The 2013 season gathers pace this weekend as the MotoGP World Championship paddock moves north from Spain to France for the fourth round at the legendary Bugatti circuit in Le Mans, home of the world famous 24 hour race. The Grand Prix circuit measures just 4.180km and features a series of short straights, hard braking zones and tight chicanes. After three rounds of the Moto3 season there have been three different race winners and it would be no surprise to see four out of four this weekend given how close the top riders are in the championship - Viñales, Salom, Rins and Folger having all established themselves as the early title contenders.
MAPFRE Aspar Team rider Jonas Folger heads to Le Mans with renewed enthusiasm after scoring his first podium of the season at the third attempt in Jerez. Third place in Spain has given the German a timely boost and kickstarted a Moto3 title push that he hopes to see through to the end of the season. Meanwhile his rookie team-mate Eric Granado also took a step forward in the last round, closing in on the points-scoring positions. Now the Brazilian is looking to break into the top fifteen this weekend.
Jonas Folger:
“I like Le Mans, I have always had a good feeling there and we arrive in optimistic mood after my first podium of the season at Jerez. We have shown in free practice that we have the pace but we need to maintain it right through the weekend and be more consistent in qualifying and the race. The goal this weekend is to improve our pace on used tyres because we seem able to run with the front group over the early laps and then struggle to stay in touch at the end. We spoke with the Kalex engineer about it at Jerez and we are going to try some new ideas at Le Mans. The podium at Jerez was a nice bonus but now we must continue to improve.”
Eric Granado:
“Le Mans is a new circuit for me but I have been watching videos and playing on the games console to try and learn it. It is short but it looks like fun. I am told that it tends to rain quite a lot in France so hopefully the weather is kind to us this weekend. I have been watching my diet very closely since I've been at home and training specifically to lose weight, which is important in this category because the bikes are so close. Hopefully I can learn the track quickly and find a good set-up. At Jerez we were close to the points but we were lacking a bit of race pace so that is what we need this weekend if we want to break into that top fifteen.”
Mapfre Aspar Moto3 Press Release
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