TEAM KÖMMERLING GRESINI MOTO3 SETS ITS SIGHTS ON LE MANS
There is a page to turn on the weekend at Jerez de la Frontera, and there is no better way to do so than to return to the track for the fifth event of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship, which takes place at the iconic Le Mans Circuit in north-western France.
After Gabriel Rodrigo’s very premature end to his race performance on lap one and Riccardo Rossi’s unfortunate double “long lap” at the #SpanishGP, both riders are now ready for the French challenge, on a track that both riders like and where they already proved to be competitive in the past.
With last week’s MotorLand Aragon test able to instil both riders some lost confidence and feeling with their Honda NSF250RW machines, Team Kömmerling Gresini Moto3 is now ready to face what is going to be a crucial event to define goals and targets of the Italian squad for the season.
GABRIEL RODRIGO #19
“Le Mans is a track where I’ve always scored great results, since my times in the CEV. I remember my first pole position there, with lap-times that were already similar to the ones set in the World Championship. Even when I got here I was always very fast, and this year I know I can lap consistently quick on my own – something I’ve improved massively in the past. I really can’t wait to get back on track and turn the page on the awful Jerez race. We managed to do a great job at Aragon, so the goal is to give the team a great race. This is a track with many hard-braking points – a very strong aspect of my riding – but it’s also a very narrow circuit that might lead you to mistakes, so we need to be very focused.”
RICCARDO ROSSI #54
“Le Mans is one of my favourite circuits: last year in the CEV I did great in qualifying and also had a very good race, so I’m positive. Obviously there’ll be a lot of work to do, but I’ve got high expectations from this weekend. I really think the top-15 is within reach so this remains my goal. We will work immediately on both tyre choice ahead of the race: I’ve always race with the softer compound until now, with the obvious late-race disadvantages… We will try to improve with the harder tyre.”
