9
Left corners: 4
Constructed in: 1974
Last modified: 2002
Le Mans Lap Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005 –
1’33.678
Le Mans Best Lap: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005 – 1’33.226
2005 Results
1. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Yamaha, 44’12.223
2. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Honda, +0.382
3. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Yamaha, +5.711
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