Home Grand Prix Time for Tech3 KTM Factory Racing

Tech3 KTM Factory Racing enters a new race week, and a special one, as the whole crew is getting ready for the team’s home race in Le Mans, where the SHARK Grand Prix de France, the seventh round of the season, will take place from May 13-15. It is expected to be an exciting weekend for the French motorcycle fans as the Bugatti circuit will welcome back the public at full capacity for the first time since 2019. The crowd will be eager to see La Crème de la Crème battle it out for the victory on Sunday on the 4.2km layout.

Australian Remy Gardner was on the podium last season in Le Mans as he finished second of the Moto2 race, behind teammate Raul Fernandez who was the 2021 Moto2 winner. This year, Remy will have high hopes to do a good weekend, after a tough Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, followed by a test day which had to be stopped due to a crash, without any major consequences fortunately. The rookie has already finished in the points two times this year, and will aim to do it for a third time on a layout that should fit the KTM RC16 well. Out for both the Portuguese and Spanish Grand Prix, Raul Fernandez is expected to be back on track this week, having followed an intense recovery process on his right hand over the last couple of days. The Spaniard will be motivated to do well and give his best for his team’s home race.

The action will start as usual on Friday at 9:55 (GMT+2) with the first free practice session, followed by the second one at 14:10, both of forty-five minutes each. On Saturday, the action will resume with the third free practice at 9:55, at the end of which qualifying entries will be determined. There will be a final chance to practice at 13:30 with FP4, before the qualifying sessions start at 14:10. The SHARK Grand Prix de France is scheduled on Sunday, May 15, at 14:00 local time, for twenty-seven laps.

Remy Gardner

Championship: 22nd

Points: 3

“We are heading to Le Mans for the French Grand Prix with a few points to improve following the test day in Jerez. I am hoping that the layout will suit the bike better, so if we manage to take some steps, there is room for a good result. I am really looking forward to getting back to the action on Friday in France, my team’s home Grand Prix.”

Raul Fernandez

Championship: 23rd

Points: 0

“Before everything, I would like to say a big thank you to all the team at Clinica Luis Banos who helped me with my hand. They did a great job to allow me to be ready at 100% for the French Grand Prix. I feel so much better, I am optimistic and ready to get back to racing after two weekends out. In addition, Le Mans is the home Grand Prix for my team, so I really want to race there. I have good memories from the past season, so let’s see what we can do!”

Hervé Poncharal

Team Manager

“After a tough Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez for the Tech3 KTM Factory Racing team, we are now all very excited to be heading to known lands in Le Mans for the French Grand Prix, our home race. Remy Gardner is coming from a challenging race during which he had to manage a bike with only one wing, and he provided a great effort despite the difficulty. Unfortunately, Raul Fernandez had to miss out on a second race due to his right hand injury sustained in Portimao. I am certain that both rookies will be fit and motivated for the weekend ahead of us in Le Mans. The Bugatti circuit offers a layout that could fit well both the KTM RC16 and the riding styles of our riders.

The weather always spices things up in Le Mans, but this time, it looks like we are set for a sunny week, which will help our rookies to continue their progress in the MotoGP category. Although we don’t have any French riders this year, this Grand Prix is always special to us because it is also the home race for some of our partners who have been supporting us for a while, including Elf. There will be a lot of local and national media interest this week, especially that we now have a French champion in the name of Fabio Quartararo. Johann Zarco is also greatly appreciated by the French fans. I hope that we will have a great show for all of these people who come support us every year.”

MOTOGP ROUND 7: HERE COMES LE MANS 

Le Mans preview. MotoGP make its return to French soil, for what has become through the years a classic in the series. Enea Bastianini and Fabio Di Giannantonio will be racing at the home track of current championship leader Quartararo with very different goals, albeit both with ambitious goals.

The rider #23 wants to return to the time of form shown in the extra-European races earlier this year, even though the main goal is to find back that feeling with his Ducati machine that he was never able to get at Jerez a fortnight ago. The post-race Spanish test gave him some fresh confidence, with the Italian star eager to fly again – hopefully with some favourable weather.

For Di Giannantonio it is time to raise the bar and score his first MotoGP points. The base set-up he found with the team at Jerez may be a good starting point to well-perform in France already.

Historical recurrences: Le Mans is among the most challenging tracks on the MotoGP calendar, but Gresini Racing was able to secure several podium finishes at this track throughout the years. Two wins and a second for Sete Gibernau (in 2003, 2004 and 2005, respectively) and a win and a second place for Marco Melandri in 2006 and 2007, but not only.

Both Enea Bastianini and Fabio Di Giannantonio have had their ‘podium taste’ with the Faenza-based team before: ‘Bestia’ managed to do so in 2015 as he finished second in the Moto3 class, while Diggia did the same two years later. This is their best career result in France, at least so far.

ENEA BASTIANINI #23 (3º in the championship standings with 69 points)

“Le Mans is quite an unusual track, but a very good one nonetheless. Usually the track, and therefore track conditions, are a key variable, but let’s hope it will be different this time. I would like to find back that feeling with the bike that we kind of lost a bit at Jerez: let’s say being back to the one we had in Portimao, where only the result was unkind to us.”

FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO #49

“Le Mans is a tough track, temperature and weather wise. We always had very unique conditions, but we’re coming from a positive test in which we found a good direction to follow in terms of set-up, so I’m curious to see if it’ll work at this track.”

APRILIA ALL STARS MEETS ITS AUDIENCE AGAIN
 

OVER 10 THOUSAND PEOPLE AT MISANO TO CELEBRATE APRILIA, ITS CHAMPIONS AND ITS GREAT MOTOGP SEASON

ALEIX ESPARGARÓ, MAVERICK VIÑALES AND LORENZO SAVADORI PUT ON A SHOW ON THE TRACK TOGETHER WITH CHAMPIONS AND LEGENDS SUCH AS MAX BIAGGI, ROBERTO LOCATELLI, LORIS CAPIROSSI, ALEX GRAMIGNI, MATTIA PASINI AND ANDREA IANNONE

FANS WERE ABLE TO TRY OUT THE APRILIA RANGE IN FREE TEST RIDES WHILE THE MUSIC OF RADIO DEEJAY AND M2O WITH VIC AND VITTORIA HYDE AND THE EXTRAORDINARY LIVE PERFORMANCE OF ALBERTINO, LIVENED UP THE PADDOCK

Misano – More than 10 thousand enthusiasts came to Misano for Aprilia’s big party.

Aprilia All Stars 2022 finally met its audience, who had been crowding the paddock and grandstands since the morning to enjoy the spectacle on track.

Aleix Espargaró, Maverick Viñales and Lorenzo Savadori, Aprilia Racing’s factory and test riders, welcomed the great Aprilia legends such as world champions Max Biaggi, Roberto Locatelli, Loris Capirossi, Alex Gramigni and with them Mattia Pasini and Andrea Iannone. Together they put on a show, riding the unforgettable 250 2-stroke Grand Prix bikes or RSV4s, while Alex Gramigni celebrated 30 years of his 125 World Championship title, Aprilia’s first in Grand Prix motorcycle racing, taking his legendary 1992 RS 125 onto the track.

The highlight for MotoGP fans was of course the track parade of the RS-GP 2022, Aprilia’s MotoGP revelation of this first phase of the season. Aleix Espargaró, with a win and two other podiums, is one of the leading riders in the world championship, while Maverick Viñales continues to gain more and more confidence with the new bike.

For everyone, motorbike enthusiasts, groups of friends and even the many families who came along, it was a day of celebration and entertainment, ranging from the testing of the 2022 Aprilia bikes (RS 660, Tuono 660, Tuareg 660 and the 125 range) to the fantastic entertainment provided by the stars of Radio Deejay and M2O on the big stage throughout the day. There was also a live performance by Dj Albertino, who got the whole paddock dancing, and a prize draw for the lucky winner of a brand new Aprilia Tuono 660.

The great and spectacular parade of Aprilia motorbikes, brought onto the track by the motorcyclists who flocked to Misano, and led by Aleix Espargaró and Maverick Viñales riding RSV4s, closed the 2022 edition of Aprilia All Stars.

For all lovers of beautiful Italian motorbikes, the appointment is for the 2023 edition.