From the Iberian Peninsula, the Repsol Honda Team head in-land for round seven of the 2022 season with Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro targeting further improvements.

The 2022 MotoGP World Championship season is now well and truly underway as the Grand Prix paddock arrives at the Le Mans circuit in France. Consistently on the calendar since 2000, the French track enjoys an enthusiastic crowd and often produces surprising races with unpredictable weather. For this year’s French Grand Prix, the forecast is looking decidedly more consistent with sun and clear skies currently on the horizon.

Marc Marquez arrives in Le Mans still full of fire after a fighting fourth in the Spanish Grand Prix. Battling hard with Aleix Espargaro and Jack Miller, the eight-time World Champion amazed fans around the world as he made another of his trademark saves during the race. More important than his performance in the race was the test on Monday where Marquez and his team were able to explore several setting and parameters for the new Repsol Honda Team RC213V. With this extra information, Marquez will be hoping to fight at the front of the race once again and potentially add to his three French GP wins and four total podiums in the premier class.

There was no one who put in more work than Pol Espargaro on the Monday Test in Jerez, the #44 completing the most laps of any rider. Espargaro is aiming to put this knowledge to work immediately at the French GP, a race where he has classically enjoyed success. Having only missed the top ten twice in France in the premier class and claiming a podium in the rain-soaked 2020 race, Espargaro’s history speed and the new RC213V have the potential to once again run at the front. The generally cooler conditions of Le Mans should also help Espargaro to show his and the bike’s full potential.

With 44 points, Marc Marquez holds ninth in the MotoGP World Championship and nine points further behind is Pol Espargaro with 35 points.

The Repsol Honda Team’s most recent podium at the French GP came in 2020 when Alex Marquez raced to second in the wet.

Marc Marquez

“Overall the Jerez weekend was good when we also include the test because we were able to learn a good amount. Now we arrive in France to see what’s possible. The important thing is to keep building, keep improving and keep closing the distance to the front. In Jerez we made progress and now we must keep on going, especially after the test it’s important to see how everything is. I have had some good races in Le Mans and some more challenging races there, it can depend a lot on the conditions but they’re looking good for this weekend.“

Pol Espargaro

“Last year I think Le Mans was one of the first weekends where we could really start to show our potential. I know how myself and the bike have improved since then so I am looking forward to going back and putting into action what we found during the test. I’ve had some good races in Le Mans, the cooler conditions and the high levels of grip suit my riding style a lot. MotoGP is very close at the moment so we can’t rely on the past, no matter what we need to work well from the start of the weekend – qualify well and fight hard during the race.”

MotoGP 2022

Rider standings

Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor
1 Quartararo Fabio 20 FRA 89 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha
2 Espargaro Aleix 41 SPA 82 Aprilia Racing Aprilia
3 Bastianini Enea 23 ITA 69 Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati
4 Rins Alex 42 SPA 69 Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki
5 Bagnaia Francesco 62 ITA 56 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati
6 Mir Joan 36 SPA 56 Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki
7 Zarco Johann 5 FRA 51 Pramac Racing Ducati
8 Binder Brad 33 RSA 48 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM
9 Marquez Marc 93 SPA 44 Repsol Honda Team Honda
10 Oliveira Miguel 88 POR 43 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM
11 Miller Jack 43 AUS 42 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati
12 Espargaro Pol 44 SPA 35 Repsol Honda Team Honda
13 Martin Jorge 89 SPA 28 Pramac Racing Ducati
14 Vinales Maverick 12 SPA 27 Aprilia Racing Aprilia
15 Nakagami Takaaki 30 JPN 21 LCR Honda Honda
16 Morbidelli Franco 21 ITA 18 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha
17 Marquez Alex 73 SPA 16 LCR Honda Honda
18 Bezzecchi Marco 73 ITA 15 Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati
19 Marini Luca 10 ITA 14 Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati
20 Dovizioso Andrea 4 ITA 8 WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Yamaha
21 Binder Darryn 40 RSA 6 WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Yamaha
22 Gardner Remy AUS 3
23 Fernandez Raul SPA 0
24 Di Giannantonio Fabio 49 ITA 0 Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati
25 Savadori Lorenzo 32 ITA 0 Aprilia Racing Test Team Aprilia
26 Bradl Stefan 6 GER 0 HRC Test Team Honda
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

www.lemans.org

Records

Pole Position 1m 29.919s (167.5km/h) Jorge Martin (Ducat,2024)
Race Lap 1m 31.107s (165.3km/h) Enea Bastianini (Ducati, 2024)
Race Time 41m 23.709s (163.7 km/h) Jorge Martin (Ducat,2024)
2024 Race Winner Jorge Martin (Ducat)
2024 Sprint Winner Jorge Martin (Ducat)