After finishing with both its riders in the top five at Jerez (Spain), the Ducati Team is ready to resume action at Le Mans (France) for the fifth round of the year, scheduled for May 17-19. Let’s discover 10 key statistics about the French GP:
– Le Mans has been hosting MotoGP every year since 2000. Ducati, which has been competing in the top class since 2003, conquered six podiums in total at the French track, though it has yet to claim a win there.
– The Bugatti Circuit, which hosts MotoGP, overlaps with the layout of the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans from turn 1 to turn 6, also known as La Chapelle. The car track then continues into the surrounding areas for a total of 13.63 kilometers, more than three times the length of the Bugatti Circuit (4.185 kilometers), which is the shortest track on the calendar after Sachsenring (Germany) and Valencia (Spain).
– The approach towards turn 9, also known as “Chemin aux Bœufs” (Bulls’ Path), is the hardest braking area on the track, where riders decelerate from 286 to 107 km/h covering an area of approximately 300 meters over four seconds.
– The Bugatti Circuit is characterized by the shortest straight on the championship’s calendar, only 450 meters, and one of the fastest corners, also known as Dunlop (turn 1), which riders approach at speeds beyond 200 km/h.
– Ducati clocked the highest speed ever recorded by a MotoGP bike at Le Mans: 316.6 km/h (Iannone, 2015).
– Andrea Dovizioso won the French GP in 2004 in the 125cc class. Should he finish within the top three on Sunday, Dovizioso would score his 95th podium in the World Championship, equalling Mick Doohan in 12th place all-time for career podium finishes.
– Dovizioso, who has never skipped a race since he joined the top class in 2008, became the sixth rider in history to reach the milestone of 200 races in the top class. The only active rider with more MotoGP starts than Dovizioso is Valentino Rossi (327).
– The Spanish GP at Jerez marked the 300th start in MotoGP’s history. Ducati has won 47 GPs.
– Andrea Dovizioso’s best result with Ducati at Le Mans is third (2015). When he reached the checkered flag in France, Dovizioso has always finished within the top five with Ducati in France.
– Last year Danilo Petrucci scored his best result in dry conditions in MotoGP at Le Mans, finishing second with the Desmosedici GP of the Pramac Racing Team. The Italian rider took three more second-place finishes in his MotoGP career, but always in wet conditions.
