Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez leads the way in France
In an unusually sunny Le Mans, it was Championship leader and reigning World Champion, Marc Marquez, who was fastest in both sessions today with teammate Dani Pedrosa finishing second this morning and 5th in the combined times.
After a chilly morning with and ambient and track temperatures of just 12ºC and 13ºC respectively, temperatures rose in this afternoon’s FP2 session to 20ºC – air – and 39ºC on the track. Marc tested both option rear Bridgestone tires but recorded his fastest time of 1’33.452 on lap 14 of 20 on the softer option – beating Dani’s record race lap from 2011 (1’33.617). It was a positive day also for Dani, who had surgery to treat compartmental syndrome in his right forearm last week. Again he used both option rear tires and also preferred the softer, completing 22 laps in the afternoon with his best time of 1’33.942 arriving on lap 17.
FP3 will take place tomorrow morning at 09h55 local time.
Marc Marquez
"I felt comfortable right from the start today. We began with the base setup from Jerez and worked from there. In the afternoon we tried things out with the tires and tweaked the setup further to keep going forward. Besides being the fastest over a single lap, our pace was also really good today, so I am happy with how everything went in general. Tomorrow we shall try to do even better, because I'm sure that the rest of the riders will take another step forward"
Dani Pedrosa
"Today was basically a day to see what kind of shape I am in, and it went well. For the first time using my arm in ten days, the feeling is okay. I took things carefully and didn't push too much, because I didn't want to go 100% too soon. The initial feeling was pretty good, and we hope that things will improve further overnight. In theory today should be the toughest day, and I hope to be better tomorrow. On track I focused on putting in a lot of laps, but without making too many changes to the bike. We basically tried out the tires, and at the moment the soft option seems to be the most adequate"
Location Information
Built in 1965 around the existing 24-Hour track, the Le Mans Bugatti Grand Prix race circuit lies 5km south of the city of Le Mans and 200km south-west of Paris. The venue has hosted Grand Prix since the late sixties but a serious accident to Spanish rider Alberto Puig in… read more.
| Length | 4.185 kilometres / 2.6 miles |
| Width | 13 metres |
| Left corners | 5 |
| Right corners | 9 |
| Longest straight | 0.674 kilometres / 0.419 miles |
| Constructed | 1966 |
| Modified | 2008 |
| Resurfacing | Resurfaced before 2017 round |
Automobile Club de l'Ouest, Le Mans, France - View in Google Maps
Records
| Pole Position | 1m 30.450s (166.5km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2022) |
| Race Lap | 1m 31.778s (164.1km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2022) |
| Race Time | 41m 34.613s (163 km/h) Enea Bastianini (Ducati, 2022) |
| 2023 Race Winner | Marco Bezzecchi (Ducati) |
| 2023 Sprint Winner | Jorge Martin (Ducat) |
