The MotoGP World Championship is back this weekend (May 14-16) after a two-week break with the French GP, the fifth round of the calendar. The Circuit of Le Mans will provide the stage for a renewed battle for the lead of the standings, and to make things even more exciting it could all happen in the rain, just as it did in 2020. Pecco Bagnaia will debut his lead of the championship in France following the Ducati 1-2 in Spain. 

The pilot from Turin is displaying a highly competitive level and a remarkable regularity with his team, Ducati. He has in fact climbed up on the podium in three of the first four rounds of the season (Qatar, Portugal, Spain), and leads the standings with 62 points, two more than Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha). 

If he wants to hang on to that privileged position, however, he is gonna have to fend off the stiff competition and defy the historical statistics. The ‘red bullets’ have only won once in MotoGP, in 2020 with Danilo Petrucci. 

Despite their strengths, they will come against strong opposition from the rest of the grid in a championship dominated by the alternation at the top and the extreme closeness of all of the candidates. (Three different winners and four leadership changes in four Grands Prix). 

The French Army

Local heroes Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) and Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) will be eager to take their first triumphs of the season at their home race. ‘El Diablo’, in particular, will want to make good for his collapse in Jerez where he lost both the race and the leadership. In a quest to improve his results, the Frenchman decided to go under the knife after Jerez in order to solve the compartment syndrome he suffers in his right arm. 

The other French rider, Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) is probably dreaming about reaching the glory in his home country. After two unfortunate races, he will try and regain the level of performance that he displayed at the start of the season and which pushed him to top the table. 

According to Quartararo´s mate, Maverick Viñales, will attempt once more to reverse the poor performance trend that followed his inaugural triumph in Qatar. Despite his unsatisfactory results, the Spaniard is third overall, 16 points behind the leader. Also, Viñales has experienced winning in this track, as he did in 2017 with the Japanese brand. 

Rossi needs to improve

Yamaha Petronas SRT is longing for the resurgence of Valentino Rossi. The #46 has not taken any points in the last three races in what has been the worst season of his MotoGP career so far. The Italian, however, believes to have found a solution to get out of the slump, during the tests that followed the Spanish GP.

In any case, his partner Franco Morbidelli finished fourth and third in the two rounds of the Iberian Peninsula, while riding an inferior machine. Eighth in the standings, Morbidelli now has 33 points compared to Rossi’s four. 

Meanwhile, crown defender Joan Mir (Suzuki) will arrive at the French test with the intention of getting closer to the lead. Currently fourth in the standings with 17 points less than Bagnaia, the pilot from Mallorca remains very much in the title race. 

Honda, the beast of the season

Honda’s issues are a completely different matter altogether. The Japanese manufacturer is immersed in a worrying performance crisis. Not even the return of Marc Márquez seems to have been enough to redirect the situation.

The Spaniard even suffered a nasty accident at the Andalusian event, just as did his partner Pol Espargaró. The temperament of the RC213V is merciless, throwing every pilot to the ground who attempts to tame it. 

Images of French GP: MotoGP.com.