Maverick Viñales has special memories of the Le Mans MotoGP event after stepping onto the Bugatti Grand Prix podium last year, to record his first ever MotoGP podium and the Spanish rider is eager to revisit the rostrum in his first year with Yamaha.
As he likes the French circuit, he is confident he can add another top score this weekend, to equal his 125cc win in France in 2011 and Moto3 win in 2013.
The Spaniard currently holds second place in the championship, just two points behind his teammate. Having topped the time sheets of the Jerez test a little more than a week ago, he looks forward to being more competitive aboard his YZR-M1 over the upcoming weekend.
“The race in Jerez was very difficult for us,” he said. “Now we have to understand about what happened and try to improve this weekend at the Le Mans circuit. Luckily during the test on Monday in Jerez we had a totally different result, it was a really good test. For that reason we're arriving in France with a positive mind. Le Mans is a good track for us, it suits my riding style, and we can do a really good job there.”
The Le Mans Bugatti Grand Prix race circuit was built in 1965 and started hosting Grand Prix from the late sixties until 1996, and from 2000 after a serious accident in 1995 saw the track update its safety. The 4.2km lay-out of five left and nine right corners with a 674m longest straight, places the emphasis on late braking, hard acceleration and rear end traction, which plays into the hand of Yamaha and promises for a great show on Sunday.
