2006 MotoGP World Championship, round 5 of 17
French Grand Prix, Le Mans, May 19/20/21 - Preview
DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM BACK IN ACTION ON EUROPEAN SOIL
Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau
return to Europe from a run of three 'flyaway' races to contest
the French GP, the first of a crucial run of six events at
classic European racetracks.
Both riders travel to Le Mans hoping for some decent weather
after ever-changing conditions plagued their progress at the
last two GPs, in Turkey and China. But despite a difficult
day at Shanghai last Sunday, Spanish GP winner Capirossi still
holds second overall in the World Championship while Gibernau
is still tenth. With Ducati and Bridgestone tyres improving
the team's technical package step by step, the team is aiming
to get back up front in Europe, with a little help from the
sun!
LORIS CAPIROSSI, Ducati Marlboro Team rider, 2nd
overall (59 points)
"Now we return to Europe, to racetracks that everyone
knows, so we're entering a very interesting part of the season.
It's going to be exciting because the championship is very
tight, there are a lot of riders close on points and a lot
of fast new riders. We just hope for some sun! Our bike continues
to improve, as always. We have done a lot of work on engine
management, so it is more rider-friendly in wet conditions.
When the tyres suit the track, we have an incredible bike.
We just need keep on believing and working hard. I don't like
the Le Mans track, it's not one of my favourites, even though
I've won the 250 race there. The layout isn't at all technical,
so it's not much fun to ride, it's just gas, brake, gas, brake.
But we will see, because they have made some changes to the
first corner and the first chicane, so maybe it will feel
different to ride."
SETE GIBERNAU, Ducati Marlboro Team rider, 10th overall
(25 points)
"Le Mans is a weird track because although I don't really
enjoy it, my results there have always been pretty good. And
I guess I'd rather have good results at a track I don't really
enjoy than have bad results at a track that I do enjoy! I've
won at Le Mans in the dry, I've won there in the wet and I
was second last year, so maybe I am starting to like the place
a bit. Everyone knows it's a stop-and-go kind of a circuit,
so you need good acceleration and good braking performance.
We go there hoping to be competitive and hoping for better
weather because we are entering a crucial part of the championship,
with races at tracks which everyone knows well. Looking at
the season so far, we need to keep our heads down, keep learning,
maybe trust in our own instincts a little more and try to
have a better weekend than we had at the last two races. Ducati
and Bridgestone are working very hard, so we know our time
will come."
LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project manager
"Of the four races so far, the weather was consistent
throughout practice at two races, where we picked up a win,
a third and a fourth place, and kept changing from wet to
dry at the other two in Turkey and China, which affected our
results.
Like us, if you only have two machines with the same tyres
on track, this is maybe a bit of a handicap when you have
so little dry practice time, because the more bikes you have,
the more feedback you get, so the easier it is to find the
right set-up, something which we were unable to do on the
last two occasions.
Apart from this, the team and all of our technical partners,
Shell Advance in particular, are doing a great job, Bridgestone
too, with many new tyres on the way for Le Mans. So now we
hope for some consistent weather in France; either rain, where
we were quick in qualifying both in Turkey and China, or sun,
which will allow us to chose the tyres for the race in the
best conditions!"
THE TRACK
Situated in the Sarthe region a few hours south west of Paris,
Le Mans is one of the world's most famous motorsport venues,
legendary for its 24-hour races. The Bugatti circuit - very
different to the longer 24-hour car track - returned to the
bike GP calendar in 1999, since when the event has built a
huge following in bike-mad France. The circuit layout is very
stop-and-go, with plenty of slow turns where braking and acceleration
performance are primordial. Riders and their engineers therefore
concentrate on honing their machines' braking stability, as
well as improving rear-end traction for the numerous hairpin
exits.
Lap record 2005: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 1m 33.678s (160.635km/h,
99.814 mph)
Pole position 2005: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 1m 33.226s
DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM RIDER DATA LOGS
LORIS CAPIROSSI
Age: 33 (born April 4, 1973)
Lives: Monaco
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP6
GP starts: 235 (64xMotoGP, 59x500, 84x250, 27x125)
GP victories: 26 (4xMotoGP, 2x500, 12x250, 8x125)
First GP victory: Britain, 1990 (125)
First GP: Japan, 1990 (125)
Pole positions: 40 (7xMotoGP, 5x500, 23x250, 5x125)
First pole: Australia, 1991 (125)
World Championships: 3 (125: 1990, 1991, 250: 1998)
Le Mans 2005 results: Grid: 10th. Race: 7th
SETE GIBERNAU
Age: 33 (born December 15, 1972)
Lives: Switzerland
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP6
GP starts: 164 (68xMotoGP, 76x500, 19x250)
GP victories: 9 (8xMotoGP, 1x500)
First GP victory: Valencia, 2001 (500)
First GP: Spain, 1993 (250)
Pole positions: 12 (11xMotoGP, 1x500)
First pole: South Africa, 2000 (500)
Le Mans 2005 results: Grid: 4th. Race: 2nd.
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