2012 MotoGP preview: Le Mans

Australia's Casey Stoner will look to extend his lead in the championship, while former MotoGP regular Chris Vermeulen will make a one-off comeback

MotoGP action returns this weekend (May 19-21) in the French Grand Prix at Le Mans, where Casey Stoner will be out to make it three wins in row on his Repsol Honda.

He will face stiff competition from his teammate Dani Pedrosa and Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo, who have been the only three racers to stand on the podium this season. They have already cemented themselves as one of the greatest rivalries in the 64-year history of the sport, having shared the podium a record 16 times – four more than any other trio in the past.

Le Mans, which will host the Grand Prix for the 55th time this weekend, also sees Stoner chasing his 19th successive podium. Having won the last two races, and showing clear signs of recovery from his arm pump problem, he remains the man to beat. Lorenzo, only 1pt behind the Australian in the standings, has been the most consistent challenger so far and will be looking to get one over on the current world champion at a track where he has won twice already in the premier class.

“The past two tracks have not historically been my best but I've managed wins at both of them so I'm hoping we can go to Le Mans and be competitive again,” said Stoner. “I've had some mixed results there in the past, the track layout is unique, it's a little stop-start with a lot of braking and I think this year both the Hondas and Yamahas will be competitive there.

“It was disappointing that the weather in Estoril on Monday (after the last GP) prevented us from testing, we need to work on the chatter issue we have on the bike so let's hope we have some dry sessions from day one in Le Mans so we can get out on track and work on it.”

For the first time since the end of 2009, Stoner will be joined on a MotoGP grid by countryman Chris Vermeulen, who’s returning for a one-off ride to replace injured American Colin Edwards on a CRT bike for NGM Mobile Forward Racing.

“First of all I would like to wish Colin a speedy recovery,” said Vermeulen. “I am grateful to have the opportunity to race back in MotoGP with the NGM Mobile Forward Racing team. I am looking forward to my first time on the bike being at Le Mans… and excited to be racing at the top level of motorcycling again and look forward to working with the team.”

Vermeulen was a MotoGP factory rider for Suzuki from 2006-2009, after which he switched to World Superbike on a Kawasaki.

Meanwhile, Pedrosa, who recorded his 100th podium finish last time out at Estoril, will be looking to get his first win of the season at a track where he has not yet won in the top category. Monster Yamaha Tech 3 pair Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso have so far provided some great inter-team battles and will be aiming to not only out-do one another once again, but to find that extra bit of pace to catch up to the front three.

Ducati factory pair Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden, who both had mixed fortunes last time out, will be heading to the French track with optimism after Rossi recorded his best Ducati result this season in seventh. Having finished 26 seconds behind race winner Stoner, this was the closest any Ducati rider has finished to the race winner since Rossi’s seventh place finish at Misano last year. The Italian will also hold fond memories of the French track, as Le Mans was the setting for Rossi’s sole podium last year.

Honda satellite riders, San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista and LCR Honda MotoGP’s rookie Stefan Bradl, will look to build on their solid performances so far this year, while Pramac Racing’s Héctor Barberá aboard his satellite Ducati will look to improve on his 10th place at Estoril.

Power Electronics Aspar pair Randy de Puniet and Aleix Espargaró will be gunning for top CRT honour once more, with de Puniet having the added motivation of Le Mans being his home track.

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2012 MotoGP preview: Le Mans

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