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MotoGP

The incredibly competitive MotoGP series heads to Le Mans this Sunday with no rider having been able to win more than one race so far this season.

Jorge Lorenzo, Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi have all stood on the top step of the podium so far this year and are keen to gain some championship momentum with another win.

While those four are all expected to be in contention, Le Mans can produce unpredictable results.

A wet race last year gave Australian star Chris Vermeulen the chance he needed to show his skill and he broke through for his maiden win.

Vermeulen dominated the race on his Suzuki and came home an incredible 12 seconds in front of Marco Melandri in second.

So far this season Vermeulen has struggled and had a disastrous result at the last round in Shanghai when a slipping chain forced his retirement.

The Queenslander can’t wait to get back in the saddle in France.

“I am looking forward to getting to Le Mans, not just because of the good memories of my first MotoGP win there, but because we need to get back on the bike and try to get the GSV-R as competitive as it can be,” he said.

“I was really disappointed after Shanghai, but I know the Suzuki staff have been working hard to find out the cause of the problem and I’m sure that won’t happen again. The results we are getting are not what we all deserve for all the hard work that we are putting in, maybe we just need that bit of luck to go our way - so what better place than Le Mans for that to happen.”

Another Australian will be looking to the French race to get his title campaign moving.

Stoner won the opening round in Qatar, but has struggled ever since.

He was third in China, but a long way off the pace.

Stoner hasn’t won at Le Mans before, but says he can be competitive at the track even if he doesn’t like it.

“I haven’t had outstanding results at Le Mans in the past but they have been good and I remember last year being really fast in practice and feeling confident for the race. Then on Sunday it rained but I still came away with a podium,” he said.

“The track itself is not the most exciting - it’s more like a go-kart track, where the bike has to be really efficient on the brakes but agile at the same time and quick on the exit of the corners. At the end of the day though, whether you like a track or not, the objective is still the same - you have to work hard all weekend and prepare a competitive package for the race, something we generally always manage to achieve and have the knowledge to do again.”

Rossi is on a high after his win in Shanghai, but is wary of the Le Mans track where he finished sixth last year.

“Last year Le Mans was incredibly disappointing for us - we were hoping for a good result in the dry but the rain came and things didn’t go as planned. This year however we’re going there on a real high after the fantastic result in China and I am confident that we can have a good weekend. China was a very important boost for everyone and a great result for all the hard work that everyone has put in so far this season to get us to this point, and now we have to make the most of this moment and keep pushing like this,” Rossi said.

He said this stage of the championship was critical.

“This is the start of the busiest phase of the championship and it’s always hard work but also great fun,” he said.

Rossi’s Yamaha team-mate Lorenzo is just glad to be able to race after being cleared for this Sunday’s race following a huge high-side in Shanghai.

“I was lucky in China! If I’d have landed differently it could have ruled me out until the middle of the season and certainly prevented me from enjoying myself as much as I am in this early part of the season,” he said.

“In China I realised the risks in this sport; as riders we have to take a lot of risks and that Sunday in Shanghai, with my emotions and my feelings, I knew I had to go through it and take risks again because my team were depending on me in the box.”

Lorenzo is determined to get a strong result in France despite his injuries.

“I won’t be at 100% for Le Mans but my mental condition should make me strong at one of my favourite circuits and I am really looking forward to the race just the same.”

Australian Anthony West has struggled so far this year to find grip on his Kawasaki and finished 17^th in China.

“After the disappointment of the result in China I’m looking forward to Le Mans and, hopefully, securing the results I know I’m capable of. I’ve had some problems this year with the rear tyre spinning up too easily out of the turns, but after discussing the problem with my crew and Kawasaki’s technical staff, we think we’ve identified what we need to change on the bike to see an improvement in this area.,” he said.

“If we can fix this problem, then I’m confident that a top ten finish in France is a realistic goal for me, as I like the Le Mans circuit.”

Coverage of Sunday’s French Grand Prix starts at 7pm (AEST) on Fox Sports 3 (including 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP) and MotoGP coverage on Channel Ten starts at 10.45pm.