MotoGP heading to Le Mans

The fourth round of the world championship -- the Grand Prix de France -- takes place this Sunday at the famous Le Mans circuit in France, with Australian Casey Stoner (Ducati) a chance to move back into the lead if results go his way. 

An 11pt gap separates MotoGP world champion and current premier class leader Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) from Stoner heading to the continental showdown, with the duo in top form thus far in 2009.

Rossi won his first race of the year at the last round in Jerez, and is the only man with a 100 percent podium record still intact after the opening three races. Last year he headed an all-Yamaha top three at Le Mans, and a repeat of that result would leave him just one win shy of a century of victories - an honour that he could take at his home race in Mugello.

Stoner has only finished on the podium at Le Mans on one occasion, with a third place in a wet 2007 race.

"We're on the back of two races that have really put us to the test but we've come out of them with decent results," said Stoner. "Both Motegi and Jerez have characteristics that give us a few problems, especially the tight corners where our bike isn't as reactive as usual.

"Even Le Mans is like that in a couple of places, it is not a fast and flowing track - on the contrary, it's the classic stop and go layout that requires good braking, although you can take some nice, fun and fast lines on the way out of the turns.

"We'll see what we're capable of when we get there and how many points we're able to bring home.

"There is no point making predictions, the important thing is to continue working well and make sure we pick up as many points as possible in these races where we know it will be tough to come away with the ideal result."

Tied on points in third and fourth place are the Spanish duo of Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) and Dani Pedrosa (Honda). Lorenzo crashed out of his home race at Jerez, while Pedrosa took a second consecutive unexpected rostrum whilst in less-than-peak condition.

Just 11pts cover positions 5-10, with Honda's Andrea Dovizioso at the head of the 'mini table' and targeting a better feeling with the RC212V. The Italian has a 4pt advantage over Colin Edwards, competing in his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team's home race on Sunday.

Randy de Puniet follows up his fourth place at Jerez with a chance of home glory on his Honda, the Frenchman in a rich run of form.

The remaining riders in the top 10 have all won races at the Le Mans circuit across the three world championship classes, with Marco Melandri and Australian Chris Vermeulen previous premier class victors at the track, and Loris Capirossi a victor in the smaller capacity categories.

I am really looking forward to going back to Le Mans, as it holds some great memories for me and has a special place in my heart.," said Vermeulen. "I managed a fifth there last year and I will certainly be looking to better that this time out.

"We have had a tough start to the season and the results have certainly not gone our way for one reason or another, but we need to learn from what has happened and make sure we come out stronger through the rest of the season - starting with Le Mans this weekend!"

Live television coverage begins at 6.30pm on Fox Sports 3 this Sunday, and at 11.10pm on Channel Ten.

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