HONDA RACING INFORMATION: PEDROSA AIMS TO HEAP PRESSURE ON TITLE RIVALS

French Grand Prix at Le Mans

16, 17 and 18 May 2008

The MotoGP calendar itself is perhaps the biggest challenge facing riders now as seven races in ten weekends loom. Anyone found wanting as this schedule of intense racing unfolds will surely lose sight of the big prize - the time to put points on the board is very definitely now.
Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) is in the driving seat with 81 points to his bitter rival Jorge Lorenzo's 74, with former World Champion Valentino Rossi very much in touch with 72. The two Yamaha riders chasing Dani have shown speed but not quite the consistency of Honda's Spanish maestro.

Pedrosa has notched up a 100% record of rostrum finishes in the four races of 18 so far in 2008. Dani has a win, two second places and a third to his credit and with a strong record at this track including wins in the 125cc category in 2003 and two victories in the 250 class in '04 and '05, Pedrosa is keen to better his record here in MotoGP.He scored a third in 2006 and a fourth last year in the premier class.

He also set the pole position here with a lap time of 1m 33.990 seconds in his debut MotoGP season in 2006, although the current pole record belongs to Colin Edwards (Yamaha) with a 1m 33.616s lap.

Dani's team-mate, the 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) has been close to recapturing the form that secured his World crown with a fourth in Spain and an unfortunate spill when closing on third place in Portugal. If he can jump-start this season here on Sunday with a podium result, he'll be well placed to make the most of this demanding series of upcoming European rounds.

Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Scot Honda RC212V) knows this track well from his 125 and 250 days, he won here on a 125 in 2004. And he'll remember the 2006 250 race when he was narrowly beaten into runner-up spot by his current 250cc class stable-mate in the JiR Scot Honda Team Yuki Takahashi.

This is a ?home' race for French star Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) and having had four races to get to grips with his new machine after two years on a Kawasaki, the main man in the big class for France could produce a very strong ride here. He finished on the podium here four times in the 250cc class.

The 4.185km track is a compact circuit and although few riders claim to enjoy riding here, they all have huge respect for it. Le Mans requires courage in parts, a delicate throttle hand in others and absolute commitment in the many heavy braking areas. The track was built in 1965, modified and shortened in 2003 and then totally resurfaced in 2004 to the general relief of most riders.

Located 150 miles south-west of Paris, the Bugatti circuit at Le Mans employs some elements from the longer public roads circuit but remains modestly within its own confines. Turn one is a blisteringly fast uphill right with a following chicane that requires expert judgement to get right. Many rookie riders either overshoot or brake too early here allowing rivals past.

Much of the rest of the track is a succession of hard braking and tight exits that put a premium on machine balance. It might not be that technical - but it is a challenge. In all it comprises nine right hand turns and four lefts with two tight complexes before the flat out start/finish straight into turn one, which was modified in 2006. The Garage Vert turn has been changed slightly too this year.

Machine set-up requires stability on the brakes and chassis settings that allow quick turn-in but not at the expense of having to tame a wheelie-prone machine on the throttle out of the many slow turns. Many of the overtaking opportunities here are afforded under braking and the longest straight is only 450m long.

Dani said: "I'm looking forward to getting to Le Mans. The most exciting part of the track is after the first chicane, going downhill and through the long-right hander. The most complicated section is the final few corners after the second chicane. The most important factors at Le Mans are good acceleration and good brakes. You also need to make sure that you choose exactly the right gearbox ratios. And you need to ride aggressively. The weather can be a worry because it often rains. It's usually cold as well, so we normally use intermediate tyres. You get a lot of fans there, the grandstands are full on Sunday and the atmosphere is always great."

His team-mate Nicky said: "We'll be aiming to step it up at Le Mans. We've not quite been there the last few races and we need to change that. I like Le Mans, but there's not a whole lot to be said about the track. I like going over the top of the hill after the first chicane and dropping down into that right-hander, then accelerating out of there; that's probably my favourite part of the track. There's not a lot of flow to the layout. I'd say the last little bit looks like something they threw together just to finish the lap, like they were in a hurry to get it done. The weather can change a lot too, so your tyre picks on Thursday are pretty crucial. The track can generate some pretty high temperatures in the tyres and you need good traction accelerating out of all the hairpins because the asphalt at Le Mans can be quite slippery."

Dovi said: "The race in Le Mans could be a good opportunity for us. I like the track very much and have always collected excellent results there in 125s and 250s. This is a slower track and I think it will fit very well with our Honda MotoGP bike. From China I would like to get better results and this will be the incentive that pushes me harder. Morale is high for both the team and I, so I think I will play up front with the top riders. I think also the team has a hunger for points and are motivated like me, especially as we know we can get good results."

Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) said: "I'm feeling really confident about Le Mans - the technical updates with the new clutch have given me a lot of hope and it would be great if that helps solve the chatter problems we've been having sometimes under braking. Also, Bridgestone are going to bring some tyres to France similar to the ones I tested in winter, when I found it much easier to go fast. These two factors together make me really optimistic. Le Mans isn't exactly my favourite circuit but it could suit our bike."

Shinya Nakano (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) said: "It was really important that we managed to get a good pace together during practice at Shanghai and for that reason I feel optimistic about Le Mans. We want to repeat our good performance from China but this time in the race too - not just in practice. If we manage that then we can set our sights on the top seven. If you're in there then anything can happen in a race and you can be in the right place for a great result."

De Puniet said: "This race is special race for me and I feel the pressure - but it's a positive pressure. I like the track and I've got good results here in the past especially in 250 class. I feel confident and we'll work to find the correct package for the weekend (tyres and suspension) even though we're not sure about the weather conditions."