Strategically to success in Le Mans

Two weeks after the Jerez GP, the MotoGP circus will be heading to the no less legendary Bugatti Circuit on the outskirts of Le Mans for the fifth Grand Prix this weekend. After their recent successes, Collin Veijer and Tatsuki Suzuki want to keep the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP team's Moto3 flag flying high on French soil. In Moto2, Senna Agius and Darryn Binder are aiming for a solid points-scoring result on race Sunday thanks to a successful qualifying session.

Le Mans is the racing Mecca of France. With a length of 4.19 kilometres, the Bugatti Circuit, which is located almost 200 kilometres south-west of Paris, combines a comparatively narrow track with a width of just 13 metres, many slow corners with late braking points and hard acceleration sectors. Not only does this stop-and-go track demand a lot from the riders but the Pirelli tyres are also challenged and play a decisive role in the sometimes cool and wet weather conditions. 



Buoyed by his second Grand Prix victory a fortnight ago in Jerez de la Frontera, Collin Veijer is keen to further consolidate his position as a serious candidate for this years World Championship. The 19-year-old has the ability to quickly familiarise himself with race tracks and strategically develop a strong pace. In his first Moto3 World Championship appearance last year, the shooting star finished in the points, as did his 2024 team-mate, Tatsuki Suzuki, who finished thirteenth in 2023. The Japanese rider wants to make up ground after a technical mishap in the previous  race and hopes to quickly familiarise himself with the Bugatti Circuit on his new Husqvarna. 



The focus of the Moto2 duo of Darryn Binder and Senna Agius will be on qualifying and the preceding practice sessions. Both the South African and the Australian have always shown promising race paces recently, but have all too often been involved in tricky situations due to starting positions at the back of the field, costing them time and opportunities. This should come to an end at the fifth round of the World Championship this Sunday in France. The 26-year-old Binder was unable to contest last year's Le Mans Grand Prix due to injury, so he will have to focus on systematically improving his lap times from the first free practice session on Friday while he re-familiarises himself with the pitfalls of the circuit. Rookie Senna Agius stood in for Binder in 2023 and finished in a solid 18th place. This year, the 18-year-old is aiming for the points after he too unfortunately left Spain empty-handed. 



All sessions as well as the Moto3 (11:00 CEST) and Moto2 (12:15 CEST) races will be broadcasted live on Sky Germany and promise plenty of racing action not to be missed.






Schedule (acc. CEST)



Friday, 10th of May

08:30-08:45 MotoE Practice 1

09:00-09:35 Moto3 Free Practice
09:50-10:30 Moto2 Free Practice
10:45-11:30 MotoGP Free Practice 1



12:45-13:00 MotoE Practice 2

13:15-13:50 Moto3 Practice 1

14:05-14:45 Moto2 Practice 1

15:00-16:00 MotoGP Practice

17:05-17:10 MotoE Qualifying 1

17:25-17:35 MotoE Qualifying 2



Saturday, 11th of May

08:40-09:10 Moto3 Practice 2

09:25-09:55 Moto2 Practice 2

10:10-10:40 MotoGP Free Practice 2

10:50-11:05 MotoGP Q1

11:15-11:30 MotoGP Q2

12:15 MotoE Race 1 (8 Laps)



12:50-13:05 Moto3 Q1

13:15-13:30 Moto3 Q2

13:45-14:00 Moto2 Q1

14:10-14:25 Moto2 Q2

15:00 MotoGP Sprint (13 Laps)

16:10 MotoE Race 2 (8 Laps)



Sunday, 12th of May

09:40 - 09:50 MotoGP Warm-up

11:00 Moto3 Race (20 Laps)

12:15 Moto2 Race(22 Laps)

14:00 MotoGP Race (27 Laps)