The San Carlo Honda Gresini Team make one of the longest road trips of the season this week as the MotoGP World Championship treks from the south of Spain to the north of France for round four.
Whilst continuously aspiring to the very top, the more realistic target for Toni Elias and Alex de Angelis is somewhat more modest this weekend as the Spaniard and the San Marinese look to recover points and confidence following a disappointing display at Jerez in round three.
Click Here For More MotoGP Images
Elias does have happy memories of this circuit, having scored his first ever Grand Prix podium here with third place in the 125cc race in 2001. He also took victory in the 250cc class in 2003, following up with second play podium at this track came in the 2ce the following year, whilst De Angelis’ onl50cc race in 2007. Both riders will be looking to make the most of extended track time this weekend, with the three practice sessions returning to an hour in length from the 45-minute limit introduced at the start of the year.
“I was very disappointed with the level of our performance at Jerez but we cannot turn back the clock and we simply have to take whatever positives we can out of the situation”, said Elias. “The truth is that I think we are making progress overall and whilst we still may not be able to challenge where we want to be at Le Mans, the important thing will be to continue getting closer. Le Mans is a circuit I like and it suits my style because there is a lot of hard braking, but the reality is that if we don’t find a good balance for the bike then it doesn’t matter how much I like it! I felt comfortable there with the Gresini Honda bike in 2007, even though the race didn’t go to plan, so hopefully I can get a good feeling again and it can be a positive weekend.” Click Here For More MotoGP Images
| 
|