Many riders on the the MotoGP grid have today hit out at the scheduling of the French Grand Prix after a day of cold and wet conditions at Le Mans.
Riders have called for organisers to investigate whether the race can be moved to later in the year in the future, following a day of punishing crashes during practice and qualifying for many of the riders.
Saturday’s sessions saw 33 falls for riders, adding to yesterday’s 44 for an overall total of 77 crashes already this weekend. That’s on par with recent years, with Le Mans consistently being the most treacherous circuit on the calendar and with previous seasons seeing the total number exceeding one hundred after three days of action.
“If we talk so much about safety, safety, safety,” said Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro, “then we can’t come to this track at this time. The tyres don’t work, we’ve already seen 70 crashes and one guy [Moto2 rider Yari Montella, who suffered a fractured right wrist] has already been operated on. We can’t come to Le Mans with 12ºC ground temperature, because the tyres that Michelin and Dunlop bring to us don’t work.
“I don’t know if it’s funny to someone to see us crash, but for us it’s not. Everyone is crashing. Are we all idiots?
“No, we’re not. I’m very angry about this. I don’t have a problem riding in the wet, it’s part of my job. But not in 12ºC.”
His view was echoed by Petronas Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi, too, who added to Espargaro’s concerns about tyre temperature being the crucial issue. This weekend’s schedule has already been amended to address the problem, with Sunday warm-up sessions being delayed 40 minutes and the MotoE race moved to the end of the day.
“Usually when we speak with Michelin, they tell us we need 20ºC on the ground to be safe. It’s been 14ºC or 15ºC in the dry, so all this weekend is too dangerous, from Friday morning when it was 7ºC or 8ºC.
“There’s the amount of rain as well – MotoE was stopped tonight because of the amount of rain and it’s already the seventh or eighth time today that it’s been like this. It’s like you’re in Malaysia – it starts to rain for five minutes but it puts 20cm of water down. It’s not easy, because the combination of low temperatures and a lot of water is the hardest one.”
Those conditions have caused a few riders to suggest that the race be moved to later in the year, potentially swapping it with the following race at Mugello or potentially moving it to even later in the year, to avoid a clash with June’s 24 Heures Motos event.
“I think the later we put Le Mans the better it is,” said pole position man Fabio Quartararo when asked by The Race. “Maybe the best option is to do it just before the summer break, because I think in the last 20 years we’ve raced in the wet like 10 times. Wet and cold.
“To put it in the hottest conditions possible would be good, because it’s quite a tricky track. To lose the front at Turn 1 like Jack [Miller] did in 2017 is quite easy, plus at many other corners as well. Hot conditions are definitely better.”
That’s a view shared by his team-mate and fellow front row qualifier Maverick Vinales, who was adamant when asked that the last thing he wants is to see Le Mans disappear from the calendar due to the unique nature of the French track – but simply wants to ensure that the riders can show it off at it’s best.
“I wish they could move it, because it’s such a nice track,” he explained. “The cold temperatures make it like a nightmare. In our warmup tomorrow it’ll be 8ºC – and I don’t even want to imagine Moto3 when it’ll maybe be 4ºC. It’s difficult and it’s very dangerous and I hope they can move it so that we can push at the maximum.
“Le Mans is one of the most beautiful tracks, but it makes it very difficult when it’s cold. Turn 1, 2, 3, 4 are all pretty tricky, and it would be better races and a better show if it was later.”
Ducati rider Jack Miller is no stranger to the dangers of a cold Le Mans after the aforementioned huge crash at Turn 1 when he was a MarcVDS Honda rider in 2017. But, despite joking about the circuit “trying to kill him”, he too says the challenging nature of it means he doesn’t want it removed from the calendar – even if he’s less certain that moving the race to a different date would make a huge difference.
“I agree with the guys that for sure it would be better later, but I find Le Mans a lot like Phillip Island in that I don’t know if moving it would make it much better because it’s one of those places where the weather can change like that,” Miller said.
“If I look back, we’ve had some amazing races here. I think 2019 was under full sun and it was a beautiful race, but then you have some nice cold, freezing races as well. But if we could ride here in warm conditions, it is one of the most beautiful tracks to ride a motorcycle on.
“Not many tracks have these positive camber corners and old-school feel about them like this track has. It’s something that you miss a lot, and when you come to the tracks that have it you really want to take the most from it.”
