The French GP began on Thursday at Le Mans with the customary
Pre-Event Press Conference, with Championship leader Valentino Rossi
(Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) this time joined by reigning Champion Marc
Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), Jerez winner Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda
Team), Spanish GP podium finisher Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) and home
heroes Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Loris Baz (Reale Avintia
Racing).
Before discussing the upcoming MotoGP™ weekend, nine-time World
Champion Valentino Rossi first spoke a few words about former teammate
and 2006 MotoGP™ World Champion Nicky Hayden, who suffered a cycling
accident in Italy on Wednesday and remains in extremely serious
condition in hospital:
Valentino Rossi: “It was very bad news from yesterday. The first hours it’s difficult for it to sink in, but I spoke with a doctor who is a friend of mine, and he said to me that the situation was very difficult from the first moment. Now with a bit more time you start to understand it and it’s a great shame because Nicky is a great friend and great rider; a World Champion and always at the top, but also a great guy. Coming from a family of racers, from his father to his brothers, he’s always a good guy and always smiling. I think the situation is very difficult but we all hope for the best.”
Valentino Rossi: “It was very bad news from yesterday. The first hours it’s difficult for it to sink in, but I spoke with a doctor who is a friend of mine, and he said to me that the situation was very difficult from the first moment. Now with a bit more time you start to understand it and it’s a great shame because Nicky is a great friend and great rider; a World Champion and always at the top, but also a great guy. Coming from a family of racers, from his father to his brothers, he’s always a good guy and always smiling. I think the situation is very difficult but we all hope for the best.”
Regarding the weekend ahead, Rossi had good
words about the new track surface, and has higher hopes after a tough
Spanish GP: “In Jerez I was upset for me and the team, considering the
result of the first three races and last year’s race in Jerez. We lost
the advantage we had, but I’m still in front on points, which is
positive. We need to understand it, it looks like the marriage between
the M1, the tyres and the track was very bad. We don’t know what to
expect from this weekend. Usually in the past the M1 was always good
here in the last few years but we have to wait. We hope for a good
feeling, but the weather could be bad and we expect some rain – so it
will also be an important test in those conditions. We did one day of
testing here before Jerez to understand the new track surface. The
conditions weren’t great but I think they’ve done a very good job. The
asphalt is great and a lot better on the bumps – almost no bumps. The
tyres worked well I think it will be positive for everybody.”
Marquez also began his answer debriefing the
race in Jerez, but unlike Rossi goes into the weekend in Le Mans without
having tested at the track beforehand: “Jerez was a great surprise for
the Honda team because normally we expect to struggle more there but
even though it wasn’t one of my best weekends, I was able to fight for
the win until the last laps. And I’m happy about the Monday test too
because I did a lot of laps and tried many things. In Le Mans we’ll see,
the track surface is another question mark – this year is different, we
have a different bike so we’ll try to do our best. We have some data
from Cal Crutchlow from when he tested here, so we’ll try and use that. I
like the circuit, but although it’s a track I like, for some reason the
results sometimes don’t arrive. We’ll see. A podium result here would
be a good one.”
Jerez winner Dani Pedrosa goes into the French
GP on a good roll, and is also positive after hearing other riders’
reports on the asphalt: “In the last two races we made some improvements
and were getting better practice by practice. And in the last test we
had a good day, and we need to test the new surface here but I think the
riders that tested it said the grip was good. So it’s about learning
how the feeling in the corners is, where the new bumps are or aren’t.
But I think after the last test our base is quite good so we hope we’ll
start the weekend with the bike we had in the last two races. We’ll
check the track and the weather, we need track time to test the tyres
but maybe tomorrow will be raining.”
Equal on the all-time podium list with Pedrosa – 146 apiece – is Jorge Lorenzo,
who joined his compatriot in adding a rostrum finish to his tally in
Jerez, and has the best record on the grid at Le Mans: “For me Le Mans
has always been a good track, from 2003. So a magical track for me, and
it can be a good track for Ducati as we’ve seen. Let’s see with new
asphalt, how the grip is and the bumps. And the weather, it looks like
it will rain but it changes every day. It’s been a long time because I
got used to having good results so I wasn’t used to recovering positions
and struggling. But I trust myself and my team and the potential of the
bike. I need more kilometers. It’s not over yet, there’s work to do,
but I feel much more natural with the bike now.”
Another rider seemingly feeling more and more at home on his machine is rookie superstar Johann Zarco – one of the tricolores lining
up in the premier class in Le Mans this season: “It’s a special
weekend, after a great debut and a good race in Jerez. All the fans are
pushing me to get on the podium – and I want it too but I need time! We
have new asphalt, in wet or dry if we have better grip that can help me
to have good confidence, because the bike is good in many conditions at
the moment. So if I have something more, why not stay with the top
riders? I’m still learning, and when I analyse the last race I still
have a lot to learn – so why not, because I think the potential of the
bike is to be on the podium. The fan reaction is quite a surprise. It’s
nice to see that being good in MotoGP, people love it and support you.
So I want to enjoy it and stay motivated to keep pushing.”
Fellow home hero Loris Baz is another aiming to
fly the flag, arriving at his home track with some good speed and points
this season so far. Baz, like Zarco, praised the fans’ reaction – and
is optimistic of a good result on the Bugatti circuit: “I remember
coming here as a child and I remember my first race here two years ago, I
think it’s something you remember forever. Racing is quite famous in
France, a lot of people come here, so it’s very special and I love
riding at home every time. This year is going much better than last
year. It could be better but I think we’re doing a good job and working
well with the bike we have. We can always score points, and in some
other tracks the pace was really good – so let’s hope this track is good
for us like Argentina was. The bike is really strong on the brakes and
there’s a few places here like that.”
The premier class head out of pitlane for the first time on
Friday at 9:55am (GMT +2) for FP1 at Le Mans, before the race headlines
Sunday at 14:00.
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