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MotoGP, Marquez: Le Mans? It could be really tough

VIDEO. "Acceleration is crucial, I hope it goes like Austin". Pedrosa: "a lot will depend on the tyres"

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Marc Marquez arrives at Le Mans as championship leader, a result he's obtained by using his right wrist but also using his head. His Honda is not yet perfect but the Spaniard has managed - by turning past errors into successes - to get the best out of it, achieving two race wins and managing those GP in which he found himself in trouble, like at Jerez.

But this might not be enough against the Yamaha and Marc knows it. For this reason, he used the tests in Spain to work hard on his RC213V and will find out in France whether that work has paid off. Because Le Mans is a track where acceleration from low speeds is fundamental and this is one if his bike's weak points.

I like Le Mans although you have to be ready to deal with many variables, not least the weather: you never know what will happen - he comments - Last year temperatures increased on Sunday and we suffered with front grip during the race. Even rain is not unusual and, in addition, it's a stop-and-go track, with slow corners in which braking and acceleration are crucial.

In fact, the aspect that worries him most.

We'll see if we find a situation similar to Austin, where acceleration from low speed was better than we expected, otherwise it will be very tough - he reflects - In the last tests at Jerez, we worked a lot on the electronics and on chassis set-up, to find better traction, and on the balancing of the bike to reduce wheelieing. It's always a compromise but I think it will be useful at Le Mans and, knowing how far off we were this winter and how we've managed to react in different situations, I'm feeling confident”.

Confidence is what Dani Pedrosa's been missing during this first part of the season. The Spaniard has struggled more than others with the new tyres brought by Michelin, those with a more rigid carcass.

I like the Bugatti track and have taken good results there in the past, but this year there are other factors to consider - he underlines - In the last race I couldn't open the throttle fully on the straight  because the tyre was sliding around too much and I think that at Le Mans too a lot will depend on how the tyres behave. It's not usually a track with great grip.

The Jerez tests could prove useful.

I tried to improve my sensations, testing different things to increase traction and make the bike faster through the tight turns. We'll see if the data collection is useful to us at Le Mans”, he concludes.

To find out more about the French track, check out this technical analysis with Ramon Aurin and Santi Hernandez, the crew chiefs for the two Honda riders.

Translated by Heather Watson
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